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-   -   Stage 3 Kidney failure in 14 month GerShep (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=78599)

Titansmall September 12th, 2011 10:49 AM

Stage 3 Kidney failure in 14 month GerShep
 
Hello all,
New member here trying to exhaust all available resources. I have an absolutly beautiful 85lbs German shepherd 14 month old. He has become a large part of my life. My last 2 Shep's lived over 14 years and had hoped to have this guy for at least ten. Anyways have had problems with urine leakage since he was 5-6 months. My vet said it was behavior and age. Boy was he wrong. After about 8 months of our current vet passing this problem off we went and got a second opinion. Blood work shows that he is in stage 3 kidney failure. I will post the blood results if that would help anyone with sugestions. According to the ultrasound it looks like his kidneys are underdeveloped and maybe damaged(6-7cm). Titan was 80lbs at 6months had gone as high as 88 but was down to 78 before we changed his diet a few weeks ago when we found all this out(he is 81 now and the new vet does not want him any skinnier). His protien and creatin levels are good. He also has an enlarged blatter and pee tube(causes the leaking?)If anyone has any experiance with this or diet suggestions or a way to help stop the leaking please post as I am interested in doing anything. Any ideas on life quality expectancy or general advice. I will try to get more specific info when I get ome and post his levels when I can. We have started him on some natural suppliments and changing his diet to home made low phosphate and lower protien as well as sarting hydrotherapy at least once a day. Thank you to anyone who posts back. I should mention his energy levels are fine and without the bloodwork and weight loss and leakage he looks and acts perfectly healthy.
Thanks in advance Titan and Garrett

Titansmall September 14th, 2011 08:33 AM

Got some of his test # from the vet and will post them later today when I get home. Anyone with any suggestions or words of encouragement please reply. Anyone that has dealt with a dog with incontince that has any tips on keeping the house clean would be great or good products to use for clean up would help. Also anyone that makes a home made diet for their pet that might have some ways to keep the budget down would also be wonderful(2-3lbs of food a day gets expensive fast).

hazelrunpack September 14th, 2011 10:53 AM

Sorry to hear you and Titan are going through this! He is one beautiful pup!

I don't have any experience with the kidney failure, but we did have one male that was incontinent for a while after he slid back first into a deck rail while playing and bruised himself badly. We were able to use PPA (phenylpropanolamine) for him and it seemed to strengthen the bladder, but I don't know if you can use it on a dog that's renally compromised. :(

Does he dribble or does he leave puddles? There are a lot of enzymatic cleaners out there formulated specifically for dealing with urine odor. Most online and brick-and-mortar pet supply stores carry at least one brand. They do a bang-up job of eliminating the odor.

:fingerscr someone with more experience with renal issues will log on and be able to offer you some advice on diet or prognosis. Have you considered going to a renal specialist? Might be pricey, but you might also get the best info on what to do and what to expect.

Best wishes for Titan! :goodvibes:

Titansmall September 16th, 2011 08:26 AM

Thanks for the reply hazelrunpack. I am hoping that more people will share their thoughts. My home internet has been up and down becuase of construction and have not had a chance to bring the test # to work. I am hoping I will be able to post some of his blood test # tonight. I work shift work and my wife likes have him sleep with her in the room or on the bed but it is hard to keep him in there as I am steaming the carpets almost every week. We discussed with the vet what to do and are hoping that with a good diet ect. we can limit the dribbling and possibly depending on future health look into a suppliment that may strengthen his bladder. Right now we are just looking for anyone that may have some tricks that would help.
Thanks

Titansmall September 28th, 2011 07:00 PM

Thank you to hazzelrunpack for your response however I am going to quit this forum and try to find one where people are interested in helping out.

Winston September 28th, 2011 07:26 PM

Titansmall I am sorry I didnt reply because I just simply dont have any knowledge that I could share.

It looks like many folks read your thread but obviously not alot of folks have the info

We did have another member here with a female pup that had a problem with her vulva needing to be surgically repaired because of infections, leakage etc but it likely wouldnt be the same for a male??

Good luck with your boy and I hope you the info you need! :fingerscr

Titansmall September 28th, 2011 08:38 PM

Thanks winston,
We are also looking for cheap tips on home made diet.

Winston September 28th, 2011 09:58 PM

If you are a member of a ontario public library I just picked this book up yesterday because I am interested in a raw food diet. Its called:

Raw Dog Food

By Carina Beth MacDonald

Its a very small book to read and so far I found it interesting. It tells you how to prepare it, the myths, health sides etc.....

Rgeurts September 29th, 2011 10:18 AM

[QUOTE=Titansmall;1025439]Thanks winston,
We are also looking for cheap tips on home made diet.[/QUOTE]

I read your thread a couple of times, hoping that you got info from someone. My boys have a lot of issues, but not kidney issues, at least not right now. Our older boy gets infections and bladder stones but they have told us if he has any failure, it won't show on the blood tests until it reaches a certain point :shrug:

As for the home cooked diet... I don't know of any cheap options. Both of mine are fed home cooked and it costs us between $450-$500 a month, depending on the type/cost of the meat. We have a 12 yr old Alaskan Malamute/GSDx and a 1.5 yr old "Giant" Malamute (he's actually a mini Malamute thanks to irresponsible breeders who think Giant Malamutes are "cool" as well as the uneducated people who want them). I hope you get some answers for your boy. Please let us know how he is doing. You will both be in my thoughts and :pray:'ers :grouphug:

