Kidney failure - specifics

[MelissaLovesDogs]

Hi everyone,

I am glad to have found this supportive place even though I hate becoming a member of the renal failure club.  I know there are lots of threads here on renal failure and I am reading them all, but so many seem to lack specifics.  I am hoping someone here can respond to my dog's info and give me some idea if a dog with these numbers has ever stabilized or if I am looking at days of quality time instead of months.  I am also hoping for support here because I am am not very social and I don't have many human friends and I know I am headed for awful awful times.  I am terrified.

My dog's name is Zeus.  He is a big fluffy golden retriever / sheltie mix who loves everyone.  Always happy.  Always the sweetest dog.  He is ten years old.  He has two "siblings", a whoodle who is 9 years old named Gracie, and a small fierce sheltie mix named Pearl.

I did not know Zeus was sick.  He was drinking and peeing more, but I thought that was normal for a 10 year old dog.  Zeus had a stroke as a baby, so he has always been a little wobbly and odd, so I did not notice anything extra odd going on.  He went for a dental Friday (11/15) and it apparently exacerbated an underlying kidney issue.  As I said, I did not know he was sick, so I had not had blood work done before, so I do not know when this all started.  But on that day, 11/15, his creatinine was 5.8 and his bun was 90.  

It has been such a horrible long week.  

He was eating fine until the dental.  Now getting anything into him is such a challenge.  He has high calcium levels so I cannot use Tums, so he started an aluminum phosphate blocker yesterday.  He started Pepcid AC a week ago.  And he has been on anti-biotics.  Those end tomorrow.  I have prescription diet stuff for him, but he will not touch it.  Sometimes he will eat some hamburger and rice, sometimes some chicken and rice, sometimes some limited ingredient duck and potato treats.  But never enough of anything.  I tried adding tripe because I had heard good things, but he does not want that either.  He seems to like eggs, so he gets egg sometimes.  Overall, I would say I am getting about a third as much food into him as I should on a daily basis.

I started SubQ fluids on Friday 11/22.  

All throughout this time, he has had tons of energy, goes for walks, plays with his toys, and seems like himself.  Just not eating.  

He threw up a few times after the dental.  My vet had started him on Enalapril and I do not think he could tolerate it.  I took him off it - with her approval - about a week ago and he has only thrown up once since then.

Can anyone help me get some perspective on this?  Could he stabilize and live a year or two?  Or is that out of the question?  Can I count on him getting some appetite back and at least having his current quality of life for a few months?  Or am I looking at weeks?  I know there is no formula for this, but if anyone has anecdotal evidence of a dog around this age with these numbers doing okay for any length of time, I could use the inspiration.

Also, on of the things that sometimes inspires him to eat is if I call the food "treats" and give these "treats" to his "sisters".  The competitiveness sometimes makes him eat.  Of course, I only give the girls very small amounts while trying to get him to eat larger amounts.  But I am wondering, is there anything about the canned LP diets or about the homecooked stuff that could be bad for my girls if they eat it in small amounts daily?  Usually, they all eat Natural Balance limited ingredient Duck and Potato food.

Thank you for any help you can lend.  I really really appreciate having somewhere to share this.

Melissa

[MelissaLovesDogs]

Thank you, again, for your support.  It really helps.  I am slowly making my peace with things.  In the morning, before Zeus died, I played with him with his rope and I took some pictures.  I am having two of them printed on stretched canvas and they should be here soon.  I want them badly.  I want to see him.  I miss him so much.  I miss my baby.  Thanks for caring.

[tonyb286]

Hi Jane and Sammy. The bad weather has had me up since the early hours, so half asleep but responding to a few MedHelpers ... listen to the advanced warning from Karla (above). You might have gathered from my earlier posts on this and other forums that generally speaking I am not fond of dog breeders. There are many reasons for this, which would take a long time to fully explain, but let's just say that ALL the breeders I have known (and I have met and talked to a huge number) are in it for the money, not the love of dogs.

So, all potential buyers of puppies should approach breeders with extreme caution, ask questions, and have any puppy closely examined, check paperwork, etc. The problem is, if you become over attached to one puppy (like you may have already done) then it may be too late if you find out bad things about the breeder or the litter. Heart over head is not always a good thing, despite it being totally understandable.

I personally would never buy from a breeder. But my main reason for this is there are just so many thousands of abandoned dogs wanting and needing good homes, I always go to rescue centers. I also rarely buy young dogs, because older dogs are left on the shelf to live a life in kennels - and if I can help just one have a few years (sometimes it's been just a few months) of happiness, love and contentment - then so be it.

One other thing, breeders sometimes let their pups go too early. Pups must be with their mothers until 8 weeks old, at the very earliest. This is so the pups get the in-built protection contained in the mother's milk, and it is also essential for their emotional well-being and to learn about being a dog. Any breeder that allows puppies to be sold before this should be considered suspect.

