# Renal Failure



## KMC (Dec 16, 2011)

My dog is in Renal failure and is not eating. Once we get him eating will this raw diet help him?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Hello and welcome to DFC, I'm so sorry that your dogs isn't doing well. 

How progressed is your dog's renal failure? Because that's really the depending factor. Once damage is done to their kidneys, its irreversible. Dogs can survive on only 25% kidney function and do fairly well, but once the function drops below 25% then you start to see decline in how well they do. 

Kidney failure dogs need to just eat something. When they stop eating, this is NOT a good sign and usually means they are on the steady downhill unfortunately. 

Will raw help him from becoming worse? Probably because there's no better nutrition out there than whole, fresh foods. Will it prevent him from losing any more kidney function? Hard to say because it may be caused by genetics or something in the environment that is doing the damage. 

What has your dog been eating for as long as you've had him? Any history of getting into toxins, etc? What kind of dog do you have?


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## KMC (Dec 16, 2011)

He is a shihtzu schnauzer mix. He is 6 yrs old and has been eating kibble all his life until he got sick and was switched to Hills Prescription Diet,k/d. since summer time. He just spent 3 days at the vet getting IV fluids not sure at what % his kidneys are functioning. He did not eat while at the vet,though it was offered. Since 11 am today he has eaten about 1/8 to 1/4 cup boiled chicken breast at home.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

It's a good sign that he was sent home and that he's eating something. 

Did he have bloodwork done while there? It would be good to know his kidney values if possible...

You can continue to cook for him but you'll have to add a carbohydrate in or something to give him fiber so he doesn't get diarrhea and eventually dehydrated. 

If you want to give raw a shot I would get chicken drumsticks from the store. Take the skin off. Smash up the bone and meat with a hammer or kitchen mallet. Do not separate the meat from the bone. By the time you're done smashing it it should be a gooey mess, but still one chunk. 

I'd start off feeding him 1 smashed drumstick twice a day. If he handles that well, we can move forward through the transition. 

Please keep us updated!


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I just wanted to wish you and your pup good luck. I really hope he pulls through this ok. Please listen to the advice Danemama gives you, she really does know what she's talking about.
Please keep us updated, I hate to think of a pup that young having such a hard time, thats not fair.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Please let us know how things are going. I do hope you try the raw, and that it is successful.


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

I second what everyone said above. I am glad you found this forum, we are very lucky to have awesome knowledgeable vet techs such as Danemama to give advice and help us through these things.


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

Was your dog vaccinated recently or frequently in it's life thus far? That is a big cause of renal failure in dogs  I hope you get things sorted with your pup.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Just wanted to say we are thinking of the two of you. We hope that after the fluids things will start to level off, and you will see a marked improvement. If you find there has been some permanent damage to the kidneys you will still be able to feed raw; but you should probably do some research into the different types of proteins. There is a lot of talk about kidney failure = low protein. That is really not the case. It's more about the "Types" of protein. There have recently been a couple threads talking about this exact subject. Scan through and check them out.


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