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Hi there im currently facing the same situation, so unfortunately i dont have any advice... Our family pet Chicco has ben diagnosed with kidney failure. And our vet has advised for her to be put to sleep. I googled kidney failure in dogs hoping there would be some help out there. But it looks like there isnt really, other than to prolong the pain. My heart sincerely goes out to you, im in tears writing my response.
My Jack Russell dog is 14 years old and has been diagnosed with Kidney disease. The vet says he's in medium to high stage (stage 2 and 3). The vet says to bring him into the clinic to stay for 2 days for them to administer fluids, antibiotics, and vitamins to see if his kidney starts working. He did say there is no cure but that he could live longer. The 2 days in the clinic costs about $600 and then whatever program they put him on afterwards, like special diet, sub q fluids, vitamins is extra. To save on cost he said we could administer the sub q fluids ourselves. Did anyone have this kind of experience and about how long does the dog survive? Does this approach really give the dog a better quality of life and for how long? Or is it better to take it's natural course? I appreciate your input. Thanks.
I, too, am sorry to hear what you're going through. It's so hard.
The only thing I can share that might help is if the dog needs to be hydrated, you can give subcutaneous fluids yourself at home. That way, the dog is comfy in its own home. It's very easy, and they will show you how to do it. I did it for my girl toward the end. We would sit on the couch and I would give her her fluids while she napped.
I don't recall whether we were going through liver or kidney failure. I just took one day at a time and kept her comfortable and secure. She hated being away from home, so I accommodated that as best I could.
I gave sub q fluids for several months for my poodle about 12 years ago. It helped her for a while, but it is not right for every dog. I wish the best for all of the dogs. I have faced it twice with old dogs and it is heartbreaking.
I gave sub q fluids for several months for my poodle about 12 years ago. It helped her for a while, but it is not right for every dog. I wish the best for all of the dogs. I have faced it twice with old dogs and it is heartbreaking.
I tried that for my 12.5 yr. old lab in his very last days. The gauge needle was so big and it hurt him. I couldn't bear to do that to him. The vet had given him IV therapy several times and for it to be effective his quality of life by the time spent in a kennel at the vet's was lessened too much.
That is when I knew it was time to let him go. He was suffering be it by the disease or by my efforts to keep him alive. Sometimes the best we can do is to let go.
dogmicky & LinzyUK, you might ask your vets about Procrit injections (very expensive...use Sam's Club pharmacy (USA) for best price). These gave me some extra months (2) with my lab along with the low protien diet he had been on and the IV therapy. Expensive but it helps with the anemia that results from kidney failure. The anemia in turn decreases your dogs energy levels, appetite, etc... . I actually checked into "doggie dialysis" for my lab but found that there are only a few locations in the US that do it and I'd have to live in a hotel 600+ miles away...again a decrease in quality of life for my lab. Quality over quantity is what I chose at the end. Letting him do what he loved until he could do it no longer (April 2010).
Thoughts are with you and your furbabies. Cherish your remaining time together as it is never "long enough".
Last edited by lifelongMOgal; 07-04-2010 at 12:29 PM..
My Jack Russell dog is 14 years old and has been diagnosed with Kidney disease. The vet says he's in medium to high stage (stage 2 and 3). The vet says to bring him into the clinic to stay for 2 days for them to administer fluids, antibiotics, and vitamins to see if his kidney starts working. He did say there is no cure but that he could live longer. The 2 days in the clinic costs about $600 and then whatever program they put him on afterwards, like special diet, sub q fluids, vitamins is extra. To save on cost he said we could administer the sub q fluids ourselves. Did anyone have this kind of experience and about how long does the dog survive? Does this approach really give the dog a better quality of life and for how long? Or is it better to take it's natural course? I appreciate your input. Thanks.
Sorry you're having to go through this. I wrote a long post awhile back about all the thing a I did for my dog Ruby when she was diagnosed with PKD (being a young, very strong dog, we didn't know she was even sick until it was way advanced). There's a lot of info you need, and instad of typing it all out again, I'll just link to my post:
If you can afford it, flushing out his system at the vet's might work and make him feel better. They'll put fluids directly into the vein, so it's faster. At home you'll put it under the skin, on the back usually, and then wait for it to absorb.
Go join the K9Kidneys group listed in that post right away. Quite a few others on here have posted a link to that group. They have the most, best info out there, and because of them, my dog that I brought home to die had one more really good month before she went downhill too much to be helped. Your dog seems to be better off than Ruby was, so he should have more time than she did.