Titansmall September 29th, 2011 05:39 PM

Thanks Winston, I 'll see if i can find that book. Rgeurts Malamuts are gorgeous animals. Brother inlaw had a Malamute and he was a wonderful dog, he unfortunatly had a stroke at 7 and did not last long after that. I hope your boys issues resolve themselves.
I had been given a 3month to a 2 year life window for my buddy, so I started doing what I could as soon as I found out. I actually just heard back from a meat packer that will sell me chicken gizzerds and liver as well as any other quality left over meat for quite cheap( just got 34 pounds of chicken and 8 pounds of chicken liver for $45, the owner has a Shep so he was simpathetic). The packers sell alot to local breaders so I am hoping much of our meat can come from there.
Taking him in in a week to redo blood work and urine in hopes his # have leveled out. Also found out my $50 dollar a month insurance won't cover anything with his liver. Word to the wise double check everything. They won't cover him because we had a urine test done, before he went on insurance, when he was neuterd(came back -). Not sure how that works but I am canceling it after I get his teeth cleaned. Thanks for the replies Titan

Rgeurts September 29th, 2011 06:37 PM

[QUOTE=Titansmall;1025531]Thanks Winston, I 'll see if i can find that book. Rgeurts Malamuts are gorgeous animals. Brother inlaw had a Malamute and he was a wonderful dog, he unfortunatly had a stroke at 7 and did not last long after that. I hope your boys issues resolve themselves.
I had been given a 3month to a 2 year life window for my buddy, so I started doing what I could as soon as I found out. I actually just heard back from a meat packer that will sell me chicken gizzerds and liver as well as any other quality left over meat for quite cheap( just got 34 pounds of chicken and 8 pounds of chicken liver for $45, the owner has a Shep so he was simpathetic). The packers sell alot to local breaders so I am hoping much of our meat can come from there.
Taking him in in a week to redo blood work and urine in hopes his # have leveled out. Also found out my $50 dollar a month insurance won't cover anything with his liver. Word to the wise double check everything. They won't cover him because we had a urine test done, before he went on insurance, when he was neuterd(came back -). Not sure how that works but I am canceling it after I get his teeth cleaned. Thanks for the replies Titan[/QUOTE]

My heart breaks for you. I hope you can find a way to keep your guy around, and happy, as long as possible. When they give you a timeline, it's only a "best" guess from what we've learned. We were told to put our baby, Nanook, down when he was just under 3 months old. We refused to give up because he wasn't giving up. We almost lost him on a few different occasions due several issues ranging from meningoencephalitis to aspiration pneumonia, to internal bleeding from all the medications etc. He was having grand mal seizures every 2-4 weeks (a couple were only a week apart), and when he had to have a blood transfusion last Oct., we were told he was at the end of his disease and he wouldn't be with us much longer. Without going in to a lot of detail, a wonderful lady here on the board got us in touch with Dr. Jean Dodds, who spoke with a colleague of hers here in Edmonton. He is a brilliant man, and from what I know of him, one of the worlds leading holistic veternarians. He gave us our puppy. I used to think holistic care was "hokey", but I'm now a believer!! Our baby still has issues, and always will. We have no idea when or if things will take a turn for the worse, but he gave us a full, happy year with our "doomed" boy. I would try the holistic route if there are any in your area.

My husband and I just adore Malamutes. They're beautiful, funny and so sweet :lovestruck: :cloud9:
Our old boy is Thorin. He's 12, sable in color and just finished his last chemo treament for Malignant Histiocytic Sarcoma. We're hoping to have at least another 6 months with him. Nanook (affectionately known as Nookie Monster) is 1.5 yrs old, light red in color and definitely a monster baby! :D

You got a great deal on the food. I have contacted some local butchers and the best deal I can find is their "dog food" package which is $2.25 a pound and is 40% fat/60% meat :eek: :eek:
I can buy lean ground beef which is 20/80 for $2.00 and I bought 150 lbs of wild salmon for $2.00 a lb. But those are the best deals I've gotten so far lol. Nookie is allergic to chicken and so many other things :rolleyes:

As for the insurance, that doesn't seem like a valid reason to me. A urine test (and even a blood test) is pretty standard prior to any surgery. If it came back negative, I don't know how they can refuse you. I don't know if pet insurance is governed by the same policies as other insurance in Canada (but i don't see why it wouldn't be :shrug:). I would demand a better explanation and reason for denying the claim. If they can't give you one that will satisfy you, I would find out if they do fall under the same regulations. I'm an insurance agent here. We are very heavily regulated and have to have very valid reasons for denying a claim. And a lot of times, even if the reason is valid, we still have to pay if the client lodges a formal complaint. Here in AB it's the Superintendant of Insurance. Just a thought, and might be worth checking in to. Your boys issues could become quite costly.

Whatever happens, I will keep you both in my thoughts and :pray:'ers. Please keep us posted and pics would be nice!! :)

growler~GateKeeper September 29th, 2011 11:51 PM

Titansmall have you considered a homeopathic vet consultation?

MaxaLisa October 2nd, 2011 03:13 AM

Has an infection been ruled out?

[url]http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/health-issues/166222-how-can-10-month-old-gsd-have-kidney-failure.html[/url]


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