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1832268 tn?1326816010

Canine Kidney Disease Lifespan .....Survey?

When a person is told that their dog has kidney failure, the biggest question is, How much more time can I reasonably expect my dog to live...? Because each dog is different, Veterinarians and the internet, are vague...some say weeks to months...others say months to years.  I hope the information collected here, along with recommendations and guidance from the dogs veterinarian, will offer dog owners helpful information, and realistic expectations. I would like to hear some input from others, as to what information would be helpful.  For example...Breed, Age, Symptoms, Creatine, Bun, and Phorsphorus levels at time of first exam that revealed Kidney Disease, as well as End Stage Symptoms and Lab Values ( if known. )   How Quickly did the disease progress. Did the dog die naturally, or was the death assisted. I think this type of information would be very helpful to anyone and their dog, who has to deal with this disease. I would prefer it, if anyone who offers the information, could refrain from sharing personal stories, and just try to list information. Does anyone else think this is a good idea....or not...?  Please share your thoughts with me.....Thanks
Connie
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17005792 tn?1452982808
My Coton de Tulear started being a bit lethargic and stopped some of his daily habits such as playing with his toys.  I also noticed a horrible odor in his breath that was getting worse.  After 2 or 3 weeks I took him to the Vet.  He had lost 18% of his body weight since his last visit less than 2 months earlier.  The Vet ran a full blood workup and his numbers were almost off the charts.  He was in full Kidney failure and given 7-10 days to live.  This seemed to come on sooooo fast and was very aggressive.  IV fluids helped make him more comfortable by flushing out some of the toxins, but did nothing to prolong my short time with him.  It was all very fast and little to any notice.
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I'm so sorry, I'm going thru this now
Avatar universal
I think my dog lived with it for 2 years. I think she had it for 2 years because her appetite changed at that time and never recovered. This coincided with Rimadyl use. Avoid NSAIDS. Her labs did not show evidence of CKD until a year before she died. The vet initially misdiagnosed her so after her official CKD diagnosis, she only lived 11 weeks.
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Avatar universal
Just to throw some hope into the mix, my Yorkie Sally was originally diagnosed with kidney failure at the age of four, and at the time, my vet suggested that she might not live to see five. We immediately put her on NF (similar to KD) and her numbers went down and stayed down. She is now almost 14! Today she had her first bad labs in almost nine years, BUN 85, Creatinine 2.8. She has lost some weight recently, going down from a steady 5 pounds to about 4.3. Other than that you would never know there is anything wrong with her. She is literally the light of our lives and we are putting her on a phosphorous binder and will try subcutaneous fluids. The vet said she has lasted longer than any other dog he has ever treated, but that does not mean we are giving up now. We will monitor her carefully and let her decide. I believe that when it is time, she will let us know.
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My 2 year old cockerpoo has just been diagnosed with kidney failure. We appear to have caught it early as two days ago bloods were fine, next morning not and he was put straight on iv. He seemed better last night but is returning to the vet to go on the iv again as he deteriorated overnight. They have also discovered pancreatus. This has all blown up following a diagnosis of dyspagia of his hip for which he was operated on 3 weeks ago. Im devestated and so worried we might lose him. In this country there is not much dietrary products that would be good for him
Avatar universal
our 10plus yr old pup was diagnosed with crf last month. Very lethargic. Creatinine was 2.0. One month on Hills KD has dropped it to 1.3 and brought back her energy and lessened her thirst (this is not a Hill's commercial, just stating fact). I'm cautiously optimistic that we have prolonged her life though everything I've read suggests she will decline with time. We've haltered her suffering temporarily, hope she can enjoy several more months / year.
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Avatar universal
My Shih tzu, Skye was 12 years old when he was first diagnosed with renal kidney disease.

