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My dog is lethargic, trembling, and not eating. Is it kidney disease?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 11 years and 7 months old | 61 lbs

My dogs hind legs went out 2 weeks back. The vet did X-rays & gave us physical therapy plan/pain pills. A week later she showed signs of a UTI, confirmed by vets & given antibiotics. She's currently having trembling spells and is extremely lethargic (wants to sleep all day), appears listless and not really concerned with her surroundings. Before all this she was jovial but drank a lot of water. She eats & drinks sparingly now. I'm concerned she might be going through kidney failure. Could it be?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 4th, 2018

I’m sorry to hear this is going on with your dog! A urinary tract infection can certainly make Red lethargic and not feel like himself. The trembling is probably due to her discomfort from the infection. She may also be having a flare up of her back injury as well.

It’s hard to say if Red’s kidneys are involved at this point. The only way to know for sure ifnher kidneys are compromised is to run a blood test to check her renal values. This would probably be a good idea to do if you are concerned.

I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.
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