Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

End stage renal failure

Hi I'm new to this forum and stumbled onto it while looking for help with my dog not eating. I have a 15 1/2 year old toy poodle named Chloe. She was my daughter's Christmas present in 1994 but has really become my dog over the years. I have noticed Chloe not eating as much and losing weight but attributed it to her advanced age and problems with arthritis. We had her at the Vet's office 3 months ago and he told me she was in pretty good health for her age with the exception on a slight decrease in kidney function and suggested putting her on KD. She has always eaten dry dog food but did not like the KD and I started mixing it with chicken broth to try to get her to eat better. When that failed, I started trying out different foods. They didn't work much better. After a trip to the Vet on April 12, the Vet called and said Chloe was in end stage renal failure. I saw a different Vet from the one I had seen before. She told me her creatinine level was at 6 and wanted to get it down to 3 so they kept her for a couple of days. I told them she would not eat the dry KD so they put her on canned KD and gave her some IV treatments. When I called to check on her they told me her level was down to 4 and let her go home. I went to pick her up and was given a very expensive bill along with a case of KD. The Vet also told me she had some loose stools and gave me pills for that with the recommendation that she take them twice a day. When I got her home I fed her the KD which she ate a little of and then the pill for the loose stool. She started to heave and I took her outside and she staggered, fell, and vomited. She didn't have any more loose stools so I did not give her any more of the pills as they made her so sick. The following day I again offered the KD but she refused to eat it. I called the Vet and she gave me a prescription for canned Royal Canin. She has only eaten small amounts of that and in fact it has taken 2 days to eat 3/4 of one can. She is not drinking as much water either. Has anyone had any luck with a diet I found on line consisting of ground beef, white rice, egg, and white bread slices? It is breaking my heart to see her starving to death. We have given her thin sliced turkey that I'm sure is not good for her since it is processed just to get her to eat something. Of course she readily eats that. I have read many heartbreaking stories on here and as hard as it will be for me, I know I will do the humane thing and put her down once she is unable to hold anything down. This disease seems hopeless and I am very sad.
205 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
I'm so grateful I stumbled across this site - your words of advice and compassion are wonderful. My Yorkie Nellie, almost 13, is in kidney failure and it's breaking my heart. I have no family and she's everything to me. She still enjoys her walks and cuddling with me, but over the last few days, she's pretty much stopped eating. She's on Azodyl and an appetite stimulant, but I can't find any food to entice her to eat. The vet said let her eat whatever she wants, but she doesn't seem to want anything. I've tried all different kinds of dog food, plus tried cooking for her, but no luck. She used to love chicken and carrots and apples, but not anymore. I'd love any suggestions. Thank you
Carol
Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
My dog has suffered from addisions disease for couple years now everything she has gone through so far ive manage to stable but now it seems she doesnt realise when its time to poop if she gets up it falls out almost like she didnt know the poops are normal and solid no runs should i advise my vet to this new thing shes doing now or is this part of her proplem she is 12 years old now
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Read your article regarding kidney failure. We have a kerry blue who has kidney failure. He too is in the renal food but now he is not eating it now. He drinks very little water. And hardly eats anything. Really is upsetting to see him go like this. I never tht that we would get attached to a dog but we have had him from a puppy.wot eles can we do.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
my dog is 14 years and from last week we come to know that he is suffering with kidney failure.  i got sad and he is my only friend for last 14 years. i feel sad very. now he take only water and nothing food.  i feel sad. what will come in next few days. how i can face that situation.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Carol.