Happy holidays to you both. Tony

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi Melissa,
I am so sorry to hear about Zeus. Please accept my heartfelt sympathy.
I know how difficult it was to make the decision to let Zeus go. My heart hurts for you. Try not to second guess yourself...you knew Zeus the best, and you only always wanted to do what was best for him. Thank-you for giving him such a good life.

I wish every pet in this world could find a loving home. Weegee is a lucky dog to be a part of your family. I am glad to hear that he is entertaining all of you with his antics. Your house is ready for some happiness...and Weegee is going to give it to you...!  Dogs are great.

Thank-you for sharing your thoughts Melissa. It will help so many people who have to make the same decision. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. God Bless Zeus's Beautiful Spirit and Soul.
Run Free Zeus.

Connie

[Misfits4Me]

WARNING: She, (the breeder) should already have had a Vet check (Or 2) on the puppies before they are sold and YOU should be presented w/ A Health Certificate (Signed by Vet). If this is not part of the purchase agreement, RUN!!!!

As an operator of a Rescue, would you please clarify this:

"Each puppy is the same price.  There is far less paperwork to buy chewy than to buy a rescue, which I do understand."

I'm just curious to what this means.....Thanks, Karla  

[tashainpeterborough]

Hello Tony, I guess you are fast asleep right now.  I am on EST.

I just came back from looking at a baby shorkie (shiz tue (sp) yorkie cross),.  He looks like a fluffy stuffed animal that has legs that move.  He was so darn cute.  While I was looking at him, there was another adopter there visiting with their new baby shorkie.  This would be their second dog  from a previous litter.  That previous dog is now 2 and very healthy.   The fact he has come back for another bodes well for my little "chewy.

the owner has the same vet as I.  Even though I have fallen in love with this dog, I am going to get it vet checked, but I am sure he has no  problems.   She is going to meet us there tomorrow hopefully with the puppy.

I was thinking of adopting from a rescue, but I know that those puppies, when they are ready to go, will have no problem finding new owners.  

Each puppy is the same price.  There is far less paperwork to buy chewy than to buy a rescue, which I do understand.  

I did bring Sammy with me and left him in the car.  Mummy dog would not like a male being around her puppies.  But we did bring puppy out to my car to meet Sammy.   Sammy was so sweet, like I knew he would be.  He just sniffed puppy and wagged his tail.  No aggression whatsoever.  I actually think that Sammy will enjoy having a puppy around.

I am going to get a playpen with some sort of lid to protect Chewy from my cats, just in case they think he is a rat or something.  I would worry.

I am excited.   And I am glad Daddy has Tasha.

My daughter is an advanced paramedic who has nearly got her BSc and will be going to med school in the fall.  She explained to me about some of the genetic thing.   Has to do with dominant and recessive genes.   It would seem that both of my yorkies got the recessive genes in this breed. Combined, it was a disaster waiting to happen.  All of my other purebreds, all 4 of them, never had genetic problems specific to their breed like Sammy does and my poor Tasha did.   it was just really bad luck.

And I am so glad that I have your support in this.  Melissa also understands as she now has weegee.

Jane and Sammy and soon to be Chewy.

[tonyb286]

Hi Jane and Sammy. No, you're not crazy thinking about adopting a puppy, in fact, it's a very healthy thing to do. No newly adopted dog is a replacement of one that has gone, because all dogs are so very different. Adopting a new dog is a nice thing to do. All dogs need good homes. Tasha would be proud of you for doing it, I'm sure.

As for pure breeds versus cross breeds ... that's a massive question, and not as straightforward as you might think. It is, of course, all down to genes. Some cross breeds have bad genes, as do some pure breeds - I don't believe anyone can tell you which is healthier, because it is too generic.

Some good breeders know the genetics of their dogs so well that they may be able to say pups from their dogs are healthier. But, all pure breeds also have their own set of genetic problems. All my dogs have been rescue muts, except one from an early age, so I can't say from experience. I can say which breeds tend to have certain health issue traits, but even that is a generalization that some dogs tend to swerve.

It isn't true to say cross breeds get bad genes from both sides, they will get both good and bad genes from both sides, and in some cases they get mostly good, while others might get mostly bad. In fact, dogs are a bit of a lottery - a bit like humans - and sooner or later a bad gene will kick in, regardless.

I personally tend to feel that the most important part of a dog is its personality. Does it appear overtly aggressive? Does it seem to have too much nervous energy? Does it shy away from other dogs and/or humans? While some of these traits may be a result of being abandoned, in which case good homes and good owners might turn things around - others may have genetic issues, which means it will be much harder to socialize these dogs and have them become safe, happy and healthy hounds.

There's an old saying, there are no bad dogs - just bad owners - and I do tend to subscribe to that belief, for the most part.

Hope you have a pleasant day. Tony x