early kidney failure

[DeerMother]

Toot (14 yr old basset/lab mix) has been diagnosed as having early kidney failure. The vet wants to try to control this with diet. Iams, Royal Canin or Hills Diet for senior dogs. I'm wondering if anyone has had experience w/ this diagnosis and what I should be expecting. Do I need to prepare myself for his death? Is this something that can be controlled? Is there anything else I should be doing? I love Toot and value the time we've had together. He isn't in pain right now that I can tell and that is my main concern. I want the rest of his life to be happy and comfortable, however long that is.

[Asiago]

I'm sorry to hear this.

There may be an underlying issue that can be addressed and the renal diagnosis may improve. Be sure to receive copies of all test results also in case you wish to seek another opinion, plus it's always best to have copies of test results for your own records.

As per the veterinary diets, they are convenient, but many owners would rather feed a home prepared diet as the veterinary diets tend to have poor quality ingredients (despite the price). They also tend to utilize plant proteins, versus animal proteins. Digesting plant protein is more difficult on canine kidney function (but plant proteins are cheaper to use in manufacturing).

This is from one of my favorite sites regarding diet:

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/kidney-diet/

"Renal Problems

Kidney problems can cover a wide variety of issues. Most health professionals will tell you to reduce protein when renal values are elevated, but in reality, it is the level of phosphorus that needs to be reduced. This means familiarizing yourself with the phosphorus values of different foods. It can also mean increasing fat to add calories. But for the most part, we don’t start a special diet until the values of BUN reach 80, and the creatinine is over 2. And it is important to run tests to try to find out the source of the problem. This would include a blood titer for leptospirosis, blood test for tick borne diseases, a sterile urine culture (long term urinary tract infections can cause kidney problems) and ruling out Cushing’s disease or Addison’s disease. Occasionally I see websites offering herbal and other ‘cures’ for renal disease. Please disregard these. Always get thorough testing done to find out what mode of treatment will be most successful.

For more information on kidney diets and renal information, check out Mary Straus’s excellent website at this link: http://www.dogaware.com

Recipes on homemade diets for renal problems can be found at this link: http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/kidney-diet/

A good list to join to learn more about kidney diets is on the K9Kidney Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KidneyDiet/ "



You may also be able to find a low phos food among the premium pet foods, perhaps the Solid Gold Holisticz line, the fish formulation. It may be something to ask your vet about, if your vet is schooled in nutrition. Unfortunately, most have very little formal schooling in nutrition though.

Another thought, Dr. Strombeck's book Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets has very simple recipes for kidney disease, they are utilized at the UC Davis school of veterinary medicine. I bought my copy on Amazon.com.

Good luck, I hope that your dog's condition improves. Not knowing or having enough info can be scarey but once you talk a bit more with your vet, figure out what exactly is going on, then find a diet you are comfortable with, hopefully you will be feeling better (along with your doggie) very soon.
I can tell how much you love Toot, I hope all works out for you both. Please keep us posted.