also just caught up with this and i wanted to add my best wishes for moon. it is so worrying when our pets are sick and i will keep everything crossed that he keeps on improving. it'll be lovely to have him home again. hugs to you. xxx

That's good news that he's coming home. Good luck and fingers crossed he continues to do well

Moon is home, he ate a nice lunch and has now settled down for a sleep

I'm looking into anything extra we can do to help. A few questions
1) I've heard mention of pure drinking water or distilled water. Has anyone found this made a difference? Is filtered tap water ok? Or do they mean bottle mineral water?
2) Anyone know if any homeopathic remedies that might help him in support of the conventional medicine we're using. Anyone know anything about this website? http://www.caninekidneyhealth.com/
3) Has anyone used hydrotherapy (hot/cold water) to heal kidneys?

We are willing to try anything that might help Moon so any suggestions welcome


ETA: here's some photos of my special boy http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php...20#post1856320

Reading more on that caninekidneyhealth.com website,sounds too good to be true and therefore probably is! I didn't think the kidneys could heal.....? Therefore I imagine the hydrotherapy stuff is unlikely to help.

Anyone know of a homeopathic vet in London they would recommend?

Has anyone used Rubenal? Or I'm looking at the Vetri-Science Renal Essentials for the US. Any good?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just determined that there must be more I can do for Moon, I want to try anything that might help!

I think his stomach acids have flared up He was bright yesterday morning and became quite sorry looking by the end of the night. He's licking his lips and his tummy is making noises, he's laying in funny places around the house too.

I'm hoping it's not that his blood levels have increased, but just that his stomach acids are high. Off to the vets again to get antacids and I'm going to get some SLippery Elm for him too. If no improvement by tomorrow, back to the vets

Poor baby On the plus side, he is still eating very well and isn't currently vomiting

Hi Amanda it's good to hear Moon is eating and keeping food down . What did the vet advise about diet?

I am sorry I could not help with your questions in post 33. Kidney problems in dogs have various causes and there are different degrees of severity when it comes to kidney failure. Amy's was related to her heart condition and age and was managable. With Millie nothing I could have done would have helped her except in the short term. It appears she was born with defective kidneys although she didn't display any symptoms to begin with, her ultrasound scan at nine months of age showed severe kidney damage.

Don't be afraid to talk frankly to your vet about Moon's condition and any things which may help him .
I think sometimes people are afraid to talk about things because they fear to hear the worst. I am a great believer in 'know your enemy' so you are aware what you are dealing with and can act accordingly.

To put things plainly, if Moon's condition is not too severe you should be able to manage it with diet and medication, if it is severe nothing you can do will make a difference in the long term ..(hugs) xx

Thanks Mini, you've been so supportive They vet just said small regular meals or whatever he will eat, as eating nothing is worse than him eating something which is not 'kidney friendly'. Buyt what he is eating is basically a home cooked kidney friendly diet, so that works out ok.

He is in 'end stage' kidney failure, so pretty serious. However we STILL don't know if it's acute or chronic, so there is a chance he may recover. The vets have really said, it will justbe a case or waiting and seing what happens. So given that, I'm determined to do everything possible to give him the best chance he can have.

I'm under no illusions, I know he may not last long. I personally have a gut feeling it's chronic But that doesn't mean that he can't be stabilised, kept comfortable and last for an unknown amount of time........

So just flinging everything at it possible in the theory "of it won't do any harm trying, then try, if it doesn't work you haven't lost anything".

Have booked in with a homeopathic vet in North London called Lise in the hope she can give him something to make him comfortable and settle him tummy, although she couldn't fit us in before 12th Jan so his condition could do anything by then....!

I agree Amanda .
Keeping food down is so important and this is more likely to happen with very small frequent meals which should also help to prevent a build up of acid in Moons tummy (just a couple of tablspoons at a time every few hours ). Also easily digested meals like well boiled rice/chicken/scrambled eggs/fish. I also used chicken flavoured 'Complan' from the chemist , this is very nutritious and stayed down quite well.

The white fish was coley or cod frozen and in packets of six small blocks. I got this from the supermarket and it was quite a reasonable price, small tins of salmon too.

Thanks for the tips! Apparently chicken (esp the breast) is quite high phospherous, so I've been favouring lamb and beef mince at the moment with white rice and chopped hard boiled eggs. Green tripe is going down a treat and works well to hide all his pills in. He refused to eat the Prize Choice white fish frozen block from PAH, but I may try him on white fish again. I'll look into tinned fish. Chicken Complan is a great idea, will definately try that!

I'm back at work soon so I'm going to try and get a neighbour to pop in and let him out to wee during the day and feed him a small meal, the plan is to have him on around four meals a day if possible.

continued..
I gave the Complan with the use of a syringe, tilting the head back slightly/pulling out the skin at the side of the mouth where the jaws meet to form a pocket/syringing in a small amount of liquid/gently stroking the throat to get the dog to swallow.

Some people said one should know when to call it a day but I managed to keep Amy going for a long time and her quality of life was quite good even when she developed CCD (canine cognitive dysfunction).The vet said it was unbelievable that I had managed to keep her going until the age of 16 .

Sadly this won't be possible with all dogs but while the quality of life is good there is hope and I think it is worth battling on .

I would have done anything to save Millie. At nine months I had completed all the hard work, she was trained and we were inseparable. I can't think of her now without crying and thinking what a terrible waste knowing that she had the makings of a very special dog..