Yorkie with Kidney Disease

[sktwirler]

Well we took my dog in yesterday because she was going downhill. She isn't eating today but is drinking.

I got the reports from the renal panel and her levels went way up.

BUN is now at 104 (not the highest for her)
CREA is now at 8.8
Phos is now at 20 (scares me)
Red Blood Cells are normal

We up'ed her almunium hydroxide from .30ml 2 times a day to 1 ml 3 times a day. We are going to the vet tomorrow to learn how to give Subcutaneous Fluids to her. Sounds like it will be once a day but not for sure.

Anyone have any luck with Subcutaneous Fluids??

[Buster Brown]

So sorry to read the sad news. Sending prayers for your baby. We gave our Cat SubQ fluids and it helped.

[Scoobstersmom]

My yorkie survived kidney disease for 26 months. In the end, it was the arthritis and old age (16) that forced us to make the decision. He got daily sub q fluids for 16 of those 26 months. With the fluids, we were able to push his creatinine back down to around 2 and hold it there. It was 1.9 at his last labs before we let him go.


A couple of tips for the sub q fluids. Ditch the monoject harpoon needles that the vet passes out and order some Terumo ultra thin walled needles (we used 21 gauge) from thrivingpets.com. They are tiny and sharp and my lil guy never even flinched from them going in. They're cheap. Use a fresh needle with every stick to make sure the needle is sharp. I always warmed a big fluffy towel in the dryer and cuddled him in it for fluid time, and I always warmed the fluids to body temperature in a big pan of water. Don't get the insertion point of the tubing wet to prevent contamination. I put the whole bag of fluids in a big Ziploc baggie and floated it in a pan of hot water for about 10-15 minutes right before we did the fluids. And find an extra special treat that your baby likes to munch on while you're doing the fluids. We were able to get 100 ml of fluids into our little guy in about three minutes so a few apple slices kept him busy.


That phosphorous is very high and you really need to get that down quickly. It is likely what is affecting appetite. Make sure you always give the aluminum hydroxide with food. And it goes without saying that I'm sure you're feeding low phosphorous foods. Its important to keep your baby eating. Not eating quickly raises phosphorous, so even if you have to syringe feed for now, it is preferable to syringe feed and give the AH, than not eat.


Good luck. Kidney disease is not for the feint of heart, but it can be managed. Sending good thoughts for your baby.


Diana

[ladyjane]

Prayers for you and your baby...

[xmasbaby75]

I had a yorkie that we had to give the SubQ fluids too. We had to keep increasing the dose from once a week, up to about three-four times a week towards the end. She was eleven years old when she passed. The fluids did extend her life for almost a year and a half. I wish you lots of luck.

[oneofakind864]

First of all SO sorry if you are reading this because your dog has kidney problems. It's a terrible and heart wrenching diagnosis to get about your furbaby. And I am NOT a vet or even a breeder. I am just a yorkie mom who went through hell fighting kidney disease and who got my dog to have 5 good, relatively happy years after being diagnosed. I did a LOT of research and spent hours on the computer trying to find how to best deal with all of it. And like I said- I'm sure some might disagree- but my vet would back me up. He has been amazed at the lengths I went to in order to keep my little girl happy. And he was ASTOUNDED at how long she stayed with me before she decided it was time to leave. I have no problem sharing what I learned if it will help even one more yorkie parent to keep their babies feeling good for a little it longer. Hopefully I won't step on anyone's toes who might be more of an "authority".


We caught my yorkie's kidney problems very early. She was only 7 when we got a BUN of 94, creatinine was normal. But we immediately put her on the Hill Prescription diet. She was on that for 2 years before she started getting sick from it and just flat out refused to eat it anymore. THat forced me to make her food for the last 3 years of her life. To make a long tearful story short. She had 5 more good years after her initial diagnosis. She did get sub-q fluids for the last year when the vet determined she was dehydrated and needed some assistance with hydration. As the disease progresses.. your baby will lose his or her appetite. And unfortunately- commercial kidney diets aren't very tempting to most dogs. So you have to get creative. There are several home made kidney diets that consist of a base of rice mixed with chicken or beef, sweet potato, egg whites...the list is very long. But the important thing to know ( and I just found this in reading, research and talking to breeders who are friends of mine) Is most normal doggy diets are pretty high in protein- some as much as 50%. A dog with kidney problems needs to have a diet that is no more than 25% protein. This in and of itself can cause problems. My little girl became anemic and had a strike because her protein levels were too low. So the vet recommended we give her a transfusion and up it to 30%. I asked "won't that burn through her kidneys faster?" And he made a very good point. He said- She can die right now from either a stroke or other complications from the low protein diet. OR you can have her healthy and feeling pretty good until her kidneys go.