I too have a little girl , a 7 year old poodle who was diagnosed at six with stage 3 kidney disease.  She is my baby and only family along with my 15 year old male poodle.  She is very sick with the disease and I have to give her subque fluids every day, 200 mls.  I have to pay a vet tech to come every day to do it because otherwise I have to pay almost $45 a day to my vets office to do it which is cost prohibitive.  She hardly eats and since first diagnosed has lost 10 pounds.  Its a fight to get her to eat.  She has to have so many meds that its no wonder she feels badly.  She take 2 blood pressure pills, gall bladder med for no gallbladder, reglan, aluminum hydroxide and now fluids every day.  She sometime has chronic diarrhea because she also has irritable bowel from when she was 2.  I found she will sometimes eat a dog biscuit (Iams lamb and rice biscuits) if she wont eat her food and my vet said to give her animal crackers or pound cake if she wont eat.  The past 2 days I gave her chopped meat with some IAMS dry renal diet.  She wont eat the canned renal diets.  I used to give her pasta with a protein but suddenly she stopped eating that but after some intervention she will eat  a little.  She suddenly ate some tomato sauce on her food so I went with that.  I also buy flounder or salmon to tempt her.  Her real go to is Lamb.  Its so heartbreaking when she wont eat that I feel guilty if I eat anything  I don't know what could have made her kidneys go bad at a young age.  My heart is broken and I worry that I will be afraid to love again in fear this will happen again.  My 15 year old boy was a long haul to get him to this point and I know he is on borrowed time just like my baby girl and I hope I will survive their loss.

Sue.
Helpful - 0
10821430 tn?1439580883
Hi Carol, I just happened to see you added to an older posting
and if you want to get ahold of Tony,rather than hope he may
see this...if you go back to the start where you posted,on the
right you will see RELATED FORUMS,then see GROUPS, if
you click on the "Groups" it will pop up a forum to kidney
issues and this is where you will find Tony because he runs
this site.
I am sure someone there and Tony can offer you some great
information for you little girl..
I am SO VERY SORRY to see Nellie is having kidney problems
I too am owned by several Yorkies so hearing about Nellie really
touches my heart even more than other breeds..
Go talk with Tony...he is awsome and gives so much to helping
the fur kids with kidney problems..
Jan
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Thank you, Jan!
Avatar universal
My Mellie is dying - 7.1 Creatinine - I read about Spooches dog and looked at the birth date! 16 years old! Mellie is 10 - had liver failure at 7. An eye doctor put her on MASSIVE doses of prednisone against my protests and she has declined steadily. Hospitalized twice - using Azodyl, Aluminum Hydroxide, forti-flaura to offset the effects of long-term antibiotics - the AUTOIMMUNE response turned out to be STAPH and Mellie was on Clavamox in case the diluted urine didn't show infection - four weeks! She is finished with that - getting her to eat chicken/burger/steak - you're right - they do need protein. My baby has gained weight in kidney failure. I make waffles with egg whites, cake, French toast - anything to keep her tummy full - Back legs seem to be weakening - muscle atrophy - a week-long hospitalization took her Creatinine from 6.6 to 5.4 - small dips into 4.7 a couple times. Being caged, bruises from being pulled up with strap to walk (between first and second hospitalizations, she went blind - SARDS) really stiffened her legs.
What to do now - I can't give anything with calcium - hers is 14.4 - going up....
rice seems to make diarrhea worse
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi. "I now know that low (really low) protein and NO phosphorous is best." Actually, this is not strictly true or accurate. Most specialised manufactured kd food is indeed low in protein, simply because it was proved through research that the protein was causing a problem. But the tests were being made on existing manufactured dog foods, which contained very poor quality protein. The by-products of these ingredients were an issue - and still are.

More recent research has found that human-grade proteins (meats you would eat yourself) are produced, manufactured and packaged to a much higher quality and don't contain the dangerous animal by-products or preservatives contained in manufactured dog foods.

Recent research has also found that proteins are essential to a dog's health and well-being, and high-quality proteins in moderation do kidney failure dogs a lot of good.

Phosphorus and sodium are the bigger problems and restricting these remain essential.

You might consider joining our specialised "chronic kidney failure in dogs" User Group here on MedHelp. I administrate this group, whose members are owners just like yourself with dogs that have or have had kidney failure.

