giraffez

Thanks will do. @Deeds which formula do you get for Royal Canin? There is Renal and Renal Select. So many variations not sure what the difference is. Renal Select seems to have the least protein but Renal has the least phosphorus.

haha mine doesn't have a problem with food. He will wake up even if he is in deep sleep to get a bite :D I'm grateful for this now that he needs to be on a restricted diet. Food is always a no fuss for him. Makes it easier with the restriction. I use this as well- the sardines. But thats protein, isn't it hard on the kidneys? I used to give this to him 2-3 times a week. But i stopped when we went into lockdown and I couldn't get to the supermarkets. This is great! I may also need to get the blood pressure checked. But he is so so so nervous at the vet, i just think it will probably come back false positive.

Hey Deeds, which one do you think had the best results on your baby? I did a comparison yesterday and Hills had a higher protein content and fat. My boy is currently on royal canin renal which has lower protein and lower fat and lower phosphate. Both are just as expensive, actually i think RC is slightly more expensive.

We found out about the kidney because he went in to the vet to get a minor procedure done. It required local anaesthetic but didn't require him to go under. He was a bit out of if when he came home but vet said it was normal behaviour after anaesthetic. He recovered a few hours later and was back to normal. We got the blood test done before the procedure just to make sure he was okay with the anaesthetic and that's when we found the kidney and liver issue. Chicken and egg, I guess we wouldn't have found it if he had not had to have the procedure but with the procedure, he would have to have the anaesthesia. If i had known it was going to be harmful, I would taken extra care to give him lots of water to flush it out. It was an in house blood full blood panel. Not sent to the pathology. Right now, I'm cutting out all the protein. The only protein is from the prescription diet which he only gets just under a cup a day. Will check again in a few weeks time to see whether it makes a difference. If its manageable with diet and doesn't worsen I'll be happy with that. Vet says he is at the very early stages so we caught it early. He is almost 13, it sucks to be getting old.

No, first round. Getting another done in 6 weeks.

Yes, had a blood test and a number of consecutive urine tests (USG) done. Liver is also a culprit.

Thanks so much @Deeds I currently buy ziwipeak as treats but given i need to restrict the protein, I'm not sure I can do this any more. What do you give yours for treats that doesn't need their kidneys to go into overdrive? I'm also a bit worried that he won't get enough nutrients without proteins. Can dogs be vegetarians? What about muscle loss? He is not a picky eater (thank god!), he would eat anything and be content but i feel sad that i can't give him any tasty meat. I'm not sure about bones too.... i usually give him a big pork knuckle bog every weekend, has a bit of leftover meat on the knuckle, can't do it anymore?

To be honest, I didn't even think of owner costs. I just didn't want the dog to get run over and I was also thinking about how painful it would be for the owner to discover their dog missing - i know i would be. But this model seems pretty ridiculous, what if the owner refuses to pay or cannot afford to pay.... do they put the dog down? Thats a bit over the top isn't it?

Thanks. Also, I couldn’t even get close to the dog. It just kept running away. Even if I post to facebook, it’s gone by the way my post is up. Really quite helpless. do you think the vet would take it in? If I’m heading to work, even if I was able to get the dog, I wouldn’t want to leave it home alone. It would scare the poor thing to death.

I was on my way to work today and saw a lost dog. It was a small dog and our local vet is about 10 minute walk away so i thought maybe i can pick him up and take to the vet to get microchip details - not sure it was a good idea anyway given i don't know the temperament of the dog and picking up a fearful dog is not really a good idea. There was no tag on the dog but it had a collar on. It was near a busy road but because it was still early it wasn't peak hour so not too many cars around. As soon as I tried to get near it, it will run away and onto the road. I even tried getting down on the floor and calling it. No luck. I didn't have any food on me or a leash so it was a lost case. He eventually ran away into a side street and disappeared. I did go home to get some food and a leash and walk the street where I found him earlier but he was long gone. I'm actually not sure what the right thing to do. I tried calling a vet once a few years ago and they said there is nothing i can do but hopefully secure it into a gate so they can't run away and then call the council. Easier said than done with a frightened dog.

Thanks yes, mini schnauzer. Well he seems to have elevated liver enzymes so he is not out of the wood just yet! Thanks for the tip, I will be revisiting his diet and also check about the pancreatitis when i speak to vet. Yeah thats what i thought, i should be able to tell from his behaviour. But he seems normal so it didn't even cross my mind. I noticed he is a bit slower (reaction time) but I boiled it down to old age and a loss of hearing, like you would see with an 90 year old compared to a 15 year old. I hope nothing bad, I see the vet again later this week. Thank you all.

