Georges eye area

I know too little about this to comment but would expect you have been using antibiotics with him?

I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

He has had several series of antibiotics and spent 3 weeks at the vet.  His worst problem of course is kidney disease but he has severe diarrea and so thirsty every day.  We were to the point of making a decision about his life even continuing but we could not do it.  We brought him home to make him comfortable for as long as he has left.  Thank you for the prayers.  It is hard to ask some people to pray for a pet when so many humans are in dire straits, but I do appreciate it. 

Ms Mac

It is hard to ask some people to pray for a pet when so many humans are in dire straits, but I do appreciate it. 

Most of us here feel that our pets are part of our families.  A wise friend of mine told me something the other day that really meant a lot to me.  I'll paraphrase what she said:  the fact that others have more serious problems doesn't diminish what you are going through". 

I'm so sorry that you're dealing with such a bad situation with your dog.  I don't have any medical advice but I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.  It's very hard to let them go and I don't presume to know his condition well enough to assume anything.  I do feel that sometimes letting them go is the last and most loving thing we can do for them if they are in pain and their quality of life is poor.  I know there have been times that I've felt I waited a little too long and kept a dearly beloved dog with me for my own selfish reasons.  Please don't think I'm advising you to euthanize your dog but I want you to know that many of us here have been in your shoes and it's just a crummy place to be.  ((((hugs)))

I've lost a dog to renal failure - I do understand.

Things I wish someone had told ME:

1.  WATCH HIS BLOOD PRESSURE!!!!!!!!! -- SINGLE most important thing for you to know.  Your own vet may not have a blood pressure cuff for a dog.  FIND ONE WHO DOES and take him in at least weekly to have his blood pressure monitored.  Renal failure drives up the bloodpressure, and hypertension will cut his life short and make him far far less comfortable.  A holistic vet told me to "watch the blood pressure" and my regular vet looked at me with no comprehension at all.

I didn't pursue it -- UNTIL late days of Muffin's renal failure.  Then when I took him to a specialty vet the **first thing** she did was take his blood pressure and it was SKY HIGH.  By that time he was too sick to hold down hypertension meds -- but she had told me that it was actually the hypertension exacerbating the nausea and we could have easily had him be far more comfortable for a good while longer.

After that my regular vet DID get a blood pressure cuff for a dog and we're both wiser!

2.  Try TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine).  Acupuncture (and acupressure) both can help a great deal to relieve the nausea.  There are Chinese herbals that can help also with balacing remaining kidney function.  http://www.tcvm.com -- there is a locator on the left -- feel free to email me if I can help you.

3.  Are you doing Sub-Q fluids??  That can make them FAR more comfortable -- it's essentially a very rudimentary form of dialysis.  It's not difficult and it can help them feel FAR more comfortable and less toxic (it's the toxicity that causes the nausea).

Feel free to contact me -- I understand what you're going thru!  *hugs*  Callie

And PS -- to make his eyes more comfortable you can try Similisan's "Pink Eye" drops - it's a homeopathic, very very gentle and will help relieve eye pain.

 ((( Ms Mac)))  This site may be helpful;   DogAware.com Health: Kidney Disease in Dogs

   Have you tried cooking him some rice or potatoes and fish?  At this stage, he needs either a home cooked diet or prescription diet for kidney disease; they're the only way to get the phosphorus low enough. Be careful to feed only moderate amounts of high quality protein if you're cooking for him. CoQ10 has been proven to lower serum creatinine and urea in people. A person I know who formulates diets for dogs with health problems recommends giving 30 milligrams per 20 pounds of body weight a day to dogs with kidney disease. She also recommends giving them fish body oil at the rate of 50 to 100 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. That's all I can add to what the others have said. I'll be keeping you and your dog in my thoughts.

Janice -- darned good post!!!  Co-Q-10 can be helpful on a lot of levels (cos the heart is under a lot of stress anyway and the Co-Q-10 is helpful.  Plus your diet helps raise an incredibly good point.  Home-cooking truly often helps get them to eat.

calliecritturs

Home-cooking truly often helps get them to eat

   It's something a lot of folks don't think about, that dogs can eat "people" food.  A fatty fish like baked salmon might be good, or boneless chicken thighs with the skin. You want to avoid feeding bones because they're high in phosphorus, and only feed a moderate amount of protein. But one of those, or some ground beef, with some potatoes or rice should be very tempting.