Canine Kidney Disease

Canine kidney disease occurs when your dog's kidneys lose the ability to function properly. In this condition, the kidneys are unable to remove waste products. As a result, toxins build up, disrupting the normal functioning of your pet dog's body. This disease is a serious condition, and can become life-threatening, if left untreated. There are mainly two forms of canine kidney diseases, viz. chronic and acute. Both types can cause irreversible damage to your pet's kidneys. Chronic kidney disease develops slowly, and occurs mostly in older dogs. Acute kidney disease occurs suddenly, and in most cases, without any prior intimation.

Chronic Canine Kidney Disease: Symptoms

With the onset of canine kidney disease, your dog's natural desire for food diminishes. This is the most common symptom of chronic kidney failure noticed in dogs. Other warning signs include:

• Increased thirst (the dog consumes greater amount of water than normal).
• Frequent urination, that is pale in color.
• Nausea and fatigue
• Depression
• Constipation
• Weight loss
• Weakness and inability to tolerate exercises
• Tendency to bruise or bleed easily
• Bad breath (smells like ammonia)

Chronic Canine Kidney Disease: Causes

There are a number of factors responsible for causing chronic canine kidney disease. They are:

• Diabetes
• Physical trauma
• Abnormally developed kidneys.
• Cysts in kidneys.
• Autoimmune diseases
• An unbalanced or poor quality diet can cause chronic canine kidney disease. Food that has high phosphorous content can be problematic for dogs. If the food contains an insufficient amount of calcium, then the kidneys are unable to remove the phosphorous effectively. This leads to formation of kidney stones, which eventually leads to kidney failure. Very high doses of vitamin D can also have harmful effects on the dog's kidneys. Evidences have shown that grapes and raisins can be poisonous to the canine kidneys.

Acute Canine Kidney Disease: Symptoms

The most commonly observed symptoms of acute canine kidney failure are as follows:

• Dehydration
• Pain around kidneys.
• Arched back and stiff-legged gait.
• Difficulty in urinating.
• Vomiting
• Dark tongue
• Little or no urine output.

Acute Canine Kidney Disease: Causes

Some of the common causes of acute kidney failure are as follows:

• Trauma such as a physical injury that leads to rapid fall in blood pressure. An accident that causes significant amount of blood loss.
• Consumption of rat poison, turpentine or external toxins such as antifreeze, pesticides and certain plants.
• Illnesses related to heart result in lack of, or inadequate supply of blood to the dog's kidneys, which in turn can lead to accumulation of toxins in the bloodstream.
• Chemotherapy drugs, antifungal medicines, and certain antibiotics.
• Urinary tract infections
• Bladder or urinary tract obstructions due to kidney stones.

Treatment for Canine Kidney Disease: Chronic and Acute

Acute canine kidney disease is highly fatal and occurs suddenly. Veterinary doctors first try to identify the cause of acute kidney failure, after which a suitable treatment is administered to the dog. The focus is to successfully treat the underlying cause. Hence, immediate veterinary treatment and hospitalization is necessary. Unfortunately, the chronic kidney disease cannot be cured. Treatment is given to stop the progression of chronic canine kidney failure. The following medical techniques recommended for canine kidney disease (acute or chronic):

• Giving plenty of water
• IV fluids that eliminate toxins from the body.
• Steroids and blood transfusions to treat anemia.
• Anti-vomiting medications.
• Vitamins B and C to compensate for lost vitamins.
• Sodium bicarbonate to normalize blood pH levels.

Food for dogs diagnosed with kidney disease should contain reduced amount of minerals, salts and protein. Natural remedies can also be useful to treat canine kidney disease. Certain herbs (hawthorn and ginkgo) are helpful to improve circulation of blood in the kidneys. They also reduce pain and increase urine output. Herbal tea is also useful to decrease bacterial infection of urinary tract.

If canine kidney disease is diagnosed at an early stage, further damage to the kidneys can be avoided. Proper and timely treatment will definitely increase the life span of the affected dog.