@Deeds i had a look at the kibble you mentioned and it still has 15% protein - https://www.hillspet.com.au/dog-food/pd-kd-canine-dry Is that considered low? The MFM my boy is taking is 20% which isn't too far off and i thought it was one of the higher brands. Did you need to get a SDMA done (google says this is the kidney function test)?

I'm currently feeding meals for mutts salmon range and in the last 12 months have topped it up with boiled meat. I may have to stop the top up in meat. I thought kidney was supposed to be lower protein (per above post?) Sounds like the liver and kidneys are related...... both are problematic his bloods at the same time.

Thanks that was helpful. No, he doesn't seem to be sick so there was no reason to test for pancreatitis? Although he has gained a bit of weight (about 1 kg) in the last 12 months. Is there a test for pancratitis? I was of the impression if he had it he would show signs of being sick.

Thanks that’s reassuring. What symptoms does he present? And why only 10%, kibbles have protein too so that means whatever you given him on top is bland and carby? did you need to go for ultrasound? What does his urea reading levels look like? Do they go up and down in every blood test?

The numbers aren’t super high and we are getting another blood done in a few weeks time. Given Denamarin and milk thistle are just vitamin supplements, I’m thinking whether I should dose him something small during this time. So that even if it was a false positive, it won’t harm do much harm. And at least if it did anything, the second blood test would be better. im actually more concerned about the kidneys ( urea level). Liver you can take something to help it, but I’m not sure kidneys are that simple.

My boy is 12 and we just got some blood works done. He has an elevated ALT and ALKP both about 50 above the max boundary. This is the liver enzymes. And his Urea is 12 (normal is under 9.6). The liver may be due to old age but have been advised that milk thistle could help. I'm not sure how much to give, I have a bottle of these I'm taking myself. Does anyone know or have similar problems? https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/86219/thompson-s-one-a-day-milk-thistle-42000mg-60-capsules?gclid=CjwKCAiAv_KMBhAzEiwAs-rX1Ppp6jpqlQYbYdkLJ7_mU2HL9ofghP8KSncAGBm5oMI1qcbdzoOVDxoCR4wQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds With the urea we are going to do a urine test, apparently the blood works in this category is not too accurate. Hopefully it's nothing. Wish me luck collecting his pee!

Thank you for doing that, sorry I didn’t mean for you to take little Danny out for some fresh air but much appreciated. Im surprised the amount of ashes isn’t very much compared to the size of Danny. That’s probably about 1 measuring cup worth.

I just managed to snip it off while he was wiggling on the ground on his back Caught him in a moment where he decided to stay still. I snipped it and pull the bit of plastic stitches out. It was tiny. I hope I got all of it

I think I found an urn I’m happy with but I’m not sure whether it would fit. How much ash would a 11 kg dog produce to say a normal size Kleenex box 21cmx11cmx10cm. Would it be about 30% of the box or more? Is it okay to leave the ashes in the sealed plastic bag and put in the urn ? I worry about breakage. Would it get mouldy or deteriorate if left in plastic?

Haha yeah I too freaked out, I thought it was skin because it was pale white. Did the knot eventually fall off by itself or did your vet have to intervene?

I can’t fathom that they would even use non dissolving stitches in a place that’s so far back and hard to reach. Any dental work would surely be dissolvable, wouldn’t it? It would be silly to have to put the dog under it remove it’s stitches. But you are right, no harm to be sure I guess. I hope I can leave it alone and not irritate him at the same time.

My dog had some dentals done about 3 weeks ago, removed a molar at the far back. While brushing his teeth, I noticed the stitches are still there, I can see the knot, Do I need to take him back to the vet to remove or will it eventually fall off on its own? I thought they would dissolve on its own, not sure why it hasn’t. He would put up a fight when I try to pick it off so I’m not sure the vet can get to the back of his mouth. Would it become inflamed if left in?

Wow thats fantastic! I mean how great she is doing!! Thanks for letting me know.

If you don't need a custom one made but just want one of your breed, you can try Etsy, Ebay or Aliexpress. I recently purchased a schnauzer one and it's quite good, I have another one in transit.