Kidney Failure

Question:
 My lab was recently diagnosed with Kidney Failure. I guess there kidney level is suppose to be around 2 and his (as of yesterday) was 4.6. It dropped one which is better then getting worse. He's been at the hospital for a few days and my family and the vet are thinking it would be better if we brought him home. He'd be happier and we can provide him with all the medicine he needs here. Were also gonna start administering Sub-Q Fluids for 10 minutes twice a day.
The vet also said that diet was a HUGE play in him getting somewhat better. He recommend a prescibed wet-food that they've been using at the hospital but thats somewhat exspensive so we might try a dry-food that the vet also recommend.
What I'm trying to ask is what are some of you alls results with Sub-Q and is there anything else you can recommend we put in his food (ex:Omega 3 fish oils, etc.)?
Thanks and feel free to PM if thats easier.

Answer:
 You need to monitor his BUN and Creatinine levels to see how the CRF is progressing. It sounds like your vet is not up on the latest treatments if he thinks diet (and I am assuming he means low protein) is the only treatment besides fluids. A dog with CRF probably needs to be on the following (and this is based on the research I did for my old mix, Sam, who lived with CRF for over 3 years):
Calcitriol (considered by some to be a CRF miracle drug)
Omega 3
Blood pressure medicine
possibly a phosphate binder if phosphorous level is high
CoQ10
Pepcid or similar if having trouble eating (taken 30 minutes before dinner)
I may be leaving off something, but if I am, I'm sure others on this board will chime in.
You probably need to see an internist to get the latest info on treating CRF. Also, join the yahoo group called K-9 Kidneys to get lots of good information.
Don't give up hope because CRF can be managed. Good luck and I'll be praying for you.

Answer:
 Been there and so sorry you are dealing with this. How old is your dog.
Phosphorous is just as important as BUN and Creatinine. So is the specific gravity of the dogs urine.
I did not need blood pressure meds or pepsid in my case. Nor did I need sub Q fluids but it is helpful in some cases.
You need to be feeding a low phosphorous dog food (even if levels are normal I would still do this). I fed Royal Canine Maxi Mature 26 which is only .6 phosphorous. Not the best food but not all bad either - but the only one I could find that was half way decent with low phos. Now this was back in 2003 to 2005 so you may find better foods now with low phos. Should be below 1.
I fed this with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of cooked chop meat in each meal and equal amounts of rice or pasta or canned pumpkin to balance the diet. You need to feed higher (good quality)protein percentage to a dog in KF. It is no longer recommended to feed low protein for KF. Your dog may go off rice and then you switch to pasta or pumpkin and so on.
Crushed egg shells at 1/2 tspn per pound of added protein (chop meat or the like) to dog food is used for binding phosphorous in the added protein. The kibble already has the right amount of calcium in it.
Also, go to www.dogaware.com and look under kidney disease for holistic supplements and what I mention above. This site is wonderful and helped me tremendously with my girl who lived with KF for 1 1/2 years and was comfortable till she was 16 and anemia made my decision in the end, not the KF.
Be sure and monitor blood work every 3 to 4 months or sooner if necessary. And be sure to have the vet fax you results for your records so you can keep up on it.
If you are interested in the food I mention you can see it at www.petfooddirect.com Petco used to carry it and may still.
Prayers for your baby and please keep us posted.

Answer:
 Also want to mention to be careful of feeding veggies. They are very hi in phosphorous.
I would eliminate veggis from a KF dog's diet.

Answer:
 Some of the new prescription diets IVD or hills can work miracles on kidney dogs. The ingredients usually sound horrible but the dogs really do well on them. A friend a work's dog lived to be 17 when placed on k/d diet at 12.

Answer:
 I am sorry. I don't have much advice. What Patty/Breeder and Kpowell sounds great. I don't think you should put him on the food at the vets office. The food is usually not good at all. All vets only usually sell the food they have in there office. They also only take 1 class on nutrition in vet school and it is taught by a science diet hills rep. :( Good luck with him. I hope you find something that works for him. :hug:

Answer:
 I am so sorry to hear about your Labby...he is a beautiful boy!
You have received some really good advice here.
I also wanted to mention that Salmon Oil also works wonders to help support healthy Kidney function.
You may want to ask your Vet about this great supplement from Nutramax Labs. called "Welactin" which is Salmon oil based. You can only purchase this through your Vet. I gave it to my senior Sheltie for a long time and he improved tremendously!
Here is a link for you:
http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/products...ness_welac.asp
Good luck to you and I will keep your baby in my prayers.

Answer:
 Oops, I didn't realize that this is an old thread. I am hoping the OP comes back and lets us know how her Lab is doing.

Answer:
 Old or not, it still has some really good information that we should all keep in mind. :thumb4:

Answer:
 Okay, this is Briana. Masons owner. I just wanted tot hank everyone for all the advice. I made a new account because sadly we had to put Mason down two months ago and I couldn't bare to go on the same account. I hope thats not against the rules, but i've been grieving really bad. =(
He got anemia REALLY bad and couldn't even lay down. He wouldn't eat and he started to "drip". One night I came home from a school dance and I knew it was time. He was laying on the front lawn and didn't wanna come inside. He just layed there for hours and I layed next to him. My parents carried him up the stairs and brought him inside. He was pacing back and forth and wouldn't lay down and when he did he'd jump up really quick shortly after, as if he was in pain. My dad picked him up and layed him down on his bed. He was breathing VERY heavely and looked at us in way that we knew inside, he was just PLEADING to go. I layed with him for a while and kissed him goodnight and went up to my room to bed. The next morning I woke up and my mom said she had rushed him to the emergency room in the middle of the night and made that difficult decision. The vet was amazing and she said his quality of life at this point, just wasn't good. The next day my grandfather went and picked him up at the vet and burried him in our backyard were he grew up.
I don't want to get into too much detail because its making me cry. =(
We did adopt two-year old male Lab about two weeks after though which you will be reading LOTS about in the forums.
-Briana

Answer:
 I am so very sorry for your loss, Briana. :tissue: