Kidney failure
 

I have just had the worst three days with my little yorkie as an inpatient at the vets for kidney failure. Jet is 16yrs old and it was touch and go every day. I woke this morning thinking I was going to have to say 'put him to sleep'. It was awful. When I rang for an update they said he had picked up and he was able to come home. I couldn't beleive it. His urea reading was 40 on tuesday when it should have been 10. Yesterday it was 20 but it was still to high and due his age the vet was a bit sceptical of his chances. She gave him another 24hrs and today the reading was 9.7!!!
I am so thankful for the care and support I have received from them all at Heywood Veterinery Centre in Heywood. They were great and because of them, my little lad is back home, not out of danger but going in the right direction.

Im glad hes received such good care and is home and doing so much better. Blessings to you and your yorkie

That is really outstanding. Thanks for giving him all the great care! Hope he stays that way.

Thanks
 

Thank you for your support. It's so hard to cope with a decision like this on your own. Especially when you've your dog for sixteen years.:)

Lots of Love
 

Give him lots and lots of attention and love........:D

I'm so happy for you that you didn't have to make that decision. You saw that he got great care and now he is coming home to you. I hope you will have your little guy for a long time.:)

I went through that last Spring - balancing congestive heart failure with kidney failure in my 16 year-old dog. It really is a balancing act because the medicines for everything else are so hard on the kidneys.

Did your vet put Jet on a special diet easy on the kidneys? And warn you about giving him any medications or foods not on the diet? Proteins are hard on the kidneys so you usually have to avoid slipping your dog bits of meat that you may be used to doing. Also to watch him like a hawk and report any change in behavior (including eating and drinking) no matter how silly you might feel? I hope that with good veterinary care you and Jet can have a lot more quality time together.

I Am so happy for you that he got such good care and was able to come
home to you! Continued prayers for good health!

That's great Jet responded to the treatment so well.

I just read your post, and first, I want to tell you how very sorry I am that your little one is in kidney failure.

And second, I want to tell you, that one of my girls, Sydney, who will be 15 in April, was diagnosed in early October, and I understand, how you felt, when you got hit with the initial diagnosis. I know, because I felt like I had been blindsided.

We never saw it coming. No symptoms.

But, Sydney has doe well, responded to a change in diet, her numbers actually dropped a little bit, two months after we changed to a homemade, low salt, low phosphorus, medium protein diet.

I've actually spoken with other people, that have had Yorkies in CRF, live another 3 years

One person in particulars Yorkie, lived to be 18.

CRF is no longer always a death sentence.

Please keep us posted, as your little one goes through tests, treatments, etc.


Feel free to p.m. me.

Sheila

So happy it turned out well and he was able to come home!!! I can't imagine how scary that must have been!

Kidney failure
 

Thanks for all your comments.
I have been told to only feed Jet, chicken and rice for now. The vet gave me some dog food in a recovery pack but he won't eat dog food. The problem is he won't eat much at all and it was usually ham. So now I'm struggling to get the antibiotics down him. I will just have to keep on trying. I suppose if he is hungry enough he will give in eventually. :)
We are back at the vets next thursday for his bloods to be checked again. The vet will give us a diet then if his reading are up again.

May I suggest you feed Jet Sushi rice, (sticky) rice?

It's lower in sodium, and it holds together well. And, if you have a food processor & process the chicken until it is very fine, and then, he will smell the chicken in every bite, and not just eat the chicken and leave the rice. That's another advantage of the sticky rice. (It binds them together.) I also cook my rice in low sodium chicken or beef broth.

No, with CRF dogs, they don't eat when they get hungry enough, like a healthy dog.

When they stop eating, you lose them.

So, you may have to force feed him a few bites, to get him started.

If he doesn't eat while taking anti-biotics, he will vomit. He may vomit anyway. But you really don't want him, not eating, while he is taking anti-biotics.
He made need a prescription from your Vet, to aid with vomiting, should he do so.

And you probably already know, but now, he will need at least 4 small meals, instead of two meals. They just can't eat enough at a meal.

Did the Vet give you a ratio of the chicken to rice?

When Sydney is eating chicken as her protein, I make it in a batch of 1 cup cooked sticky rice, 2 oz. of finely grated cooked chicken, and 2 T.'s of pureed sweet potato.

She will usually eat 2 T's at a meal.