The transfusion was a miracle. And when we upped the protein levels she started making red blood cells again and got 6 more good months.


I am posting here because so many yorkie owners will be overwhelmed by the low protein diets out there on the internet. Most of them are OBVIOUSLY for much larger dogs...as in 40 lbs or up dogs. With a breed that is rarely over 10 pounds. Here are some easy ideas that will help your dog keep their appetite and allow you to save time by not having to cook. First of all...most dogs need about 1.25 to 1.75 oz of home made cooked food, or baby food ( which has lots of water in it) per pound of body weight. (this is based on doing the math from the recommended servings of the kidney diets I found and dividing down for my little 3 pound girl) I tried to get her to eat 5-6 oz a day because she was a bit underweight all her life. But I would settle for getting 3.5 to 4 oz in her towards the end. The day she died she was down to 1.5 lbs. So be aware as your dogs kidney disease progresses it is common for them to lose weight. Choosing hi calorie foods as part of the food you make can off set that. Everyone knows pureed mango had a LOT More calories .oz for .oz- than pureed Zucchini- Right? Use your common sense.


if you don't have one- you need to GET a food scale ( that measures oz or grams) so you can control your portions and keep track of how much your baby is eating.


Pick a pureed babyfood that only has the meat and broth (no added salt in the ingredients) You can easily find Chicken, Beef, Ham and Turkey. This will be 25% of your total food weight. For my little girl it was 1 oz.


Then you can use mix of additional baby food or you can add home made add ins like Sweet potato, cooked brown or white rice, quinoa, barley, oatmeal or cream of wheat. Just make sure that these are cooked VERY soft. These are excellent carbohydrates. This should be 50% of the total food weight.


The other 25% should come from fruits and veggies. if you dog need the calories fruits are higher in calories than veggies but that is your call. (Avoid veggies that are high in phosphorus like winter squash or fruits high in potassium like Bananas) Peas, carrots, apples, mango, pear, spinach, applesauce, and so many others are all great. ** if you DO give them a veg with a cellulose coating like peas, make sure you smash them open. Dogs can't digest the cellulose so they can't get the nutrients if the coating isn't broken.


Or you can use Baby food that has blends of Apple, Pear, Spinach, peas...whatever. Just make sure there is no ONION in any of the baby foods you select and keep a close eye on salt, phosphorus and potassium. If your yorkie also has trouble with teeth and tender gums.you can actually use 75% baby food veggies and fruits in whatever combo you like. Some good ones that my little girl loved are
Pear Spinach
Pea
Peas and Carrots
sweet potato and sweet potato blended with anything
Apple blends
Beets ( in moderation)
Turkey, cranberry, apple
Mango puree
peach puree
and some of the cereal blends


Babyfood makes it easy to change it up and keep a finicky dog interested. My little girl ate right up to that last weekend before she passed.


You may also want to put 1/8 of a teas of good high quality oil in the food. olive oil is fine and so is coconut oil, but one that has omegas is better.


There is a company called five leaf pet pharamacy that sells a product called " Doggie Greens" A bag is 25.00 but it will last you YEARS! I only needed 1/16 of a teas per day for my little girl. This is a mix of plants that are GREAT for your dog. www.fiveleafpetpharmacy.com


They also sell a bunch of drops they say can cleanse your pup..but my little girl HATED them and wouldn't TOUCH any food they were in so as far as those went I threw away 100 bucks. ( I admit they do kinda stink) And the drops are darn expensive. Personally if I had it to do over. I'd pass on the drops and just do the greens.


Vetri-science also has a vitamin supplement especially for Kidney Function called Renal- essentials. My little girl got a half of one of these daily. Comes in chicken and beef flavors and she loved both. **Keep them TIGHTLY stored in a zip lock or they get hard as a brick.


You may also want to change out their treats. I got rid of all the hi sodium jerky style treats ( that probably contributed to the kidney problems) and protein based treats(which are hard on little kidneys) and started giving cheerios and those "Puffed" cereal brands over in the baby Aisle. THey have the motto "Eato your colors" and flavors like Apple/Spinach, Strawberry/Beet and Sweet potato/Mango etc. They are sweetened with natural fruit puree and don't have salt and my girl loved them when she wouldn't eat anything else.


And lastly...if you dog is getting sick and it's a yellow bubbly stuff.. ask your vet about amphogel. It's white liquid you give them either in their food or with a syringe ( no needle of course) by mouth. And also a Tinnic solution to offset the lower protein diet with vitamins and minerals- especially iron-normally found in commercial dogfood.


