Could anyone give me some advice on Kidney failure . my mother took her 13 year old lab to the vets the over day as he has so many lumps witch have always been fatty , but have now turned in to tumours He also has bad arthritis which he has injections for which seem to help. In the last 3 weeks he has seemed to be in some pain so the vet put him on metercam but had to go back today for blood tests on his kidneys . before he was allowed any more he rang back this afternoon to say that Sam has kidney failure also his count for his liver was high. This has left my mother in a bit of a state , the only thing which was offered was kidney food diet , and the metercam every other day at a smaller dose. She asked me what i would do , my answer was to let him go while he has some dignity . He still has a little walk to the shop which is 5mins but limps on the way back. and gets in his bed and goes to sleep. i do now how it feels to loose a dog i had sams mum put to sleep 18 months ago she had heart failure and even now i feel guilty but i now i did the right thing
Re: kidney failure Sorry to read your news. I don't have anything good to add I'm afraid. Not much you can do for kidney or liver failure, particularly in an older dog, the best is to keep him comfortable until it's time. Metacam is not good for livers, could your vet offer something other than a NSAID, tramadol is a well tolerated opioid and often given to dogs with liver problems. My old lass was diagnosed with a liver tumour last year, we had a few more happy weeks but then I felt she was beginning to suffer and the kindest thing was to let her go. Broke my heart but I know it was for the best. It's even harder when they're not yours. I'm sorry I don't have better news. Kerryn
Re: kidney failure Really sorry to hear that. But as Kerryn says, there is really no good outcome for an old dog with kidney or liver failure. You can just make life as comfortable for him as possible, but at some point you're going to have to let him go, painful as that is. I said goodbye to my old boy at New Year's, he had liver failure. Terrible, but it was the right thing.
My old guy (14 1/2) has about 35% kidney function at this point. A person nephrologist I spoke to said that kidney failure doesn't cause pain. So that's a relief. What's NOT a relief is that he wakes up at about 3 am every morning to go out, no matter how late we take him out the night before. Needless to say we need our sleep too, as we have to work while he can sleep during the day. Any advice would be welcome. We don't know if he'll make it through another New England winter, but we want him to enjoy as much of this beautiful fall as he can....
You must do the best thing for your dog and I am sure you did do the right thing for your dear friend. So sorry about your Mum's dog, it is very sad.
With tears in my eyes I say "Last, best thing you do for your dog". There never is a good time for us humans, we must put our dogs first. Done it 4 times. Two dogs and two cats.
PFSchles if he's really not in pain and still has a good quality of life, then could you use puppy pads (maybe in a pen) so that he has somewhere he can go during the night? I've not had to be in the situation to make the decision myself, as mine are the first dogs of my own I've ever had, but went through it with family pets many times. It is utterly heartbreaking to lose our friend, but we know that it is down to us to make the decision at the right time.
You could train a "wee wee" cue first, outside initially then when the cue has been proofed, use puppy pads in say a large plastic dog crate tray. It is important not to restrict fluids, as the kidneys are able to compensate with only a small percentage of function available, but do need a lot of fluid to do this. Other lower protein kibbles are available, as well as tinned food. If using kibble try soaking a little first to increase moisture content.
Doug has wee problems too. I trained him to go on a puppy pad and I also got hold of these small dog beds. they are basically just a pad made from duvet with a cotton cover they are very absorbant and very washable and easy to dry. I take one when we go place and he lies on them and they catch any dribbles and are great. Doug is not in kidney failure but we don't use metacam for pain as him being 14 it may cause kidney problems. He is on tramadol and onsior which after some adjustments have improved his quality of life no end. He has less accidents because he can move quicker because his pain is controlled. His bladder control is very good again and he just dribbles a bit sometimes. that seems to be a little old man thing though Controlling the pain has been more important than anything and I glad we gave it a go before having him put to sleep. It sounds much more complicated in you mums dogs case, but i would ask for other pain relief before making the final decison and see what happens. Its given Doug one more summer which he has enjoyed but I like you wonder if he will get through the winter. The main thing is the dogs quality of life. If they are unhappy and in pain and you can't improve that there arn't real choices. We can only do the best for them and you and your family sound really caring dog lovers. I just wish you all the best and feel sad for you all. love and hugs.
I feel for you all caring for your beautiful dogs at this stage in their life......I haven't had to face it yet and I dread it.All I can say , which is what I hope to be able to do myself when the time comes ,is be led by your dog who you know so well and the medical advice of a vet that you trust xxxx My very Best Wishes x
I've been really lucky I've got 2 great vets and a physio who have helped all the way with my old boy, their support has really helped. Old dogs are so great so sorted and loving. just when they are almost perfect its time to go.
