We let our Dog go peacefully without treatments for CKD did we do the right thing.

[REGGIE04]

My 13 yr old Cardigan Corgi died 08/20/17 after a bout with pancreatitis, kidney failure and a enlarged prostate. About 2.5 weeks in total start to finish. Vet said he had small kidneys from xrays. Prostate was restricting urine a little. I noticed little changes before he was sick lost a little weight slow down a little .
But he could go all day no excessive urination or frequent peeing or accidents. He did have a slight shivering we noticed only lasting a few seconds maybe a month or two before.. We didn't do iv fluids because if he did
survive he still had prostate prob and to weak to be neutered. We made him comfortable and he passed peacefully at home with us by his side. He never had any health issues in his life. I just want to know if I did the right thing to let him go sometimes treatments work or don't work. We always had yearly vet visits and took such good care of him. I wonder if he was taken to vet 6 months before if they could have saved him or kidneys
where to far gone and you cant stop the progression or inevitable. Its so hard to let them go and the guilt. And after seeing people getting all kinds of results some good some only very temporary I don't know if I did the right thing. Blood work showed very high results for kidneys. How long can a dog survive when kidneys are that bad . I know I have been all over with this but just looking for a bottom line answer.

[tonyb286]

Hello. Firstly, let me say I am very sorry for your loss. Losing a best friend is often the hardest of things we go through, so my heart goes out to you.

I really cannot answer your questions, because canine kidney disease is extremely unpredictable, and very different for every dog. It progresses quite slowly at the start - but you may never know when it may have started, because dogs rarely show any symptoms until the kidneys are around 25% remaining in function. So, the only way is to have annual blood and urine tests undertaken of a healthy dog, and from that we have a chance of catching the disease early and making some real improvements in terms of quality of life and longevity.

The later into the disease it is diagnosed, the poorer the prognosis, even with good management and veterinary intervention.

Really there's nothing to be gained by trying to second guess the "what if" questions you have. Because, you will never know the answer - and it's impossible for anyone to tell you one way or the other. In the end, you did what you felt was the best thing at the time, and that's all anyone can ask for. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but not helpful in this situation.

Your dog clearly enjoyed a fabulous life - and it was you that provided them with it. Try not to think of the short sad end phase, but all those many years of adventurous happy memories of times gone by.

Kind regards

Tony

[REGGIE04]

Thanks for the honest answer. All we can do is think of all the good times we had together.