[Lady Swan]

Hi everyone. I'm writing this because I'm absolutely crushed and maybe getting to know other experiences will give me more insight into this terrible disease.

My dog is a 2 year old mix between a Yorkshire Terrier and a Chihuahua. She has always been healthy until yesterday the vets did an ultrasound and found out she has a congenital kidney dysplasia. Her levels of urea and creatinine are still normal, which means we were lucky enough to detect it at an early stage, but I read so many conflicting reports about life expectancy in situations where the disease is identified early on. I know this condition isn't reversible and doesn't have a cure but the sooner it is detected, the better we can maintain her quality of life. I also know there is no definite answer as to how many years she will live as it varies from dog to dog, but I really want to believe that given how young she is, and how this has been detected while nothing too bad has happened, she will still have at least 2 or 3 years to live. I don't know what I'll do once I lose my dog, she is the only light in my life, my best friend. And even though we were lucky to detect it this soon, I still feel like my life is about to end.

Has anyone had similar experiences? How long did your pet live? Thank you.

 

[Larkspur]

Did the vet tell you if one or both kidneys are affected? Life expectancy is obviously more grim if both kidneys are under or mal-developed. The outlook is more positive if it's only one kidney. There may also be an option for transplant if that's something you are able to do in the future... medications and dietary modifications may be able to help some as well.

 

[Lady Swan]

It affects both kidneys, unfortunately. Right now she's normal and her kidneys seem to be working properly, but we are already adopting a new diet for her. I just wish it takes some more years for the kidneys to stop functioning correctly (as her dysplasia was found accidentally - thank God).

In my country there are no kidney transplants for dogs, which makes the entire situation even more difficult.

Thanks for answering.

 

[animalcraker]

Well the earlier that it's found the better, but there no way anyone can tell you exactly how much longer you'll have with your pup. I've seen dogs love for months to entire lifetimes after renal failure has been diagnosed. You're already changing the diet to something that's easier on the kidneys so that will help. We always recommend owners switch over to bottled water only if they're able. Out of curiosity how did they discover the kidney dysplasia?

 

[Lady Swan]

She was vomiting whenever I gave her food so I took her to the vet and they did an x-ray and saw that her stomach was really upset. Then they decided to also do an ultrasound, just to make sure everything else was okay. When they saw the abnormal kidneys in the ultrasound they decided to keep her there to determine whether or not the vomiting was already a symptom of renal failure. However, her blood tests were okay and her urea and creatinine levels were normal. The vet then said that the vomiting wasn't connected to her kidney dysplasia (it was likely a gastritis) but that we should start changing her diet and controlling her urea and creatinine levels monthly.

 

[Laco]

Kidney failure is in a way kind of an anomaly to treat. Depending on what in the kidney is failing, diet can help, and there is medication that can help, but there unfortunately is no real cure. The best you can hope for is to stabilize her kidneys, and significantly slow their failure rate. Its certainly within the realm of possibility that she could live a normal life span, even with the kidney deficiencies, if their failure progression can be slowed significantly. Lets hope for the best.

 

[Lady Swan]

Yes, I am hoping for that, too. Even if I haven't been able to stop crying ever since I found out. But I have to be strong for her - I don't want her to sense my sadness and make her sad, too. Thank you for the positive vibes

 

[Lady Swan]

Sorry for the double post, but I just wanted to say that we just got her urine test results today and she isn't losing protein through her urine, which is a good sign. Her kidneys are (still) working fine. It's starting to look like her gastritis was a blessing in disguise as it allowed us to find out about her renal dysplasia. Now I'm praying that it still takes a while until her kidneys stop working normally.

 

[AliciaW]

I'm so sorry your dog was diagnosed with renal dysplasia. We lost a puppy to this disease. If you haven't already, please contact your breeder because the disease is definitely in the breeding line, even if they have never had any symptoms. It will be passed along to more puppies. Please post an update as to how your dog is doing. If nobody has offered you the option, you can have a wedge kidney biopsy done to get a better idea as to how severe your dog's renal dysplasia is. I realize this is very invasive though. Wishing you the best of luck and lots of happy, healthy years with your pup!