If you wanna read for yourself all the info I used to create this diet for my little girl I'll be happy to share. Most of it came from a downloadable series of books about dog food. It's the best $50 I ever spent. I learned how to make my own dog food ( regular and kidney diets) What ingredients to look for in dog food that would make them something I would NEVER buy. It also taught me how to look for the best commercial dog foods. There is a section about home made remedies to various doggy ailments, how to make healthy treats and a lot more. Just ask And I'll share. But I didn't want to come off sounding like a infomercial


I hope some of this helps. I got 5 years with my precious baby after the kidney disease started. My vet said the last two were a miracle, plain and simple, and that any other dog would have been long gone.


I am so sorry to hear your pup has Kidney problems. It is eventually going to take them away from you. But you CAN slow it down and do everything you can to keep your baby as happy and healthy as possible for as long as you can. Good Luck and I hope this helps some of you.

[ladyjane]

I am not an "authority" as referenced in the above post nor are my toes "stepped on". I just have a different opinion about who to turn to for professional advice.
I am also not a vet or a nutritionist and I don't believe that online "research" in total has the answer I need to manage my pups who have medical issues.

For that reason, I always, with any of my pups who need a special diet, consult with my vet....OR a board certified vet nutritionist.

I have also managed many pups in various stages of renal failure. I home cooked for one of my beloved pups and he did well for as long as we could keep him doing well. In the end he did succumb to renal failure. This was over a period of 5 - 6 years, so it can be managed IF it is not in end stages when diagnosed.

To find a boarded vet nutritionist, here is a link:

American College of Veterinary Nutrition

[ladyjane]

OP how is your baby doing now?

[tikibell]

thanks for sharing I just found out my little baby has kidney diease she spent 2 days in hospital to try to get her numbers down but it didn't help much, they released her on the hills diet food. and said they would check her again in 6 weeks. she is 12 yrs old. she is eating really good now but not drinking a lot. I know nothing about kidneys so this was a great help thanks so much.

[Scoobstersmom]

Tikibell, I am so sad and sorry for the diagnosis of kidney disease. I am sure you are feeling overwhelmed. Its not really uncommon that you didn't see a big drop in the numbers in only two days of fluids. If you are able to keep your baby well hydrated, it's likely you would see a continued drop in the numbers over time. If your vet did not suggest sending your pup home on sub q fluids and you are willing to pursue that treatment, I would talk to your vet about it right away as you don't want to lose the ground you gained with the IV treatment. Sub q fluids is a fairly simple treatment that you can do yourself at home, and its probably the single most important treatment you can provide for your pet to make her feel better and live longer. I had a yorkie that lived well with kidney disease for 26 months, and we did daily fluids for 16 of the 26 months. He didn't love it but he didn't hate it. I kind of hated it, but it only took a few minutes out of the day.


Wishing the best for your pup.


Diana

[tikibell]

Tiki is doing a lot better being her old self. She is eating and drinking good. I only give her a tiny bit of the hills food because she had a pancreace flare up. so I got her back on boiled chicken and rice and some baby food so she can have a mixture. what worries me is her teeth they treated her for 2 abcest teeth and said they couldn't put her under to pull them.

[kacismom]

I don't even know if I'm posting this right or not ...kinda overwhelmed, I've been told my lil yorkie girl has kidney issues ,gullstones, and pancreatitus. The vet sounds like he is trying to tell me there isn't much we can do. Kaci was perfectly fine just 5 days ago , then overnight she became sick and vomiting, which led me to the vet the very next day. Can anyone tell me what I should do to save her??!!

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by kacismom

I don't even know if I'm posting this right or not ...kinda overwhelmed, I've been told my lil yorkie girl has kidney issues ,gullstones, and pancreatitus. The vet sounds like he is trying to tell me there isn't much we can do. Kaci was perfectly fine just 5 days ago , then overnight she became sick and vomiting, which led me to the vet the very next day. Can anyone tell me what I should do to save her??!!

Get her to a specialty hospital ASAP! You can find an internal med specialist at: American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine > Home

Best wishes...

[ladyjane]

MALL ANIMAL INTERNAL MEDICINE NEAR BELLS, TX 75414, USA

David Rolfe, DVM, DACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine) - Veterinary Specialist
Company: Animal Diagnostic Clinic
Location: Plano, Texas
38.7 mi away
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Douglas Bronstad, DVM, DACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine) - Veterinary Specialist
Company: VCA Animal Diagnostic Clinic - Plano
Location: Plano, Texas
40.0 mi away
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Roberta Relford, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine), DACVP - Veterinary Specialist
Company: IDEXX Veterinary Services
Location: Dallas, Texas
48.9 mi away
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Matthew Miller, DVM, DACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine) - Veterinary Specialist
Company: VCA Animal Diagnostic Clinic
Location: Dallas, Texas

[kacismom]

thank you so much !!!!