Kidney disease or kidney failure is an ailment that can affect canines across all age groups and if left untreated, these can lead to chronic or acute conditions that can even result in death. Therefore as a pet owner, it is essential that you be aware of the symptoms and the treatments governing kidney diseases in dogs because having the right knowledge can add both quality and quantity to your pets life.
Before starting off with kidney disease treatments, we explore why kidney diseases have such damaging effects on dogs. Kidneys are organs which help to maintain the equilibrium between water and electrolytes in the blood and these also serve as filters for removing wastes from the body. Thus when kidneys fail to function optimally, toxins start building up in the body and these can result in serious health problems. Dogs suffering from kidney diseases will exhibit symptoms like diarrhea, loss of appetite, vomiting and weakness with the improper kidney functioning also resulting in frequent urination or no urine at all. If undetected, it can continue to cause the animal a lot of pain and in several cases, the damage done may be irreversible.
Therefore if you notice your canine to be suffering from any of the above mentioned symptoms, immediately consult a veterinarian to work out a solution. Generally, a diet low on proteins and phosphorous is recommended for kidney disease treatment, the reason being a low protein diet helps minimize the production of toxins while reducing the amount of phosphorous in food aids in lessening the chances of renal failure. Administering IV fluids is another suggested way for removing toxins and besides this, kidney dialysis is also an option offered at several veterinary hospitals. Medical practitioners continue to work on kidney transplant procedures but so far the results haven’t been encouraging.
Prescription diets specially formulated for these types of diseases are known to be effective but it is essential that you read the labels carefully before buying the product. Additionally, provide your canine with plenty of water since water helps clean the system quickly. Also get your dog’s blood and urine periodically checked by a veterinarian and assess the progress that it is making. Though chronic kidney disease (mostly seen in older dogs) has no cure, the damage done by this disease too can be decelerated by feeding the canine with liquid foods rather than solids because these can help decrease the workload on the kidneys.
Thus the key when it comes to kidney disease treatment is to diagnose it early because in the latter stages, the problem only becomes tougher to treat. Timely intervention not only saves your beloved pet from a lot of stress but can also help in increasing its longevity by two to three years.
Brad Ray
The author himself is the owner of a dog which was suffering from acute kidney disease and was told by doctors that it had only one year to live. But he says that his good care combined with the use of the ‘
Hills prescription diet’ has helped the
canine outlive the time period which doctors told.
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