 

[chipsmom1]

I am so sorry to read about your dog having renal dysplasia. My dog also has this awful kidney disease. Chip was diagnosed when he was 8 months old....and it affects both his kidneys. We learned this through an ultra sound. At first he just drank an extreme amount of water but now 2 years later - his BUN & creatitine levels have now doubled since last year. He is not as playful as he was just a month ago. It's so upsetting because Chip was always ready to play, go for a walk, etc...now he sleeping an awful lot not eating as well. He was put on medicine b/c he has protein leaking from his kidneys. It's so sad & I cry daily b/c he's still so young & he's a great little dog. I haven't see many people discuss this disease so I hope you don't mind that I shared my dog's story. I sincerely hope your dog has many more years with you.

 

[Lady Swan]

I am so sorry to hear that about Chip. It is an awful disease. I wish I could do something to stop his and your pain but all I can do right now is keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. I know that eventually that is something I will have to go through as well and it is a tremendous amount of pain just thinking about it. I hope Chip gets better.

 

[Jess2]

Hi everyone. I'm writing this because I'm absolutely crushed and maybe getting to know other experiences will give me more insight into this terrible disease.

My dog is a 2 year old mix between a Yorkshire Terrier and a Chihuahua. She has always been healthy until yesterday the vets did an ultrasound and found out she has a congenital kidney dysplasia. Her levels of urea and creatinine are still normal, which means we were lucky enough to detect it at an early stage, but I read so many conflicting reports about life expectancy in situations where the disease is identified early on. I know this condition isn't reversible and doesn't have a cure but the sooner it is detected, the better we can maintain her quality of life. I also know there is no definite answer as to how many years she will live as it varies from dog to dog, but I really want to believe that given how young she is, and how this has been detected while nothing too bad has happened, she will still have at least 2 or 3 years to live. I don't know what I'll do once I lose my dog, she is the only light in my life, my best friend. And even though we were lucky to detect it this soon, I still feel like my life is about to end.

Has anyone had similar experiences? How long did your pet live? Thank you.

I am in the same position with my 1.5 Year Old NSDTR. I am trying to figure out what the best diet for her will be

 

[JoanneF]

This thread is 4½ years old. I will leave it open for now in the hope you get some responses.

 

[Madra Anamchara]

Jess2, you have posted this on a very old thread. But I am replying specifically to you. I do have experience with renal failure in a beloved animal, although in my case it was a cat. Not really any different from a dog in this matter.

The very first thing I advise is to get online and obsessively read everything you can find on the subject. Knowledge is power.

Second, find yourself a support group on line somewhere that is for people with renal failure dogs, joion it, and start asking questions. The online support group I joined saved my cat's life more than once when a vet told me to do something that would have resulted in tragedy.
Third, line up a really good vet team. I say team because one vet alone might not be sufficient. Make sure they all are very familiar with renal failure because not all are.

Plan on the fact that this is going to cost you a fair bit of money.
Take heart! Because with the proper care and maintenance, your animal companion can live for years with this disease. Mine lived with a good quality of life overall, for three years.

Find out where you can get supplies like lactated ringers, lines, needles, and so on at the lowest cost when you dog needs sub-Q fluids, because this is coming if not already here. If you buy everything from a vet it will cost the most. I did a lot of looking but eventually found three different places to get the supplies I needed, and at bottom cost, so it didn't cost me much for supplies. The cost for me came in vet bills.

You will need to educate yourself on what the lab reports mean, so you can understand how to tweak what you are doing accordingly, and have a CBC done once a month (or as often as you can afford) so you can stay on top of the levels.

there is no one food that is best for this. You need to find foods that have low levels of the things your dog shouldn't have, and that requires research, although if you join a support group there will probably be people who have done that research for you. but the bottom line is you need something your dog will eat and that works for him or her. That means trying the different foods that are within the boundaries that you need to observe in terms of content, and finding out what works. I always kept several different kinds on hand because sometimes one was rejected but he would eat another. I do not recommend the so-called veterinary diets for kidney failure at all! They have terrible ingredients.

You can do this. It takes a lot of dedication, but it's worth it if you truly love your dog. I dedicated myself to caring for my cat and it paid off in three more years of his life with me, and the vast majority of that time he had a good quality of life and was not ill. In the end I knew I had done everything humanly possible for him and that is something I cannot ever regret. I am here to support you in this if you want.