Is there hope for my dog with severe Stage 4 kidney disease?

It's common for kidney values to improve with aggressive treatment (such as hospitalization for IV fluids). Sometimes they don't improve even with treatment, which would be a bad sign, or sometimes they improve while hospitalized, but don't stay improved. So, I can't get much idea about her prognosis from what they've told you so far. If they are happy with her progress, they will likely discharge her after 1-3 days and then have you come back to have her kidney values checked after a week, which will give you much more information. It's possible they are being vague because they just don't know yet -- it's impossible to know how she'll do out of the hospital. I'd recommend asking them what the next steps are, when she can go home, what treatments she'll need at home, and what the follow up testing will look like. You can also directly ask about prognosis. Wishing you the best of luck

I am so sorry to hear about Lola. It is so hard with senior pets to know when it's time to say goodbye. I know how hard it is as I lost my 15 and a half year old guy last year. The blood work values you report are very concerning. The question is if there is something that has acutely changed to make her become a lot worse, or is this simply progression of underlying chronic kidney disease. There are other disease processes that can complicate chronic kidney disease like infection, pancreatitis, high bood pressure, infectious diseases, etc. Really what your pet needs is to be hospitalized with intravenous fluids, supportive care (anti nausea medications, etc.), and to try to figure out if there's an underlying problem exacerbating the kidney disease. This will require more tests such as an abdominal ultrasound, urine culture, and potentially other things as dictated by the case. I would not give up hope until trying these things because you won't know if this will help her until you try. The opposite would be true if a pet in this situation were hospitalized for two to three days and there was no improvement in the blood work or symptoms. Then, if all the treatment options are exhausted, and the pet has poor quality of life a different decision may be reached. As dogs do not tolerate chronic kidney disease as well as cats being diagnosed for a year without progression is excellent. Sometimes having a consultation with an internal medicine specialist can really help. Your family vet would likely be able to provide a referral if you and he or she thinks this would be a valuable step. I hope this helps and that Lola feels better soon. Thank you for using pet coach.

Poor baby. Kidney failure is usually pretty bad news in dogs. The usual treatment is hospitalization for IV fluids to lower kidney values (since high kidney values make animals feel crappy) and treatment for whatever associated complications an animal has (such as nausea or anemia). Early in the disease, food changes and at home fluids can help. You mentioned that Priscilla has already been hospitalized for two days, so I'm going to assume she has two days of aggressive fluids and her kidney values haven't gone down. If you don't believe in euthanasia than I'd say you need to find a veterinarian who practices hospice in your area. A Google search should turn up an opinion or two. In your own, there isn't much you can do. I will warn you that kidney disease often ends in euthanasia because at the end stages it causes severe nausea, vomiting, severe weight loss, ulcers in the mouth, severe dehydration (even though they are drinking a lot, it just goes right through them). So it's not a good way to go without really really aggressive support from a local hospice vet. I'm so sorry and you are Priscilla are going through this. You'll be in my thoughts.

Hello, sorry to hear about Canela. It’s likely that your medical management of her is supporting her kidneys really well. However, kidney disease is considered a progressive disease, meaning it only gets worse. Despite this, progression may be very slow and thus patients may live a long life with medical management. Keep up the good work, Canela is very lucky to have you , Best of luck

If she is eating and drinking and not vomiting then you can look into a special kidney diet to help them work. You can get a urine sample to see if there is any protein loss and get her blood pressure checked also as there are pills you can use to help control these factors if needed. You can talk to your vet about donfluids under the skin at home to help take some work off her kidneys The most important part is make sure she is drinking plenty of fluids and urinating. If she starts vomiting or stops urinating that is a sign her kidneys are getting worse.

I am so sorry to hear Princess isn't felling well. The best way to help her feel better is hospitalizing her on IV fluids. This will help flush out some of the toxins her kidneys aren't filtering and could bring down the phosphorus. There are medications to add to her diet to help bind the phosphorus but this is only effective if she is eating. If she isn't eating, those numbers will only continue to climb without IV fluid support. Even with IV fluids, she may not improve but this is her best option. If that is not a possible option for you, I would consider her quality of life. If she no longer is eating, drinking, or interested in normal daily tasks, her quality of life is poor. Making these decisions are never easy but as long as you are keeping Princess's best interests in mind, you will make the right one. Good luck and hugs and kisses to Princess!

It looks like he is suffering from some liver and kidney values elevations and he also is anemic. (Low red blood cells). Since I do not not his current condition and how long this has been going on, it is difficult for me to give you a survival time. If this has happened quickly and could be a toxin then with aggressive therapy (hospitalization and IV fluids), then these values could go back to normal and stay that way as long as there wasn't any permanent damage. If this has been chronic and his urine is very dilute then this could be permanent damage to the kidneys which is a much poorer prognosis long term. I would still recommend hospitalization and IV fluids if possible. I would talk to your vet about whether he needs fluids, antibiotics, appetite stimulants, anti-nausea medicine etc. I hope this helps and your sweet baby gets well really soon!