Hi there,

First post - nice to meet you all

For the last couple of weeks, my 5 year old Rottie has been leaking small quantities of blood/urine during the night. He sleeps in my kitchen which is the only reason I spotted it.

Anyway, we took him to the vet and they told us he had a urinary infection, to put him on some antibiotics and that would be that.....except it wasn't.The problem went a way for a few months and then started agin recently (2 weeks ago).

This time, we took him to the animal hospital and they ran blood and urine tests. Got the results yesterday and they said his renal functions are not good and that we need to change his diet and give him meds. Until yesterday he was eating raw meat, raw eggs, boiled rice and milk twice a day. The vet said we needed to reduce the amount of protein in his diet and he would get better. They recommended we feed him dry biscuits instead, Eukanuba (however you spell it!!) or Hill's Science Diet for adults. I ended up buying 20lbs of HSD to see if he liked it, which he does.

My questions are:

1. Has this ever happened to your dog or have you heard of it happening to anyone else's and what did they do about it?

2. Do you think I'm doing the right thing?

3. Will he indeed 'get better' or steadily worse?

4. Do you have any more advice for me?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post

v/r

Drew

 Quote:

.....5 year old Rottie has been leaking small quantities of blood/urine during the night.....The vet said we needed to reduce the amount of protein in his diet and he would get better. ...Do you have any more advice for me?

I save good detailed web articles and books about canine nutrition, allergies, and disease. I thought this one from Columbia Animal Hospital with Ohio State University, about canine kidney problems, was very detailed and clear. It will definitely explain the mechanisms to you and give you the language for vet questions and suggestions.

Also, it discusses the diet, including not just commercial foods, but also homemade choices.

Good luck! The more info, the better, IMO......and this info is not at all dire or hopeless.

http://www.cah.com/library/caninekidney.html

Connie

Hi Connie,

Thanks very much for your reply - very helpful and much appreciated.

My Rottie has now decided he's bored with the HSD and won't eat it, so we're playing a game where he tries to look pitiful so I'll feed him something yummy instead and I pretend that I'm not paying attention.

My question is, how long do you think he'll hold out before he decides it's better to eat biscuits than go hungry and what can I do if he refuses to eat regardless?

Thanks

D

 Quote:

....how long do you think he'll hold out before he decides it's better to eat biscuits than go hungry and what can I do if he refuses to eat regardless?

My personal opinion is that this is highly unlikely! But of course I have very food-driven dogs.

If it did happen, then I'll bet SOME of that homemade recipe from the URL (after approval by your vet) would cure the food problem -------- mixed in to make the dry stuff more appetizing?

IMO, real food is good. A recipe for real food specifically for his condition would be the way I would go. (I'd ask my vet first, absolutely!)

If the commercial maker can reduce the protein by adding more rice, etc., then the home cook should be able to, I would think.

I'll see if I have any more vet URLs about kindey disease, and possible diets for you to run past your vet.

The longest I have ever had a dog hold out for food is 6 days. And on the 7th day he ate. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> There were no adverse side effects and food was available 3 times a day. He is a rottie, so I doubt highly he will wait that long.

Ok, that's all the info I need - thanks again folks