It all happened when he was vomiting bits and pieces of dog food with blood in it. The puke looked like watery breakfast cereal with dark colored blood. Brought him to the vet and ran the usual blood tests. Came out that his kidneys are failing. He was puking blood and wrenching many many times a day, his red blood cells level dropped to dangerous levels. Vet and I thought he wasn't gonna make it. But after the 3rd day of hospitalization and daily IVF, the vomiting miraculously stopped and he was keeping his food down. Brought him back home and changed his food to a renal diet as prescribed by the vet. He was doing fine after that, eating, playing just like a 12 year old dog would. Been feeding him brown rice(for protein) mixed with royal canins KD diet wet dog food. In retrospect, all these might have been caused by a particular brand of dry kribbles that I've started feeding him prior to this. He was pooping small little tarry black stools that was a sign of intestinal bleeding. If I've known that dry dog food is that harmful to dogs I would have started cooking him boiled human food with veggies daily instead.

Fast forward a year later, Skye went blind in both eyes. Not only was he blind, one morning, I found him peeing excessively all over the place and his pee was really diluted, watery transulent non yellowee kind of pee. He was also guzzling loads and loads of water and peeing more than usual. He was also constantly in a daze and walked in a drunk manner. With frequent falls and difficulty in getting back. Perhaps this was caused by the build up of toxins due to his kidneys failing. Brought him to the vet and my suspicion that his kidney problem was acting up was right. Blood tests showed that his kidneys values were bad and his kidneys have progressed to stage 2 or 3 of kidney failure. Everything went downhill from here. Started back on the IVF subQ drips daily but it seems like it's only delaying the inevitable. It's been 2 months on the daily subQ treatment but Skye wasn't improving. He started developing a Urinary tract infection and constantly yelping in pain and was hunching in a weird position.

The worst happened when he didn't eat nor drink for a week and was seen hovering his head above the drinking bowl as though he was thirsty but he didn't drank. He was also dis interested in any kind of food even his favorite ones. Skye was also having trouble peeing, with a slow trickling drip every time he pees. He could stand stationary at a spot for 5 minutes just to pee. Besides looking disoriented, he started having problems with his left hind leg and couldn't stand up to pee and was mostly immobile unless I assisted him up. This could have been due to a slipped disc or muscle wastage as his weight had dropped to a mere 3.8kg from 4.9kg. Every time he tried getting up he had much difficulties and was yelping as a signal for my assistance. I even found him in his pool of pee one morning as a result of his incontinence. Skye was severely unhappy and his yelping was getting softer because of his low energy levels. He was clearly distressed over his state of health and wasn't enjoying life any more. That was a blank look in his eyes.

Took him back to the vet to seek a glimmer of hope but was advised to put him down. After a couple of days, we did what was best for him by putting him to sleep. Freeing his doggy soul from his weak doggy body that was clearly breaking down. I will definitely miss the 13 years of companionship that he has given to me and also to my family.


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1 Comments
I just found out that my teacup yorkie who is 10 months old has stage 1 kidney disease. The vet recommended switching her to a prescription dog food which I am going to do immediately but I want more information. I know I will not get the years I wanted with her but how fast is the progression in kidney disease? Do we have months? do we have years? I don't know. First dog I have owned and I have fallen in love with her like my own. I am not ready to see her get sick and lose her. Any information would be much appreciated
Avatar universal
Our 11 year old beagle, Libby, was diagnosed last week Wednesday.  However, I believe she was in significant failure by the time of diagnosis- her BUN and creatinine were very elevated (I don't remember numbers exactly) and her phosphorous was off the charts at the vet.  She hadn't been eating much for several days before the vet appointment, and was lethargic, which is why we took her in.  She had IV fluids and perked up for about 24hrs or so, but still wasn't eating, became more droopy, had diarrhea and bilious vomiting.  Subcutaenous fluids at home didn't help perk her up at all, and she still wouldn't eat, so couldn't get any meds in her either.  We made the heartbreaking decision yesterday that she had reached the end of her time with us, and so today we will be saying goodbye to our sweet Libby.  I know in my heart it's the right thing to do, as she is obviously uncomfortable and disinterested in food, water, and even us, but it doesn't make it easier.  From diagnosis to having to put her down is less than a week, unfortunately.  In hindsight, there probably were some signs earlier, but were chalked up to her age initially.  
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1 Comments
I am very sorry for your loss. Early diagnosis is the key to success when managing the disease, and that usually means annual blood and urine testing to identify changes at the earliest opportunity. My own dog, BB, died in a similar way, after being diagnosed only 3 days earlier - the deterioration was like watching someone jump off a cliff edge. That was 5 yrs ago and I now know far more about the disease, how to identify it and how to manage it, thanks to years of reading and taking part in canine kidney disease forums and user groups.

