kidney disease dogs uk

Kidney Failure in Dogs

Kidneys are very busy organs that have lots of responsibilities to keep your dog healthy, from removing toxins to maintaining their blood pressure and helping to create new red blood cells. With so many jobs to do, it can be a scary time if you think your dogs kidneys are failing, so lets go through the common symptoms and possible treatment options for kidney failure in dogs with this guide.

Kidney disease in dogs can affect any breed at any stage in their life and sadly, theres no way of predicting which will develop it and which wont. Although theres nothing you can do to actually prevent your four-legged friend from developing kidney failure in dogs, feeding them a good quality diet throughout their life, and providing them with a constant supply of fresh, clean water will help support their kidneys and, if they do develop kidney failure, it could help to slow down its progress.

Weve created this guide to tell you the most common causes of canine kidney disease and renal failure. It is important for you to involve your vet early in its management.

Stages of kidney disease in dogs

In order to offer the help your dog requires, your vet will need to find out what stage of kidney disease they have reached. Theyll do this by running several blood and urine tests, as well as performing a thorough physical examination.

Here are the stages of kidney disease in dogs:

Stage 1

Healthy kidneys do a great job at removing toxins from a dogs body, but when theyre not in a good shape, they will begin allowing waste to build up in the blood.

However, Stage 1 is very early in the course of kidney disease and theres usually no build-up yet. Dogs with stage 1 kidney disease have low level changes like specific mildly elevated parameters on their bloods or physical kidney abnormalities. Most dogs will not show any outward signs during this stage.

Stage 2

This is the stage where waste starts accumulating in the blood, as a result of reduced renal function. Noticeable symptoms are usually mild or even absent in this stage, although your vet may recommend screening for high blood pressure and protein in your dogs urine.

Stage 3

At this stage, blood samples will contain a moderate amount of waste products and clinical signs are usually present. Many dogs will experience high blood pressure, so screening for this is recommended alongside checking for protein in the urine.

Its at this stage that most dog owners will notice that somethings definitely wrong. Dogs will typically show significant clinical signs, including excessive drinking and urination, tiredness, loss of weight, and potentially mouth ulcers and bad breath.

Stage 4

When dogs reach this very serious stage of the disease, their kidneys are no longer able to filter out waste effectively, and the risk of severe clinical signs and acute deterioration is high. At this point, you will need to work closely with your vet to identify the best treatment options for your dog and consider your dogs quality of life if they are very unwell.

Acute kidney failure in dogs

If your dog has acute kidney failure it means that their kidneys have suddenly stopped working properly. This can be caused by something such as an illness or infection, or because theyve eaten something they shouldnt, like antifreeze. Acute kidney failure in dogs may be able to be treated and reversed but could also be permanent, depending on what has caused it.

Chronic kidney failure in dogs

Chronic kidney failure is more gradual and can take months or even years to develop. It can be caused by a number of things including infections and tumours and unfortunately, by the time its diagnosed, its sometimes too late to reverse.

In the early stages of disease, the healthy areas of the kidney take on the extra work that the damaged areas cant do, meaning that healthy parts work even harder than usual. As the disease progresses, and the unhealthy areas start to outnumber the healthy, the workload simply becomes too much and your dog will show signs of kidney failure.

Chronic kidney failure in dogs is a progressive illness that your vet will need to keep an eye on, but it can usually be managed with a combination of medical treatments and a special diet.

Signs of kidney failure in dogs

There are a number of possible signs of kidney failure in dogs and each dog is different so theres no guarantee that theyll experience the illness in the same way, however, the most common symptoms are as follows:

• Urinating more often urine will usually be very diluted
• Increased drinking to replace lost fluids
• Nausea and vomitingdue to build-up of toxins
• Retching orgoing off their food
• Tiredness and lethargy
• Weight loss
• Pale gums
• Mouth ulcers
• Fragile, weak bones

Be careful about trying to diagnose kidney disease yourself, as the signs of kidney disease in dogs can also be a symptom of other illnesses. The sooner you see your vet for a proper diagnosis, the better. Although theres no cure for kidney disease, early treatment will help to relieve the discomfort caused by the symptoms and support your pets kidneys.

Diagnosing kidney disease in dogs

When diagnosing kidney disease in dogs, your vet will start by testing a sample of pee to see if your dogs urine is being concentrated, whether protein is being lost in their urine and if they have any other problems, like an underlying infection. They might also take a blood test to check for specific kidney function, to get an idea of your dogs overall health and to see if the build-up of toxins has affected any of their other organs.

Monitoring the condition

Your vet may ask you to collect a sample of your dogs urine as a part of monitoring their condition. The best time to collect your dogs urine sample is first thing in the morning, ideally in mid-flow. How you physically collect their pee will depend on whether you have a male or female dog but plastic lunchboxes or soup ladles can come in handy! Your vet will probably provide you with a sterile container to store your sample in or you can use a container such as a clean jam jar (any residue can affect the results, so do make sure the container is very clean).

The fresher the sample, the more accurate the tests will be, so try not to delay in getting the sample to your vet.

How long will a dog with kidney failure live?

The lifespan of a dog with kidney failure will vary greatly depending on the severity of the disease and the efficacy of the treatment theyre receiving. When kidney failure is spotted early and managed properly with the correct treatment, dogs can live several years after being diagnosed.

Dog kidney failure treatment

Depending on how severe the symptoms are, dog kidney failure treatment usually consists of a combination of medical and dietary interventions.