If you want Jet to eat the dog food, you can enhance the flavor with a teaspoon of baby food beef, to a serving. (That worked with Sydney for a little while, but she preferred the home cooked diet.)

These are only my suggestions on what has worked well for Sydney.

Her appetite improved on a homemade diet, and her numbers dropped. She even regained 3/8 oz. of her lost weight.

Good Luck.

I truly pray Jet will eat.

Sheila

Kidney failure
 

Thanks Sheila, I appreciate any tips I can get.
Jet did actually start eating yesterday, both the chicken and the rice. We couldn't beleive it. He's even taken the antibiotics within the food. After 16 years of being a really fussy eater he has just accepted it. It's as though he hasn't any choice if he wants to feel well again.
I'm not going to be over excited though because knowing Jet he will soon get bored of it. So your tips on the ratio of chicken to rice may help and definately the stock cube idea.
Also I wasn't aware they eat little and more often so thanks for that.
Sharon:animal36

:( I'm so sorry to hear that Jet has been sick. But really happy to hear he's better & home with you. I know you still feel pretty anxious about all that has & is happening. I would. Just be thankfull that he made it over this hurdle & his numbers are great!! He must be a pretty stronge willed little 16yr old & it sounds like he got excellent care at the vet. You know that if he throws up while eating or not long after eating he may have thrown up the antibiotic or not kept it down long enough to do any good. If you can't find it in his food or vomit or it hasn't been in him long you need to call the vet to ask if you can dose again or have to wait untill the next dose is due. It may have already dissolved by the time he throws up so you wouldn't see it but maybe hasn't had time to absorb & get into his bloodstream. I hope Jet just gets better from here on & I'll be glad to hear how he is doing. I agree with 1 of the other people that posted that if ANYTHING changes with Jet you need to call the vet or an emergency vet ASAP. Don't wait till morning if something happens during the night. :heart to Pam & Teppi :yorkiej:

You're more than welcome, Sharon. I'm so glad Jet is eating! Well, if he gets bored with the chicken & rice, you can always change his protein to cooked ground beef, but make sure it is ground beef, not chuck, and do not drain it, they need the fat. And you want to keep the ratio, of the beef to rice the same as the chicken to rice, so you keep his protein low.

Yes, with CRF, they get to where they won't eat a full meal, and in order to keep them eating, smaller meals, more often, works wonders.

My Sydney acts like there is nothing wrong with her, most of the time, since we went to the homemade diet.

Sheila

Glad to hear he's doing better.

My little treasure had to be put to sleep on thursday because he slowly gave up. He did really well on the chicken and rice but his kidney level began to rise again. I tried to get him on the renal food but after two days he wouldn't eat it. We had a few days last week where he woudn't eat anything and then he lost his strength. He would only get up for a wee or a drink. We managed three days where he ate some sausage but then it was back to water. So I made the horrendous decision to let him go for his own sake. I feel so empty now but I know if I hadn't he would have been suffering. Jet was never really a dog but our little baby, he would never eat dog food, didn't play fetch/catch with a ball, he would just have a frenzy now and then running around the house like he was on red bull! At least he is at peace now. Thanks for all your support.

Sharon,

I am so very sorry for your loss. We lost our darling, Sydney, on Monday morning.

Sweetheart, you made the kindest decision for Jet that you could make. We had to make that decision, too.

I prayed all the way to the Vet's that Steve would tell us that he had something that would help our baby.

We did two sub-q's over the weekend, and they didn't help her, at all.

Please feel free to p.m. me if you want to talk.

I understand how you are feeling, because I am feeling the same way-losing Sydney has been unbearable. And such a shock! We thought we would have her longer.

Hugs,
Sheila

So glad Jet is getting better.
 

I felt so sad when I saw your title..kidney failure. I was stopping by to give you some moral support. To my surprise, I found that Jet is coming along nicely :)
Thank God and all of the people who have helped him. I know you are the main caregiver and you have helped to make your pup well. I wish you both many more healthy years. :)

So very sorry. :(
 

I feel terrible. Please ignore my last post. I just noticed your last post where you said you had to let him go. I'm so so sorry. I know how hard everyone tried to make him well. Maybe he just got tired and couldn't fight anymore. I know you have to be in so much pain. Please know that everyone is sending prayers for you and Jet. Again, I'm so very sorry. :(

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It's so heartbreaking when you think that things are getting better and then the let down. Well Jet is at the Rainbow Bridge now waiting for you and you will see him again one day. RIP Jet