Liver & Kidney function???

1253 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by catht1977, Mar 21, 2008

catht1977

Discussion Starter · Mar 20, 2008

Sorry everyone, its a question about my non-GSD, Jake. He is now nearly 12 years old and over the last few weeks he has been peeing constantly. When I take him out, he will stop & do a big wee, then every few steps he wants to stop & do a little bit more(after the 1st one, its only a couple of drops.) I know a lot of male dogs mark, but this is literally every couple of steps & he's never done it before. He isnt having accidents in the house.
We took him to the vets who thought he might be able to smell a female dog in season or may have an infection, so she gave us some antibiotics which didnt help. He then went for an abdominal xray which showed nothing. He then had a blood test & we've just had the results which show abnormal liver & kidney function. The vet wants to repeat the test after the bank holiday weekend. She did her best to reassure me that it may not mean anything, as he's elderly & liver & kidney function does decrease with age but now Im sat here panicking that it may be something more sinister. Apart from his itchy skin, he's always been so healthy and looks and acts so young(most people are really shocked when we tell them he's nearly 12) He is raw fed and was neutered at the age of 6 months. I just wondered if anyone else has had something similar with one of their dogs & what the outcome was. Thanks.

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Ewilliams

· #2 · Mar 20, 2008

I hope this helps some. Our senior GSD who passed away 1 year and 2mos. ago, was going in for a teeth cleaning b/c his gums were bleeding when fed RMBs. The pre-op bloodwork showed elevated kidney enzymes, so we did not do the cleaning. He then had an ultrasound (not nearly as expensive as I expected).

What the u/s showed was old damage to the kidneys probably casued by poisoning (before we rescued him) or possibly congenital. Of course, at the time, I was completely devastated. I took a long weekend from work just to spend time with him. My husband was sick over it.

Good news- he continued to live a wonderful life and died of something not related to the problem (torsion).

What our vet recommended was low sodium/low protein diet for the rest of his life. His ONLY treat was white bread. I thought this was awful, but he actually loved it and thrived.

I hope this helps some. I would definitely not change his diet until your vet makes recommendations, but if it is like my boy, he may have to come off raw. So, I would be prepared for that just in case. I know you will do anything to keep him healthy, so hang in there and please let us know what you find out.

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arycrest

· #3 · Mar 20, 2008

Did the vet check his prostate to make sure it isn't enlarged?

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ToFree24

· #4 · Mar 20, 2008

My 5 year girl is in Vet now -- yesterday went outside with me and started staring, not looking anywhere - closing her eyes like she was going to die, I said oh no, you are not dying on me -- started calling her name, she went and did 2 grey stools and flopped down in heavy sitting position -- got her into the house by calling my son -- it's his sweet dog - poor little kid -- we got her to the vets - X rays, blood work up - something going on with her liver - non utra-sound, waiting to here from the vet

Good luck with your baby and hope these two will be OK!!

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catht1977

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 20, 2008

Thanks for the really quick replies, it really helps to have people to "talk to" who understand. The vet did check his prostrate by feeling along his tummy area & said it didnt feel enlarged. She also said that if it was enlarged, he would struggle passing stools and they would be flat shaped, none of which is happening. In fact, apart from the constant peeing, he seems absolutely fine, hes eating & drinking fine & Ive just had both dogs out for a long walk & he was keeping up with my 2 year old GSD as normal.
I did wonder about the raw diet & whether it could be contributing to the problem. I only switched to raw about 18 months ago & he's thrived on it, but if I have to swap him to somthing else, its not a problem,I'll do whatever it takes to keep him healthy. The only problem may be if he needs something specialised as Ive recently moved to the Canary Islands and not everything is as readily available as it is in the USA or UK....oh well, I'll cross that bridge if & when I come to it.
ToFree24, I really hope that your girl is ok & you will both be in my prayers tonight. I'm gonna keep everything crossed that she makes a speedy recovery. Good luck

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ToFree24

· #6 · Mar 21, 2008

OK - vet called and after ultra sound says she has Pancreatitis - says this is due to fatty foods. Poor girl is resting, no food & IVs at the office and will pick her up Sat.

I feed her Paul Newman's dry 2 X , aday -- with Mother Hobbers?spelling -- Peanut butter biscuits, other natural biscuits and started alittle canned - Paul Newman's - just a tablespoon to her food. A little spoon of Peanut Butter for a treat. DH did slip a piece of Porkchop - when I wasn't lookin :-O !! Poland Spring water

Yes, I am feeling bad, like what did I do wrong : (

So vet says now it is bland food from his office think it is I/D ?

Any help here, let me know - thanks for your prayers Catherine

Kathleen

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JeanKBBMMMAAN

· #7 · Mar 21, 2008

Is Jake on any NSAIDS like Rimadyl, Metacam, etc?

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catht1977

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 21, 2008

No, he's not on any meds at all except the odd antihistamine when his skin flares up, but the last time he had one of those was about 2 months ago

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