Medication

As kidney failure in dogs can impact so many different bodily functions and cause them to develop conditions such as high blood pressure or anaemia, your vet might recommend specific medications to help treat each symptom. Supplements may also be suggested to replace lost vitamins and help to improve some secondary effects caused by the disease. Its important to remember to only give supplements and medications at the recommendation of your vet.

Diets for dogs with kidney failure

Kidney Disease in Dogs

Introduction

The kidneys are some of the most vital organs in our dogs bodies. They constantly filter our dogs blood, removing toxins and making sure that the balance of electrolytes and other vital substances is kept at just the right level.

Sadly, there are many different reasons why our dogs kidneys stop working as well as they should. The most common cause is an age-related degeneration in the kidney, which slowly worsens over time. Other examples of illnesses that can lead to kidney problems include kidney stones, certain infections (such as Lyme disease or Leishmania), cancer, or even a genetic issue with the kidneys in young dogs.

Kidney Disease is the general name for the changes that happen when the kidneys stop working properly.

What are the symptoms of kidney disease in dogs?

There are many different symptoms that can be seen with kidney disease. These include:

• Drinking more
• Urinating more
• Quietness (lethargy)
• Weight loss
• Eating less
• Vomiting
• Loose stools OR constipation

In the early stages, the symptoms may come and go and are often mild. In more advanced kidney disease, the symptoms may be present most or all of the time and may be more severe.

How would my vet diagnose my dog with kidney disease?

If your dog is showing any signs of kidney disease, then your vet will need to examine them thoroughly. This will include feeling around their kidneys for any changes in size or shape.

However, kidney problems cannot be diagnosed just by examining a dog blood and urine tests are needed. If your dog is drinking and urinating more, it is helpful to bring a fresh urine sample with you to your appointment with your vet.

Once your vet has identified that there is a problem with your dogs kidneys, they may also suggest doing some more specialised blood tests, or having a look at the kidneys via ultrasound or x-ray, to try and work out the cause of your dogs kidney problems.

How is kidney disease treated in dogs?

There are many different treatments that can be useful for dogs with kidney disease. However, your dog may not need all of them your vet will tailor the treatment according to your dogs own symptoms.

Treat The Cause

If your vet has identified a cause for your dogs kidney disease, then they may suggest trying to treat this. The exact treatment will depend on the underlying cause. However, if your vet has diagnosed your dog with age-related kidney disease, then sadly there is no specific treatment for this.

Special Diets

If your dogs kidney disease is advanced enough, then your vet may recommend that they try a special diet to help support their kidneys. These diets can help to relieve the symptoms of kidney disease and can help dogs kidneys to cope better for longer, which increases their life expectancy. However, it is important for dogs to only be fed these special diets not any other food or they will not work properly.

Regular Drinking

Dogs with kidney disease need to drink and urinate more often, which means they are prone to getting dehydrated. Always make sure that your dog has clean water available to drink ideally in more than one place, in case one bowl runs out.

It is also best to feed them wet food, as this has a naturally higher moisture content. You can even add a little extra warm water to their food at each meal to increase their fluid intake.

Treat The Symptoms

There are a variety of different medications available that can help to reduce the symptoms of kidney disease. For example, your vet can offer medication to treat your dogs nausea, improve their appetite, or settle any diarrhoea or constipation that they might experience. Its best to treat these things early, so dont hesitate to ask your vet if you feel your dog would benefit from this.

Blood Pressure Medication

Dogs with kidney disease are prone to high blood pressure. Your vet can monitor your dogs blood pressure and will recommend medication if necessary. High blood pressure can cause extra damage to the kidneys, so it is important to treat this quickly and effectively.

Reduce Protein Loss

Some dogs with kidney disease will lose small amounts of protein through their urine. If this happens, then it can damage the kidneys even more, and cause your dog to lose weight more quickly. Your vet can monitor the protein levels in your dogs urine and can then recommend starting an appropriate medication if necessary.

What is the prognosis for a dog with kidney disease?

Sadly, kidney disease in dogs is a life-limiting condition. In one study, the average survival time for dogs with age-related kidney disease was around seven and a half months. However, this is only an average some dogs will live for longer (a year or more) but sadly some dogs will not live even that long.

As you might expect, dogs who have milder kidney disease when they were diagnosed will live longer than those whose disease is more severe. We also know that dogs who are treated diligently and monitored closely for their kidney disease are also likely to live for longer.

Saying goodbye to your dog with kidney disease

It is unusual for dogs who are suffering from kidney disease to pass away by themselves. This means that you and your vet will have to monitor your dogs quality of life carefully and decide when the right time for euthanasia is.

Measuring your dogs quality of life can be very difficult, but there are some questions that you can consider to help you make that decision:

• Is your dog still eating normally?
• Is your dog still managing to go for walks?
• Is your dog enjoying spending time with you and your family?
• Is your dog struggling with the symptoms of their illness?

It is important to weigh up the good and bad parts of your dogs daily life, to try and work out whether they still have a life that is worth living. They may still have some things in life that they enjoy, but if they are spending most of their time feeling sick, then you may need to take the decision to let them go.

It can be very difficult to think about losing your pet, but you may find it easier when the time comes if you have planned and prepared in advance. Consider where you would like your pet to pass away when the time comes, who you would like to be present, and what you would like to happen with their body afterwards. You may wish to discuss these choices with the rest of your family, to make sure that everyone is prepared.

Conclusion

Kidney disease can cause a variety of different symptoms. Sadly, it is often not possible to cure the underlying cause, but there are a variety of treatments available to help manage the symptoms and reduce the risk of complications. It is important to monitor your dogs quality of life closely if they are suffering from kidney disease, as sadly you will likely need to make the difficult decision to let them go when the burden becomes too great for them to bear.