Kidney Disease: You're now a caregiver…what now?
An overview by Sarah Falk
First let me say that I'm so sorry you
are here, but if you are…know that
you are in good company and we
can help. I got my 3-year degree in
Canine Kidney Disease (CKD) from
2016-2019; and my sweet boy
passed at an age normal for his
breed (win!). I learned so much
fighting this disease by his side.
Although he has passed, I’ve stayed
in this Canine Disease Facebook
Group to share what I learned to
help others. Please know that while
there is no cure...there IS HOPE
because treatment and prolonging a
healthy and happy quality of life IS
possible.
I see a lot of the same questions
from folks that have led me to create
this post. This is what I would share
with anyone whose dog has this
disease and encourage them to
discuss with their vet (I’m not a vet,
I’m a surviving CKD caregiver).
———————
What is Kidney Disease?
See what happens with kidney
disease (KD) is that the kidneys have
been irreparably damaged (many
potential causes- born with it,
exposure to poisons or other toxins,
infectious diseases like Leptospirosis,
Lyme's Disease or other tick-borne
diseases, age, undiagnosed urinary
track infection or UTI that then
travelled up to the kidneys, etc.)
Unfortunately, the kidneys play a
crucial role and they can’t repair
themselves. So then the remaining
healthy parts of the kidneys just
have to work harder to get the job
done and over time, those tissues
and cells wear out faster, and the
kidneys have a harder and harder
time keeping up with cleaning out
the toxins. This is the disease
progression. Helping the kidneys is
now your goal. And you can do that
at home!
How can YOU help?
There are two main ways to help
treat kidney disease and slow the
progression.
1) Feed a KD-friendly diet - a KD
diet introduces less toxins for the
kidneys to flush by being lower in
protein and phosphorus. You can
buy canned and kibble from your vet
or online with a prescription (like
from Chewy.com as an example).
Hills KD, Purina ProPlan NF and
Royal Canin Renal Support all have
several varieties and flavors to try.
Or you can home cook. One thing
you might want to look into is
partner with your vet in sending
recent bloodwork and vitals to UC-
Davis. I understand they will tailor
make recipes specific for your dog’s
specific needs. This is important as
otherwise you can get KD-friendly
recipes online or from groups like
this, but they may not be ideal for
your dog’s specific health situation.
Every dog is different.
Obviously access to clean, fresh
water at all times is a must. Change
it daily. And note, because KD diets
are higher in fat, pancreatitis is a
common side effect.
Keep daily exercise a priority - a
daily walk. Once the muscle mass is
gone it’s impossible to get it back on
a low—protein KD diet. Loss of
appetite and how to address is
covered later.
2) Fluid treatment. The second
part about treating this disease at
home is doing subcutaneous (SubQ)
fluid treatment. This goes a long way
to prolong quality of life as these
fluids help flush out the toxins that
the kidneys can’t. Ask your vet about
regular at-home SubQ fluid
treatment. Start with the amount the
vet recommends and get bloodwork
done to monitor effects. If the values
are decreasing or are stable that is
good. If creatinine, BUN are
increasing, time to increase fluids
and look at other causes. Side note-
Dogs that are hospitalized get fluids
through IV (intravenously- into the
vein) - which may be riskier for dogs
with heart disease or high blood
pressure, so be sure to ask your vet
if your dog is hospitalized and has a
known heart condition as SubQ even
during hospitalization may be safer
in these situations. Doing it at home
is easier than you think. My boy just
went to sleep. And if your boy gets
leaky...blankets on top of beds and
belly bands at night can help. Here's
a good article covering at-home
administration of subQ fluids.
We infused subQ fluids at bedtime, so
going to sleep was the norm.
What if he stops eating?
If he loses his appetite, many
interpret this as a sign “the end is
near” or that “he’s giving up”. It’s
CRITICAL to understand the effects
of Food Association/Food
Avoidance, which is very common
with KD dogs. What food association
is, when a KD dog eats food, and
he’s not feeling well, the next time
he is presented with the same food,
he associates the food with how he
felt the last time he ate it, and he
blames the food and avoids it. Offer
him something else, and he may eat.
Sometimes I had to try three
different times and types of food
before he would eat. So you must
have a variety of options on hand,
and keep trying! I think I had 3 kinds
of kibbles and 6-7 varieties of KD
canned food. A “rotating platter”
of KD foods is important.
In addition to food rotation, hand-
feeding often works as well. Get him
to eat a few pieces and sometimes
he’ll dive right in. And if you have a
second dog...use him. At feeding
time, ask your dogs to sit. Then give
the healthy dog first a bit of KD food
as a treat-reward. Now offer the KD
food to your KD dog as a treat-
reward. After watching their buddy
eat it first, now suddenly they want
it too!! Do this a few times, giving
each dog a bite of food - then
present the full bowl of KD food to
your KD dog (and feed your other
dog too, his regular food, of course).
You’ll be so glad when he digs in.
If all this fails, then it’s better to get Summary
your dog to eat something then for
them to eat nothing. During periods
like this, my boy enjoyed plain grilled
chicken breast with bits of a tore up,
low-sodium corn soft corn tortilla,
with a bit of scrambled egg. He also
usually would eat turkey, chicken or
beef Gerber baby food; and yogurt
or cottage cheese. When feeding
temporary alternatives, be sure to
Feeding a kidney-friendly diet and
count calories so you know he’s
administration of SubQ fluids are two
getting enough. Petco carries “High
successful treatments for dogs that
Calorie Nutritional Gel for dogs”. It’s
you can do at home. Working with
in a tube, like toothpaste, and it
an internist is a good idea. Rotating
smells and looks like molasses. It
foods is critical, as is daily walks. All
was irresistible to my guy. I
this will help greatly. Get bloodwork
supplemented with this to make sure
checked regularly to catch any
he was getting enough calories. This
changes and adjust your treatment
type of feeding should be temporary
plan. Also get an ultrasound annually
- only feed emergency-type foods for
to monitor the shape and size of the
a few days, then re-introduce KD
kidneys. If your dog suffers from
food again.
arthritis, there are pain meds that
are kidney-saf. Much of this disease
Your vet may suggest anti-nausea
is a roller coaster but much is also
meds like cerenia, or anti-acid meds
within your control to manage.
like omeprazol or Pepcid, and
probiotics to assist. This is all very
Talk to your vet about all these
common for our KD dogs; as are
things. My vet staff was amazing,
appetite stimulants like mirtazapine
and I wouldn’t have been successful
or Entyce. Some may work, some
without them. A good vet team who
may not. Monitor and adjust, just
understands your goals is critical.
like with all elements of your
treatment plan.
If loss of appetite persists more than
a few days, run the bloodwork to see
if anything has changed.
Pancreatitis, High Blood Pressure
and Anemia all are common side
conditions commonly associated with
KD. Know the signs and ask for the
vet to check them out. All can cause
loss of appetite, but all can be
addressed with treatment.
————————
What about my vet?
If you are not working with a
specialist, please seek one out.
Oftentimes, the disease is beyond
———
the experience of many
My dear boy got KD after contracting
generalists. https://find.vetspecialists
Leptospirosis (a deadly bacterial
.com/
infection). Manny 2008-2019.
See you in the far
———————
future. ❤🌈🌈🌈🌈