Tony
Avatar universal
My dog Sadie has kidney failure.  She was diagnosed in April.  I saw the vet 2 days ago and he said kidney failure is an awful disease and irreversible.  He told me to take Sadie home and if she did not eat and was throwing up that I should bring her back in 2-3 days to put her to sleep.  I am saddened by this since she has been my shadow, a Yorkie trait, for 10 years.  As I have watched her these last days I know her quality of life is zero.  She has a small cough all of the time now and I cannot watch her suffer.  I will take her in tomorrow and put her to sleep and she will be at peace.  I would like to note that my vet was honest with me and said that there was nothing to be done to increase the length of her life and it is an insidious disease.  The pet suffers no matter what you do.  He was honest with me and I appreciate that.  I guess I am lucky because he gave me a time frame not that it makes it any easier to let her go.  P.S.
  Watching her these last 3 days I realize that it would be selfish to keep her living.  She is suffering and could have back pain, and her lungs probably are filling with fluid due to cough.  You need to ask yourself if this is what you want for your sweet, loving, devoted pet.  I will miss my shadow but I know in my heart that it is the responsible thing to do as a pet owner.  
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1 Comments
SadieLa ... Sorry to slightly disagree with you - not related to your own situation - but to others that may be reading these posts.

While chronic kidney disease is not curable and is progressive, we are often able to extend lifespan AND improve and sustain a good quality of life for months and sometimes for a year or two. It takes early diagnosis, good pro-active management, commitment and expertise ... but it is achievable.

Using euthanasia is not always the necessary first step and can be delayed, if management and treatment is intensive and both owner and vet are onboard. Owners are best advised to get all the facts, take on board what your vet tells you and consult widely for a second opinion. Armed with all the facts (including all blood and urinalysis reports), an owner can make an informed decision.

Tony
Avatar universal
Oh boy, none of this is very encouraging. Our 2 yr old standard poodle became suddenly sick. Rushed him to the emergency room. He spent 3 days there on iv fluids & his CR levels hit 6.8 . I took him home when they dropped to 4.4, BUN 88. They've dropped to 2.2, he's now eating & has energy back, which is very encouraging. We're down to a 1.2 litre bag of fluid a day...until his next test. We're over $6000 into this to date & they still can't tell us what the heck caused this. They're thinking it's Leptospirosis, but can't confirm that until they find antibodies present in his blood, hopefully by next week. I'm beyond heart-broken & thought for sure he was going to die. I'm cooking for for him now & have everyone I know praying.
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3 Comments
Lepto is a common cause of Acute Renal Failure, so it's very possible. It would be useful (once your dog is back to good health) to have all blood levels repeated, have a urinalysis undertaken and an SDMA test (Idexx Labs). This will help your vet decide whether the renal issues have developed into a chronic condition. This is important, because if it has become chronic, symptoms may not show ... but the condition will continue to deteriorate until it becomes severe. What I'm trying to say is, please have the tests done, because if chronic kidney failure is present, it is best managed early to prevent a very fast deterioration.