The special diet can help (usually Science Diet K/D) but some dogs just won't eat it. Sometimes you just have to give them whatever they will eat. No matter what you feed, use a phosphorus binder in their food. Dogs don't like some of the things the vet will tell you to use, like liquid antacids from the drugstore, and some have other things in them that cause loose stools in the dog. Get the aluminum hydroxide gel powder from Thrivingpets.com. My picky dog didn't have a problem with that in her food. The owner of Thriving Pets posts sometimes on the K9Kidneys group. Lots of people from the group have bought from him, and I can tell you I have nothing but good things to say about the man and his site. He's extremely helpful.
One last thing. My dog was almost her old self for the last month, with sub-q fluids, phos. binder, and Azodyl (a probiotic). But when she went downhill, she went down fast. But her kidneys were covered with cysts, so she was really seriously ill. Other dogs might not go down so fast. She woke up one morning, and couldn't hold her food down. She threw up everything she ate for the next two days, and by the third day I knew she wasn't going to be able to hold anything down anymore. She would just sit there staring at me with these pitiful eyes. So I took her to the vet and we put her to sleep. She perked up a bit when she got to ride in the car, so I came back beating myself up for about a month, thinking I should have waited, I should have tried harder, I should have done something else... then a few weeks later, someone posted on the K9Kidneys board a message about their experience. They had taken their kidney dog to put her to sleep, feeling it was time, but when they got there, they just couldn't do it. So they took her home. That night, she went into seizures and died a long, drawn out death in a lot of pain, and they had absolutely nothing they could do for her, and nobody they could call at that hour. They said they wished they had stayed at the vet and gone through with it for her, and that they were selfish to bring her back.They felt guilty because she suffered. They wanted other people to know what had happened to them, and to not be afraid if you feel it's time. After reading that, I felt such a relief, because I did know when it was time, but I second guessed myself. They took a huge burden off my shoulders with that post. So, letting nature take it's course is not exactly what I'd do, because kidney disease is painful. Do the things to make your dog comfortable if you can, and watch his quality of life. You can't fix this, you can only manage it. And when it's time, don't be afraid. Be brave for him, and don't let him suffer.
HTH,
mj
Last edited by mjit; 07-05-2010 at 04:21 PM..
Reason: mis-type
My dog, a 13 yr. old chihuahua, was also just diagnosed with the beginning stages of kidney disease. I am doing the sub q fluids. Today I also went to a holistic vet for a consultation and he strongly recommended a "raw diet" which I'm going to try. I have been using the K/D and a lot of the holistic vets don't like it. I will try to slowly mix in the raw (meat mainly). His theory is that dogs need digestible protein, as in high quality raw, rather than cooked undigestible protein. I am going to try it. I also have a glandular supplement for her (Renal support). I also am using a tiny gauge needle for the fluids because the larger needle was painful and this seems to help. It's sad....good luck.
I currently have a 5 year old beagle in kidney failure....granted , he is alot younger than your dog, but I have a few tips that may help...."Jake", my beagle had the 'classic' signs of kf, and we took him to a 24 hr. 7 days a week clinic, and spent and did what we could for him...then transferred him a few days later to our regular vet...where we continued treatments and spent a lot more money, anyway, we took him home to treat with subcutaneous IV fluids and some meds suggested by our vet. He has been up and down, good day, bad day, no vomiting, vomiting, and it has been an emotional rollercoaster! He shivers, is very weak, and tired all the time. Now it is almost a month since the occurence of his kidney failure and he is actually doing better! Not in any noticeable pain... We feed him very small, frequent meals. 2-3 times a day. Chicken, chicken broth, with carrots, zucchini, very soft. He takes Azodyl powder sprinkled on his food when he eats. This is a probiotic, which diverts the toxins from going thru the kidneys to the colon, and therefore the stool. He gets pepcid a/c 2 x's a day for 'acid stomach', and the vomiting has pretty much subsided! Praise God! He does't drink fluids too much at all, but we have to encourage him to.... add a little ginger ale, it soothes the nausea, and mix with only purified water. It's a daily struggle, but it is easing his discomfort and may help him live longer. He is 5 years old as I said, so an older dog may certainly be different... but I am sure some of these tips may help with the comfort!
Well, I am no Vet. All I can share is that things went very wrong with my dog at a young age. I tried everything, to no avail. His body was just not working right. His levels were low in other things and the Vet said his condition was very grave.
Not wanting him to suffer, I had to make a choice. Since there was no way to fix the problem, I had to put him to sleep. Don't get me wrong. It was devastating. Still, it was the only thing left to do.
My advice is to get a second opinion from another Dr. If the consensus is that nothing can be done to save your furbaby, then make arrangements. It is something I thought I'd NEVER be able to do, but it was either that or watch him suffer. I know he is waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge. God knows I did everything possible to save that little guy, but it was beyond my control.
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