Tony
Helpful - 0
15975394 tn?1444370007
Apologies and correction...I believe Epakitin inhibits phosphorus absorption through the digestive tract (and thus the bloodstream).  It's a technicality but same concept.
Helpful - 0
15975394 tn?1444370007
Yes!  I made the mistake of giving my dogs high protein treats (both with chronic renal failure - one at the moderate stage and the other at the advanced stage) just to get them to eat something as they would not eat the renal prescription kibble (or the canned for that matter).  I now know that low (really low) protein and NO phosphorous is best.  It seems that the more important thing to avoid is phosphorus, which was not apparent to me in any of the list of ingredients for anything I have ever fed my dogs...grrrr.  The good news is that there is a powder called Epakitin that you can sprinkle on their food (tiny spoonful on every meal) and evidently it will bind the phosphorous so that it will not be absorbed into their blood stream and thus interfere with kidney function.  My vet has stressed that this is very important.  With my recent frustrations with the kibble, and for my dogs who are almost 18 years and 16 years, I now make my own homemade dog food.  I have never felt confident enough to do this in the past as I know it can be very serious if you 'guesstimate' what they really need for nutrition, but I was desperate.  At any rate, it contains boiled potatoes (skinless), boiled carrot, no salt/sodium beef or chicken broth, a bite of apple for flavor and I add a very, very small amount of cooked ground beef (including the fat drippings) all of which I blend so that it is palatable and good and 'soupy'.  It is my understanding that liquids are very important and the 'wetter' the food the better, as they need as much water as you can get in them to help the remaining functioning parts of the kidney do it's job.  
I sure hope this helps.  I am sick to my stomach about this chronic illness but if I can help you in anyway, I am happy to do so.  Wishing you all the best.
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi. I may have found your post a little too late to help ... if so, please forgive my intrusion. If your dog is still with us, please join the Chronic Kidney Failure in Dogs User Group. I am fairly certain this Group (I am the administrator of it) will offer you some invaluable information, support and advice. Please join the Group then post a brief message about your dog, the most recent blood level readings and additional details about how she is right now and what you have attempted to feed her.

Tony
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes... I had my Italian Greyhound on Azodyl, but she didn't stomach it very well...  She would throw up.  She is bad right now and I have decided to put her down on Monday if she doesn't go before then..  I have tried to feed her everything, but she doesn't want anything to do with food.  She is 9 years old and the renal failure was diagnosed back in June.  It is so heart wrenching to have to do this, but I can't stand to see her suffer.  She is being kept as comfortable as possible, under blankets.  When she started shaking a little, I put a thundershirt on her and a hoodie.  It really seemed to help a lot, but she is going to be crossing the Rainbow Bridge sometime soon.
  
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
I think if you re-read the post you'll find the owner says they adopted  "TeddyBear about 4 or 5 years ago and at the time I adopted him I was told he had an enlarged heart and poor kidney function." This infers the kidney problem has been ongoing for some considerable time, and it has now progressed. I do not therefore believe it is the KD food, although other parts of the diet may well be causing allergic reactions.. Tony
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
She seemed fine 3 months before, generally healthy, then AFTER she was given the KD dog food, she was in advanced renal failure???

I THINK THE KD DOG FOOD WAS THE CULPRIT!!!!

Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi. I have a feeling there's more going on here than just kidney failure. I'm tempted to suggest an allergic food reaction (which could easily cause the seizures). The problem is, kidney disease can also cause seizures, so nothing is certain. What you really need right now is to determine what state the kidneys are in, and for that your little dog will need to see the vet for a full blood panel test. The results will tell you the stage things are at and what can be done to help. Please have this done, then come back and tell me what the results are (make sure you get a copy of them).

People food is not always a good thing - but only because it depends what you are feeding him. Some things are fine (and even better for kidney failure than ordinary dog food), while other things are extremely toxic to dogs. I have an article that will be helpful to you:

http://www.infobarrel.com/Everyday_Foods_That_Are_Poisonous_To_Dogs

Just check the list and see if there is anything you have or are feeding that may be causing a problem.

