[107barney]

Originally Posted by Mer4ever

Hello! I am new to YorkieTalk and came upon this thread while doing research on the SDMA test. I just adopted two adorable 10.5 month old litter mates and one of the first things that the vet and I agreed needed to be done was to get them fixed, given that my little boy is "making the moves" on his sister.

Normally the vet suggests a "modified" blood panel pre-surgery, but given that these pups are new in my life, I wanted to get a full blood work panel so that we would have a solid baseline.

My heart stopped for a second on Friday when I get the call from the vet saying that Sebastian's SDMA test indicated kidney issues. Like many yorkie parents here, I lost a beloved baby to kidney disease and it was devastating, swift, and cruel.

So of course, this is what I thought would be in Sebastian's near future. The vet then explained that his other kidney markers all showed normal (which is good, as we know when those show it means the loss of at least 75% of kidney function) and that the next step would be a urinalysis to provide further detail. She reassured me that at this time, we were not looking at kidney failure.

I found out this morning that his urinalysis was normal, which indicates that the kidneys are still functioning well. When urine is dilute, it means that they are struggling. There were some red blood cells in the urine, but apparently this is normal based on how they take the sample.

The vet gave me the option of getting an ultrasound, which I am going to do. It will provide further information on how best to move forward. She did say that the overall prognosis was good and that I should continue with the home cooked diet I had started both pups on.

Apparently the best thing that can be done for this early-stage disease is to feed high quality protein, so either a home cooked diet (good) or a raw diet (as per the vet, better, but I am not ready to feed my 4.3 and 5 pound dogs raw food quite yet!).

Sebastian is cleared for his neuter in two days and they will perform the ultrasound whilst he is at the hospital. His sister is having her spay that same day, and thus far she shows no sings of kidney disease. Sebastian is totally without symptoms and has tons of energy, eats well, and plays mightily with his sister.

Based on what the vet told me, and what I read, this test was available on a widespread basis in the USA around June/July of this year.

That's all I can share for now. I will update everyone once I get the ultrasound on Wednesday and provide whatever information I can on my "SDMA Yorkie Journey".

If I had a 10.5 month old puppy that came up with a kidney issue, the first thing I would do is take the care out of the hands of the general vet and see a board certified internist veterinarian. Personally, I would not have the ultrasound done by the general vet either.

I'm not sure what home cooked diet you've started these pups on but I've been home cooking for mine for 15 years. During those years, I've seen different foods run certain values up. For example, both of my boys threw funky kidney values when they happened to be eating a lot of spinach. It sent my vet into a tail spin, but I knew it was probably dietary, changed ingredients and re-ran the labs and I was right and the vet was wrong (but relieved!). So diet can and does influence blood values....both for the better and for the worst if the diet is not complete.

I personally would not feed a raw diet to dogs with any kidney issue. Raw diets are often higher in protein and therefore in phosphorous and it is a known problem to feed high phosphorous to dogs w/ impaired kidneys. A home cooked diet can be done, but should only be done under the guidance and specificity of a board certified veterinary nutritionist.