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kidney failure

I learned today that my 9 yr old kemmer cur is in kidney failure. The vet said that she might live months or maybe a year. I know all of you who loves your dogs appreciate how bad this is. The vet is going to treat her with water injections to help flush her system and gave me some blood pressure medicine to reduce her blood pressure. He also gave me a bag of special kidney failure dog food. That's about all we can do. What has been your experience with kidney failure, what caused it, how long did your dog live.

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happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

Have the dog put down ( I say that with a heavy heart ) it’s gonna suffer don’t prolong it like I did and watch it wither away no good can come out of this unless you can afford a kidney transplant my best dog I ever owned died of kidney failure my dog died within 2 months the vet told me they could somewhat treat cats with a good results but dogs not so, sorry to hear that about your dog

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she is treed

X2 I lost 2 hounds in a year. It is not pretty. I just posted about getting you dogs you are consider buying health check.

I had one at the vets for a look at a lump she had several years ago. Vet said gums were pale & did some blood work. Later got a call at work to bring dog back ASAP because she was in kidney failure. Went back home, got the dog and brought her back to the head vet who told me I must have the dogs mixed up. He said there's no way it's the dog the other vet tested because she didn't even look sick. They weren't too familiar with how well a hound can hide illness or pain. Kidney failure dogs drink a LOT of water but stop eating and waste away so they expected a sickly-looking dog. Anyway, she was really near death and didn't show it a bit. We kept her going with the canned special food and lots of fruits and vegetables. When she couldn't keep up with her need for water I did subcutaneous water injections. When she lost her appetite I coaxed her with tiny bits of food by hand. She was such a hit with the vet's staff they gave her a free treatment of some very expensive stuff to boost her blood (sorry, don't remember the name but it was red and a few hundred dollars a shot) to help her keep going a bit longer. It perked up her appetite and helped a lot. She was in good spirits right to the end, even wanting to "hunt" a bit in the summer heat. After more than a year, closer to two she stopped eating for a few days. She suddenly died at my feet in the kitchen late Christmas eve/Christmas morning. RIP Dottie. You were a good one. I was told by the vets as long as a terminal dog is happy, still eating and not in pain there's no reason to put it down. We never found out what caused it but the vet said it was sudden so probably some kind of toxin, maybe snail bait or something like that. The odd thing is we hadn't used anything toxic on the property.

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Gloria

I lost one several years ago to it. Just started withering away and would eat very little. Finally put her to sleep. Got one now that has started the signs. Started drinking lots of water,loosing weight, hair dull, and loss of appetite. No it isn’t erlichia.

The University of Illinois told me when I had my dog there. That unprocessed protein usually the culprit in kidney failure. I do not feed high protein anymore.

That reminds me, our vets also said protein had to be avoided with kidney failure. You'd be surprised how much hounds like apples, pears, peaches, lettuce, potatoes, oatmeal and pasta.

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Gloria

Been said before. Do they think cougars wolfs coyotes don't eat high protein diets.See them dyin of kidney disease. After reading all the dog food threads on here. I think it is feeds fault. That one post I remember readin about fish meal using a preservative that damages kidneys. Look at most dog feed have it in there. Plus all those added chemicals.

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by arachyd
That reminds me, our vets also said protein had to be avoided with kidney failure. You'd be surprised how much hounds like apples, pears, peaches, lettuce, potatoes, oatmeal and pasta. [/Q thaUOTE]

I have one that loves Cheetoes. I wonder how much protein is in Cheetoes?

I too suspect the preservatives and other chemicals in dog food is causing the problem. I started years ago to give my dogs fruits and vegetables for lunch everyday. They love it and I hoped it would give them a better chance of a long life.

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happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

The feed could be it but could the water also be helping it along , could the chlorine they put in water to make it drinkable and safe for humans be just as devastating as the food in the long run

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she is treed

My vet told me that researchers suspect that a particular bacteria associated with canine gum disease is likely a major cause of kidney failure. He also said that raccoons carry a bacteria that they pass in their urine is also believed to be a cause. So, in a way, a coon dog is hunting it's own death.

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happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

Wild animals don’t die of kidney failure from high protein due to the fact they don’t live long enough to suffer from it. A dogs life expectancy is 8-14 yrs give or take. Something will start to fail sorry to say.

I hope no one misunderstood. Our vet said a dog in kidney failure had to avoid protein, not a healthy dog. Our dog had less than 20% kidney function when she was diagnosed. Processing protein is hard work for kidneys and hers weren't up to the task. Our other dogs get plenty of protein in their diet and are fine.

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Gloria

Back when people started using ivomec in the early 80s they where giving to much a unbelievable amount of dogs died of kidney failure. Foxhounds and Coonhounds where dying off like flies till people learned how to use it.

I think the key is to mix things up I only ivomec in the summer time and use different wormers for round and tape worms etc. I use high protein in the winter and start dropping the protein down as it gets hotter. I also keep my dogs in raised kennels. This seems to work for me I have a 10 year female due to have pups next week she looking good so far.