If Lepto is not the cause, then pay close attention to what you may be feeding (poor quality foods, and dry foods in particular, can contribute to kidney failure). It's also worth thinking about any toxic chemicals you may be using inside and outside your home, as these too will cause the disease, if they are consumed). Finally, it may be congenital, in which case an ultra scan of the kidneys may be helpful to achieve a diagnosis.

Tony
I'm so confused and angry with my vet right now. I took my dog in about 6 wks ago because she threw up all night (20) times. They did blood work because they said blood flow didn't sound right in heart. I went in for results and they said stage 3 kidnew disease. Maybe 3-6 months. Also has mouth disease,can't do surgery on mouth because of kidney disease. Was in shock and devastated. Took her in yesterday, blood work on kidneys, checked urine. They said blood,urine normal,that being dehydrated caused the bad counts before. How could they be so bad, then nothing. No kidney disease? I feel so jerked around,angry and confused. I'd read up on symptoms,how to care for her end stage, and preparing myself. She does that shaking her whole body a lot, shivers off and on during a day, she's blind for a yr but seems little more disoriented. She did get happy, friendlier and wants to eat all the time again. Does anyone think it's possible the awful blood work had to come from dehydraton? Thanks..for Chloe.
Don't give up hope, my dog was diagnosed with lepto about 6 weeks ago and her creatinine became 6.1 but with fluids and antibiotics she came down to 3.1.  We are doing fluids twice a week and cooking chicken or hamburger and rice and she is loving watermelon (seedless) and cucumbers which have water in them.  She is 6 years old.
Avatar universal
To the best of my knowledge, it's only prescribed by veterinarian's.
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Avatar universal
To the best of my knowledge, it's only prescribed by veterinarian's.
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1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi. Firstly, I am sorry for your loss. I do however have to correct your statement "This is wrong to give a dog protein. Protein makes kidney disease worse." ... which is not correct. In fact, proteins are absolutely essential for most dogs with kidney disease, as it provides vital energy. The important thing about protein is the TYPE of protein - in kidney disease, it must be high quality (so human grade meats and poultry). Protein restriction down to about 8% of a meal is generally advised when the disease reaches stage 3 and 4, but in stages 1 and 2 adequate protein of about 15%-18% of the daily diet is recommended.

Tony
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Avatar universal
I am sorry that your dog is sick. I hope your dog will respons well for all the medications. On Valentine's Day I lost my baby Lili, she was a Yorkie 12 years old,  and she suffered for chronic kidney disease diognosed 10 months ago, I had to put her to sleep.  It's terrible disese. I still feel guilty of that decion, but I couldn't stand the look how she suffered last days.
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Avatar universal
My fourteen and a half year old Pekingese was diagnosed with kidney disease and pancreatitis. The Vet had said I could put her in the hospital with IV fluids and make her comfortable. My little girl was throwing up bile every morning as soon as she would drink her water. Her tail was down. I tried chicken and rice and all of her favorite foods. I loved her with all my heart. Letting her go was the kindest thing I could do for her. I have read many blogs and many posts. I have read posts that pet owners are willing to spend every penny in their bank account to keep their pets alive. Many Vets count on that fact. Loving a pet is knowing when to let them go and do what is best for them. It really isn't fair to a pet to keep them going just because in this day and age we can even though deep down we know they are not comfortable and there is no cure. I miss my baby so very much but I loved her enough to not make her suffer. I wasn't going to stick her with needles and force feed her. She deserved to leave this world with compassion.
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1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi.

I have replied on the other thread you posted to.

Tony
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Avatar universal
He is vomiting too much, today mostly yellow thick stuff. Assuming it is bile? I don't know what to do. We are really worried now. What can we do?
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Avatar universal
Hi Tony. The vet has started administrating Intralipids to my boy since yesterday. He is still vomiting, and although our vet is giving him anti-vomiting injection, it doesnt seem to help much. He vomits a little bit about 4-5 times a day, and its white foamy stuff  (Sometimes yellow). Last night, he urinated a little on his bed. That said, he urinates about 4-5 times a day and quite a bit.

He drank water by himself today, but he's getting very weak. His hind legs are weaker and he gets tired easily, even after walking some steps. His vital stats are normal, as per our vet. His blood test is tomorrow, and we are hoping that the reports are good.

What do you think? Really hoping the disease stabilizes.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the prompt response, Tony.

Tomorrow will be his Day 2 of IVF. My boy isn't technically hospitalized, and we take him to the vet in the morning and evening for IVF. Our vet is providing the nourishment through the IV feed, he told us of that. The blood isn't present in his vomit or stools, though he is vomiting bile. It isn't much, but he vomits a little at least twice every day. We put up in India, so he has asked us to arrange Lipid Infusion, if possible from the United States.

I've joined the group, thank you so much!
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1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi. First of all, please join the CHRONIC KIDNEY FAILURE IN DOGS User Group here on MedHelp. It's where you'll get lots of info and support from owners in a similar position as you. It's also where you will find me most days.

IV Fluids are the first line of treatment for kidney disease. But it's not enough on its own. Ask your vet to teach you how to perform SubQ fluid therapy at home. This helps continue the benefits of fluid therapy, but it's also better for your dog because they are under less stress from being at home instead of at the vets.

The blood is likely to be from ulcers along the gastric tract. There are several ways of treating these, including a dessertspoon of chopped cooked green leaf cabbage every day (for a dog that is eating okay). If a dog isn't eating, then your vet should consider the best medicinal options while also considering the kidney disease.

If the vet has said no food then how is the dog getting nourishment? I assume through the IV feed? Please check. Without nourishment, your dog will go downhill rapidly. Nourishment is needed for energy and to fight the kidney disease and any potential infection.

Yes, your dog can improve (although kidney disease is ultimately fatal) and may live for a longer period and even for a year or two with a reasonable quality of life, as long as the kidney disease can be stabilized. Time will tell.

Once the IV fluid therapy is finished, it is vital the vet performs a blood pressure check and assesses the urine for specific gravity, any UTIs, and protein leakage. If there are any UTIs, a culture and sensitivity test will be needed BEFORE any antibiotic is given.

Keep me informed how things go.

Tony
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1916673 tn?1420233270
I have only just seen your message. I don't always get the time to look at the general forums, I'm very sorry. Yes, kidney disease is all too fast sometimes, partly because dogs tend not to show symptoms until it's too late. If you still need support, please join the CHRONIC KIDNEY FAILURE IN DOGS User group here on MedHelp. That's where you will find me most days.

Tony
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Avatar universal
My dog's a 10 year 3 month old American Eskimo who has been diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. He is not doing well at all, it started with his feeling lethargic, and then he started vomiting blood and had bloody stools. The vet gave him IVF, and the blood stopped. We got some blood work done, and his creatinine was 1.4 and BUN was 14. He then started vomiting bile, and when we got blood work done a week later, his Creatinine shot up to 4.5 and BUN to 68. The vet is giving him IVF again, and has asked us to hope for the best. He is still vomiting a little, and our vet has asked us to keep him off food completely. What would you recommend? Is there any coming back from this? I can't bear to see his pain.

Thanks so much.
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1916673 tn?1420233270
If owners have dogs with kidney disease, please consider joining our special group here on MedHelp ... the CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE IN DOGS User Group. Lots of info, help and support from experienced dog owners.

Tony
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Avatar universal
how do you give activated charcoal?
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Avatar universal
Hello, I would like to know how your dog is doing now? We expect my dog to begin having it. Any tips? Advice? things we can do? He is a 15 year old toy poodle.
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1916673 tn?1420233270
Hi. I firmly believe our dogs tell us when the time us right. It's a secret message they give to the ones they love. And it's all in their eyes and the glances they give you. I know today will be a very sad and traumatic day. Take comfort in the fact you did your very best for your boy and gave him some extended lifespan by helping him.

Tony
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