My muscular dog's creatinine is high, but kidneys are normal?

The elevated creatinine on it's own does not indicate kidney disease. Remember, this blood was taken at one second in time, he may have recently eaten or been a bit dehydrated at the time which caused the CREA to be a bit elevated. You can not determine kidney disease with just this one test. If you are concerned this should be repeated when he is fasted and a urine test should be done at the same time. If you want to give him a kidney supplement that will help to support kidney function you can use this: https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=132504

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This level of creatinine is still within relatively normal range (according to most diagnostic laboratories and analyzers). Such a small increase can be incidental, Mav may have had a recent meal, or have been less hydrated than he was at his previous appointment. It is unlikely that this is related to the protein content in his diet. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. BUN and Creatinine typically have an intimate relationship on blood work, meaning that when one is elevated, the other is typically elevated as well. There are relatively few conditions that would have an elevated Creatinine without the BUN being elevated. These are typically due to muscle breakdown which would release more creatinine in the blood. Exercise could produce such an increase. Pathologic muscle breakdown would produce sharp levels but such conditions would likely be accompanied by symptoms such as weakness and lethargy in particular. The value of 6.1 is high, which could indicate any of the above or this could potentially be a lab error. I would consider having the blood retested to check and make sure this value is correct. It may be wise to have it sent to a laboratory as well to ensure the values are correct. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Blood work reflects a single snap shot in time. It can't predict any disease. Performing blood work days or weeks apart can help monitor disease progression or healing. On this lab machine, normal creatinine in dogs is under 1.1. This value can go up a bit if a dog is dehydrated, so that is why it is important to put the numbers together with the pet. The CBC isn't overly concerning. The red cell values are high, and the most common cause for that is dehydration. The total white cell values states high, but the individual values are within normal range. White cells increase with infection or inflammatory conditions. That supplement shouldn't cause increases in lab values.

Creatinine level of 2.4mg/dL means mild to moderate elevation. Creatinine level goes up with kidney diseases but it also can go up after a large, meaty meal or excessive excercise. Some dogs with a lot of muscle mass have naturally elevated creatinine, not related to kidney problems. SDMA test will confirm (or rule out) kidney disease in Charlie's case. Please, note that SDMA is not a better or more specific test that creatinine, it is just another blood test to check kidneys funcion. In the best case scenario, Charlie had elevation in creatinine because of aforementioned physiological conditions and his kidneys are ok. In the worse case scenerio, he has early stage of kidney disease and will be put on a special diet.

This supplement shouldn't increase Danny's creatinine level. His creatinine level is 0.05 points above normal, and in my opinion it is not significant with a normal BUN. A urine specific gravity would help to determine if it is significant, as well as rechecking this value in one week to see if it is going up. I wouldn't not start kidney supplements until we know it is an issue. Increasing water consumption is the first line in preventing kidney disease.

Blood levels likely fluctuate every day for all pets and people. It's possibly related to how much water he has drank (or moisture in the food) and possibly what time and how much he has eaten within the last 12-24 hours. I recommend to have an additional test called an SDMA run. This test will accurately predict if kidney disease will develop within the next 18 months in about 95% of pets. Bruno should also be having his urine specific gravity tested along with his kidney values as you need to know all the values in order to know if kidney disease is a concern or not. For example, a dog with a higher CREAT and extremely concentrated urine is likely a little dehydrated. Where as a higher CREAT and not so concentrated urine may have kidney disease. I hope this helps.