Just like in humans, kidney malfunction can greatly affect your dog’s body system. When this happens, there is a great chance that toxins will accumulate in your dog’s body. This can also hinder your dog’s body from receiving the proper nutrients that it should receive. Kidney failure is a crucial disease. It will continue to develop until you treat it. Fortunately, there are several treatment options for this disease.
The following provides you with a detail description for each treatment:
- Give your dog fluid therapy treatments. If you caught the disease at an early phase, you can use fluid therapy to treat it. Remember that it may take several hours to rehydrate your dog. The vet may have to administer the IV fluids for ten hours. During the therapy, you should monitor your dog if he is properly urinating. You should also take note of the amount of the urine your dog released. The vet may also provide other medication to help your dog urinate.
- Change your dog’s diet. Another way of treating kidney disease is to change your dog’s diet. Make sure that the diet is low on protein. This is advisable if the disease is on its progressive stage. Just remember that low-protein diet may cause your dog to vomit. You can also use a low-phosphorus diet as an alternative. This helps reduce the mineral deposits in your dog’s urine. You should also take note of your dog’s sodium intake. One of the best diet plans is giving your dog low-sodium diet. Just make sure you do not give your dog too low sodium-diet. This might dehydrate him. You should also avoid serving your dog with dry food, especially those with low water content. Remember that hydration is an important aspect in kidney disease. Make sure that the diet has both dry and moist food.
- Provide vitamins and supplements. Supplements containing fish oil is one of the best supplements you can give your dog. The Omega-3 fatty acids can slow the development of the kidney disease. Make sure to give at least 300 mg of this supplement daily. Split the dosage into a two-part treatment. If you have large dogs, you can use liquid-based fish oil as their supplements. Gel caps are also good as long as they contain 500 to 600 mg of EPA and DHA.
- Give you dog antibiotics if they have an infection. Kidney disease can cause your dog’s immune system to fail. When this happens, your dog can easily acquire infection. The vet may give your dog antibiotics if ever the dog has infections. This usually occurs when the stage of the disease is at its progression.
- Consider giving your dog subcutaneous fluids. Another treatment that you can give your dog is the Sub-Q fluids. This can be very helpful in treating early stages of kidney disease. Remember the dehydration is bad for kidney disease. If your dog is having a hard time drinking enough fluids, you can use subcutaneous fluids. Using subcutaneous fluids will help your dog stay hydrated.
These are some of the most common treatments for canine kidney disease. However, when these treatments are not enough to treat your dog, the vet might rely on other options. The vet might perform a dialysis. Kidney transplant is also an option.