There's another article of mine I would like you to read:

http://www.infobarrel.com/Is_Your_Dog_Allergic_To_Its_Food

which will give you more insight into dog food allergies and it will be worth double-checking the info here to ensure nothing obvious is causing a problem. The final article I have for you is on Chronic Kidney Failure and Diet:

http://www.infobarrel.com/How_Diet_Affects_Dogs_with_Chronic_Kidney_Disease

which should give you a whole lot of info about what may be happening and how you can help improve things, albeit for the immediate future.

Finally, please join our special group at Chronic Kidney Failure in Dogs. Go to the Forums tab at the top of the page, mouse over it and click User Groups in the drop-down menu. Next use the search bar to find CHRONIC KIDNEY FAILURE IN DOGS - then join the User Group and post messages or questions there for a much better and more informed response from other members.

Tony
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I adopted My little toy Pomeranian, TeddyBear about 4 or 5 years ago and at the time I adopted him I was told he had an enlarged heart and poor kidney function. He never ever acted lethargic or had any symptoms Except maybe that he always did need to drink more water than my other dogs. Other than the water though he really didn't have any other symptoms for the entire time 4 or 5 years I've had him until RECENTLY. A few weeks ago he started to get picky about what flavour of the raw diet we feed him he would eat. Over the past few weeks he has gotten so picky that he would only eat the raw beef but NOW suddenly he won't even eat THAT and 2 days ago he had 7 big seizures that lasted 2 minutes! He will eat people food NO PROBLEM, BY THE WAY. He hasn't had any more seizures in 3 days now and although he won't eat dog food he is VERY interested in our people food still so I seriously am confused because other than the sudden seizures that came and went and other than the super finicky appetite, there are no other new symptoms to indicate end stage CRF.  Is it possible that he is in end stage without any pain or vomiting or diarrhea or constipation etc??? He is very lethargic  but if I force KD into him by diluting it with water and using a syringe or if I let him eat people food, then he has energy again and acts normal and even barks and walks around. I don't know what is going on or what to do. We went out and bought every brand of raw dog food we could find and we bought 7 different brands and flavours of wet dog food including the KD AND MEDICAL. And he won't eat any of them HOWEVER he is extremely interested in our people food! He will eat lots of people food if we let him.
Any comments or ideas or advice?
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
Hello. First, I am very sorry you have received this diagnosis. Kidney disease is harrowing, and that must be more so with a dog of such an incredible age. I would ask you to have a read of my article about it - and about diet - which I think may help you. You can access it here: http://www.infobarrel.com/How_Diet_Affects_Dogs_with_Chronic_Kidney_Disease

Second, please post any additional comments, questions or concerns on the Chronic Kidney Failure in Dogs USER GROUP, as this is where you will get the most answers and from people that have gone through this or are going through this right now with their own dogs. I administrate this Group and I would welcome you as a member. Please join. You can find User Groups under the Forum button at the top of the page. Once in, please use the search bar to find CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE IN DOGS User Group.

Tony
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Tony, I have an 18 yr old dashaund. Daisy has just returned home from vet today after I noticed she was stumbling and not eating. I feel horrible bc she lost weight and I figured it was due to her age. Her bun had went from 156 to 74 and creatine 5 to 3. Her phosphorus levels came back down to the normal range. This is bc she has been at vet for 3 days hooked to fluids.  He put her on special canned food diet twice a day and sent her home with antibiotics. She has still been staggering today and sleeping. She ate small amount of canned food tonight also. We go back next Friday to recheck her kidney values. That is unless she gets worse. I am so scared she isn't drinking enough or I am gonna miss something. I cry thinking about what is to come.
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
Hello Jilly. Words are hard to come by. I am so very sorry for your loss. Kiri was a real fighter and stayed for as long as she could. You were very brave to help her out of suffering - and it was the right decision at the right time. Kiri had so many years of contentment, happiness and love ... and those are the times to remember. She was a lucky dog, having shared her life with you - and she will never be forgotten.

