Signs of kidney failure

Hi everyone, I just want to ask if anyone has a dog that was or is diagnosed with kidney failure? If so can you please help?

Pippin has CHF and is on Vetmedin, Cardallis and 20mg of Frusemide per day. He is 10 and 1/2. We have him since he was 9 weeks old and he toilet trained quickly and since then has never peed in the house. When he first started Frusemide he did pee in the house once or twice but hadn't after that and he is on it a good while now. He is also on Phenoleptil was PB,since he was 5 yrs old.

A few months back he started having the ODD accident indoors, then a about three weeks ago he had a lot one day and then was peeing blood. A trip to the vet and a UTI was the cause, after a course of antibiotics and anti inflammatory meds, he was fine.

Two days ago more accidents (a lot) and drinking loads of water, he has increased his water intake recently, with no change in diuretic meds.

My vet is away, but the other vet in the practice thinks not a UTI this time, which I suspected as no blood, no straining to pee and lots of quite clear pee everytime he goes . We stopped the Frusemide to give his kidneys and bladder a break. He is due to start back on them tomorrow, at 10mg and then after a day or two back to 20mg, which is quite low anyway, he still has some diuretic in the cardallis at the moment. Today the peeing and drinking has eased a bit. The vet I seen suspects his kidneys are being compromised and may be showing signs of failure. He does sleep a lot, but while awake he is active, in good form and still hungry for food and eating well.

Can anyone who has experience of this tell me how it started with their dog?
It is very worrying at the moment...My own vet will be back next week so we will see her then, unless of course symptoms change or worsen.

Thanks for reading xx

Hi Theresa
No experience Im afraid but just wanted to say Im thinking of you and praying Pippin improves.
I would think that the vet needs to do bloods to establish what his creatinine levels are which would give an indication of his kidney function.....could you at least get a blood test done so when your vet comes back at least he'll have something to work on?

Fingers crossed for you....glad Pippin still has a healthy appetite anywayicon_whistling

I've known a dog with kidney failure and have a cat with it. Excessive drinking and a lot of peeing, and a tendency to UTIs, are all possible signs of kidney failure. There is a risk of it on these meds but also, older animals have a risk of it anyway. They should be able to tell pretty easily and quickly from blood tests.

If he's in kidney failure the good news is that this can be managed to a reasonable degree much of the time with a special diet and meds. Vets generally prescribe Hills but MaxiZoo do a lower cost option of both wet and dry for dogs and cats. You can also get Hills more cheaply from Zooplus.ie. Kidneys generally can function for quite a while at reduced capacity.

There'd not be any reason not to just have the tests done as this is surely what your own vet will do anyway -- takes 5 minutes to get the blood sample and then results are ready in a couple of hours. Maybe he should be moved off frusemide to torsemide as well, which doesn't have the same association with kidney and liver failure and is a more efficient diuretic. I'd want to do the tests asap as leaving a dog off a diuretic can cause problems on the heart side.

Any dog on frusemide should be getting blood tests to monitor kidney function every 3-6 months to try and catch any signs of failure early on, according to the excellent and detailed info on www.cavalierhealth.org.

Thanks Karlin and Mel. I am starting the Frusemide again tomorrow and my vet will do bloods on Monday, he had bloods done a while ago which showed decreased kidney function but nothing to serious and was due to have bloods repeated next month.

He has a certain amount of diuretic in the Cardallis too. The other vet said no need for blood tests until I see my regular vet, and she is not very approachable (the other vet, although she is good, I can't seem to strike a rapport with her).

My vet is brilliant but she moved practice recently to a smaller setting and for continuity and trust reasons I followed her. She has given me her private number and never minds me calling but she is out because a family member has had recent heart surgery, so I do not want to disturb her.

I will ask about the other diuretic you mention Karlin and thank you, I had not realised there was an alternative, the other vet did say she didn't want to change anything herself...

He seems more settled today but I think tomorrow may be different when the frusemide is introduced again.

I've had many past dogs with kidney disease and one current 14 year old with kidney disease and heart disease.

As well as blood chemistry (I'd run a full panel with CBC) a urinalysis is important in order to diagnose and stage kidney disease. Kidney disease will show up in a urinalysis long before it shows up in blood chemistry (kidneys are only working about 25% by the time creatinine is elevated). You'll need a clean catch of a first morning urine sample (when dog has not had water to drink nor has urinated in about 8 hours hopefully). The USG (urine specific gravity) shows how well the dog is concentrating urine, and that value will tell if a dog has kidney disease. However, this must be a first morning sample. Urinalysis also gives important info that will diagnose a urinary tract infection and whether or not protein is being lost from the kidneys (another type of kidney disease). That information will determine what treatment and meds are necessary.

Unfortunately, torsemide and furosemide have the same effects on kidneys - torsemide is not better than furosemide in that respect. There was a lot of discussion about this recently in kidney and heart online groups with links to veterinary research papers. I can copy and post if people want to read these.

I agree with others who say to go ahead and run blood tests. Also, the first signs of kidney disease that I saw with most of my dogs was anorexia.

Pat

Thanks Pat. Yes -- anorexia -- forgot to mention that. That's the case with my elderly cat (15 years old) -- she started to get quite gaunt. They did urinalysis on her, too.

Cardalis has prilactone, another diuretic -- Leo was on that, too.

Killian has some signs of kidney disease. Blood work will show what levels are or not elevated. Previous replies are correct about creatinine levels and kidney function. Can also look at the BUN and potassium levels as well. One way to help correct/help the kidney is to lower protein input and increase carbs. This could be potatoes, yams, rice or even pasta. We make our own food so it was easier for us to adjust his meals. This has helped Killian. His potassium is back into normal range and both BUN and creatinine levels dropped. This is only a suggestion that might help. Every case is different and finding that creative adjust that works could be tricky. Start by adjusting a certain percentage and keep track or a log your entries.