macabee Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Hello fellow husky lovers! I am in desperate need of advice from a fellow husky owner. My poor pup Koda who is only five was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure in October. Last week when we went in for a blood draw we found out his levels have essentially doubled from a BUN of 70 now to a BUN of 100 and his Creatinine from 4.4 to 8.8, with these levels the vet has assumed he only has about 10% of his kidney function left. He is currently on four prescription medications for hypertension, toxin binding, phosphorous decrease and acid reflux, along with a daily dose of omega3 fatty acid supplement. He also goes to acupuncture once a week where he receives electro stimulation and laser therapy. We are extremely concerned for he has been on the prescription Hills renal care food and it does not seem to be helping his levels decrease or even stabilize in the least bit. More so he has decided that he hates the prescription food and is refusing to eat it, wet or dry, he is however begging me for his sister's Orijen 6 fish blend food. I have tried the raw and cooked recipes for CRD but he does not like human food (I know, he's a strange pup!). I like our vet and he has been very helpful, however it is hard to believe that this is happening within Koda for he is showing no signs and symptoms and is acting completley normal. I am torn between giving Koda the food he wants or to keep starving him in hopes that he will eat the food we are preparing him "if he's hungry enough". My gut tells me to just give his the 6 fish blend for it is high in Omega's and has a high quality of protein and since there is no significant evidence supporting the "low protein" diets I do not see why I have to add on starvation to the list of diseases trying to kill my dog! Any advice would be much appreciated, I want the best for Koda but refuse to starve him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Jones Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 So sorry to hear this, I can't offer you any advice on what to do but I can offer my support and prayers that he will get well soon. I'm sure someone who knows more will be able to offer you some advice soon x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Poor puppy. Sorry I nothing I can add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Povodny Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Hi, I can't offer advice specific to kidney failure, I do however have experience with liver failure. I do understand the problem trying to get him to eat the prescribed food. We couldn't get Safi to eat the hepatic food that was recommended either. She lost so much weight because she just refused to eat. I ended up just cooking her rice, potato, occasionally raw carrot and either fried turkey mince or fish added to it. I cook the turkey in plenty of margarine and add water to make enough liquid to coat the rice and make it more tempting. I'm not sure how well that would work for kidney failure and I Was initially told to persevere with the hepatic, but after her being given 10 days to live age 2 yrs 9mths. She had her 4th birthday yesterday. Long term it may not be the best diet, but I doubt she'll manage her full 15 yrs anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Poor Koda and you. I can't really offer much help but hope things work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormchaser09 Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 personally I would go for quality of life over quantity and give him something he wants, however I would discuss it with the vet to see if it would likely have any serious impact on the condition. Really comes down to your own choice and the prognosis given by the vets. I wish you all the best in finding a way to keep your dog healthy and happy as long as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Tao&Sky Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Have a read of this.........Ron http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CEAQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.petmd.com%2Fdog%2Fconditions%2Furinary%2Fc_multi_renal_failure_chronic&ei=QVrMUNarMNDs0gXWoICACA&usg=AFQjCNEKiatU4TJ3e-PMLpIiUEwXODZQpw&sig2=aA89N0f_bLUfcJ6R0KFZSg&bvm=bv.1355325884,d.d2k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Povodny Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Oh I'd like to add, in oct after Safi had had a relapse she dropped to 16kg. I weighed her yesterday while at the vet for a different health issue and she's now 20.65kg. That's on the diet I described to you. You can also add cottage cheese to their dinner to help build back up. But be careful how much as too much gives runny poo. Just enough gives nice poo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Hi .I do understand your pain. As my dad have a chow-chow with the same problem .the vet recommend ipakitine pills in the begin and now he is on kind of powder( ask the your vet). And diet. as he is feeding the boy with Eukanuba Renal Phase 1 Formula and after that he cooks for him Turkey without skin and chicken liver and chicken kidney as boiled and with lots of veg as carrots and celery the root and after he is boil everything he add some brown rice .you need to be very carefully what amount of proteins are in the food. I will not recommend Orjen fish as is so high in proteins I know is very good as is full with omega 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #2 Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Have you seen a specialist to determine the cause and any other alternate treatments that may help? If what you are doing isn't helping, or making it worse, you might want to get another opinion or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macabee Posted December 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice. Since my initial post Koda is still refusing to eat both dry, canned and "human" prepared food. He will still takes treats and acts as if he's hungry , running around in circles when I go into the kitchen, but then turns his nose up at anything I try and feed him. I'm going to try turkey and maybe chicken liver and kidney next like Vlad mentioned. [MENTION=2509]HuskyHijinx[/MENTION] we have been to a specialist here in Fort Collins at the Colorado State University Veterinary Hospital and they have just reinforced what our vet said, the form of dialysis that they can do is a temp fix filled with high stress for Koda, kidney transplants are extremely expensive (deposit of $13,000) with a less than half success rate (40%) and his body may reject it for he would not be use to the "normal size" kidney. He's happy as of now and I don't want to voluntarily do anything that would change that. This whole process has been a guessing game that I feel I'm never winning. I just want Koda to be happy for as long as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #2 Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Gotcha. Totally agree. Sometimes people and animals have things to teach those around them. Best wishes...spend whatever time you have loving and spoiling Koda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedJasper Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I am so sorry to hear about Koda's condition. My thoughts and prayers will be sent your direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.