No more pain now. Run free Kiri.

Huge cyber hugs to you Jilly. You are in my thoughts.

Tony x
Helpful - 0
5919590 tn?1376813493
Hi Jilly

How sad i am to hear of your loss, i know how very hard it is. You did exactly what we did for our beautiful Boston, i had to let him go, my heart was breaking as i wanted to keep him, but he was in agony. How can we let them suffer like that? its not easy and it still hurts me badly 10 months on. You have gave Kiri all the love and help you could, she was so lucky to have had that love from you. My heart goes out to you Jilly, i am crying writing this. The grief is going to be tough, i still grieve badly for my 'baby', and its because of all the love they gave us and the bond we have with them is why we grieve so hard. Thinking of you at this very awful sad time. Kiri is out of suffering now, i know this is not the result you wanted but its the kindest. Please keep me posted how you feel, Tony helped me alot, and this forum has helped my grief, realising i am not the only one to love our dogs with absolutely every inch of our hearts .Hugs xxx
Helpful - 0
7909476 tn?1396470900
Sorry I have not been on for a while....I tried so hard not to think about the inevitable and managed for a week to not think "when" or read about what was to come.
With a broken heart, I write to tell you we helped our beautiful little Kiri to leave her sick body at 6.30 this evening.  She is lying in her bed on her favourite place on the couch at peace, until we take her in the morning to be cremated.  I will stay with her downstairs all night long - I do not want her to be alone :(
It became harder and harder to get food down her and she seemed weaker last night.  The smells from her body only indicated the acidity and toxins that must be causing her so much discomfort.  I explained in an earlier post how she suffered in her first few weeks of life and we would not let her suffer at the end.  I feel sick myself right now and if this is how she has felt since going off her food...I am relieved we let it go on no further.
I implore anyone with a loved 4 legged furry baby with this awful disease.....do not let them suffer until the end....please.
Thank you all for your support and help with reading so many posts, so I knew what was to come.
I no doubt will be flitting in and out of here and the grief sets in harder.  
For now love and thanks,
Jilly x
Helpful - 0
5919590 tn?1376813493
Hi Jilly

Glad to hear your Kiri's eating a little better, my Boston did that, seemed to be better all of a sudden, but then deteriorated again after a week. I hope this isn't so with your baby. I have thought about you and how you must be feeling, the emotions are so up and down. Cherish everyday you have with her, its just so sad our most loving fur babies don't live as long as us. I hate my life without Boston, and was very distraught, but sharing my feelings with Tony (on this site)  helped me so much, he was my saviour and i will never forget the help and comments he gave me. My thoughts  are with you. good luck to you and most of all Kiri x
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi Jilly. Day by day is the right way to look at things ... and it's so good to know you are gaining some happy times with Kiri. My older best friend, Giro, now 10yrs, snores louder than any dog I've ever known. He makes me giggle sometimes and you're right, it's reassuring and satisfying hearing the sound of such contentment. Have a lovely evening.

Tony x
Helpful - 0
7909476 tn?1396470900
Not run quite as much today - but has eaten far more than the last few days put together.  Despite me cooking her what I thought she'd really love, even my husband liked it....she turned her nose up and wanted the "Cesar" food again, although tonight she had some steak which we were having!

In fact on Saturday when speaking to the nurse at the vet hospital for advice, I told her she wants exactly what we are eating....so the nurse said "Well then you eat the Renal prescription diet!" she gave me the first laugh I had on the weekend.

She's done well again today :).  Hopefully now for tomorrow.  Day by day!!

It's just wonderful to hear her snoring on the couch :)
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Dogs Community

Top Dogs Answerers
675347 tn?1365460645
United Kingdom
974371 tn?1424653129
Central Valley, CA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.