Pug With Kidney Damage

[Charlotte]

Hi everyone, I have a six year old female Pug who recently had her teeth cleaned (and some removed) under anesthetic. The anesthetic has damaged her kidneys so she spent three days on a drip and is now on the Hills prescription K/D canned food. She's peeing a lot more and has had a couple of accidents (incontinence) but other than that she seems like her normal self.

I was hoping for some advice from anyone out there who has experienced something similar with their dog. I've been trying to steer clear of google for fear of what the kidney damage means long term, but at the same time know that I can't bury my head in the sand.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[OSoSwift]

I am sorry I can't help with the info you seek, but I think you are wise to resist the urge to google.

I am sorry this has happenend to your girl and I hope she has a long and happy life.

[oakway]

What are the chances that the damage will repair it's self over time.

[RuralPug]

I haven't had a pug with kidneys damaged due to toxic shock or anything but I did a lot of research recently when a routine (I do annually for all 13y.o.s & older) blood test showed the beginnings of renal failure in my almost 16 y.o. gal (who has since gone to the bridge via sudden death).

I feed mostly raw and one of the best sites I thought for tweaking a raw diet was this one: canine kidney diet.

Even if you don't feed raw it is worth reading up on the whys and wherefores. Meat is high in phosphorous which is hard on damaged kidneys, but dogs need meat, so the solution there is to add phosphorous binders to the diet (crushed eggshell is a very good one). The old low-protein diet had the idea of lowering phosphorous intake, but lowered the intake of a lot of other good stuff as well.

Another thing to consider is maybe take the strain off the kidneys a little by adding fermentable fibre (which makes bulky stools) such as pumpkin so that the lower intestine actually does some of the detoxifying work leaving less for the kidneys to do.

Of course you need to encourage her to drink more to help flush those kidneys as well.

You'll need to do a bit of research and a bit of fiddling, but you will be able to sort something that suits you. I believe there may be chat groups and forums of owners with dogs with kidney problems, they can live a very long life (depending on how bad the damage and how early you catch it) with the right care.

[Jed]

I understood, from information given to me by a specialist vet, that damage of that kind (ie, anaesthetic, trauma etc) should heal without any ill effects. Time is variable.

Have you asked the vet for a prognosis? He may not be prepared to say one way or the other - because he could be wrong either way, and could be liable.

[Xyz]

Poor girl, glad she's still feeling ok.

Few things-

Were pre GA blood and urine tests performed to check kidney function prior to the procedure??

Was she on Intravenous fluids during the GA and whilst in recovery??

[Staranais]

What are the chances that the damage will repair it's self over time.

They tell us that of the dogs that survive acute kidney disease (which I presume this is from the description), 50% will suffer from some form of chronic renal disease. i.e., 50% will have kidneys with less reserve so they will be less resilient to other insults.

Charlotte, just out of curiosity, did they monitor your dog's blood pressure throughout the surgery, & what painkillers did they prescribe post op?

[Sheridan]

In general, I think that 80% of damage to the kidneys occurs prior to any symptoms showing. Early diagnosis is key so it's good that it's been picked up now.

[Moselle]

Dogs can have 90% damage to their kidneys before any signs are detected. Could it be that perhaps your pug may have had some damage with her kidneys before having her teeth cleaned and the anaesthetic accelerated the damage? A blood test prior to the anaesthetic is a good idea to see if there is any damage to begin with. Either way, you did the right thing in getting her teeth cleaned as the bacteria itself can precipitate kidney problems. Hope all goes well. My shetland sheepdog passed away at the age of 14 years; he was diagnosed with kidney failure at the age of 9 years so I still had him for an extra 5 years. He was on the Hills prescription diet.