Renal Failure in CKCS

[Cavstar]

We are having a bad run at the moment.

Our other CKCS nearly 14 yo girl Lucy was diagnosed with acute renal failure & kidney stones around 3 weeks ago.

Leading up to the diagnosis she had gone off her food on/off but still drinking water. 

Vet said as long as she is eating and drinking all is ok.

She is in visible pain & on painkillers and has lost so much weight I can count the bones in her spine.

She refuses to eat anything but chicken which I know is not ideal but even then sometimes that's a stretch. Yesterday she ate nothing. This morning she ate a good amount.  Enough to get some meds in her anyway. She is very wobbly on her feet so I can't walk her. The vet seems to think that this is from a sudden onset of arthritis which she has never had so I'm more inclined to think its part of her kidney disease.

We said to each other when she started refusing food again we would put her to sleep. So we decided that last night but after she ate this morning now I don't know.

I need someone to please tell me what to do. What would you do? 

 

 

[Mairead]

There is a poem that may help you make the decision:

The Last Battle (poem, not novel) It starts 

"If it should be that I grow frail and weak ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Boronia]

You know the answer to your own question otherwise you wouldn't have come here and our answer will always be to say goodbye today.

We all know the hell you are going through but it is always best to take the sooner than later option.

Your little Lucy has had a good life and to prolong it now is just causing distress to her and you and what is another day going to bring?

You can't fix old and sick

 

I will be thinking of you and your dear Lucy today

 

B 

[Rebanne]

What Boronia said. You will regret it if you delay. 

 

Bless you 

[Dogsfevr]

Better a day early than a day late .
She is dying the decision is a slow long one or with dignity 

[AnimalsAll]

Commiserations Cavstar,

You really have had a 'bad run' with this & then your 2nd dog suffering extreme pain from a likely slipped disc.

I'm 3wks new to this forum & only just figured out how to see the most recent posts (by using the 'custom' sort option & choosing the number of days to 'search' for updates - when I sort by updated posts, they only present chronologically).

I've just found your 2 posts, almost 2wks late. I imagine I'm too late to aid your decision for your 14yo suffering kidney stones & renal failure & I'm sorry for that.

I couldn't have told you what to do, anyway - only you have the knowledge of your dog to honestly assess her quality of life. I would only have suggested you try undertaking a mental empathy exercise:  putting yourself in her place - with her priorities in life - & then asking if you'd like to die in your sleep if your balance of pain and pleasure was similar, & expected to worsen?

As someone once wisely told me: there are many experiences worse than 'the long sleep'. I figure this is especially true for animals who receive sedation before their barbiturate overdose (some vets don't give sedation, as a nightmare vet experience in Craigieburn in 2023 taught me).

Anyway, I trust you made the right choice for her and I hope your other dog is now pain-free, too.

I have a 12yo dog with earlier stage renal failure (no weight-loss, yet, & she improved 1 stage on Royal Canin renal diet supplemented with chicken, tuna, peas and carrots, now with Canine Rosehip Vital supplement).  I've been told that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - often used as first-line painkillers - will harm her kidneys. One vet recommended them by mistake to treat unrelated nerve pain, so I mention this for other guardians of animals suffering chronic kidney disease (CKD). There are other analgesic options, reportedly gentler on kidneys, eg: Gabapentin, Paracetamol & CBD oil. But the pain from passing kidney stones appears renowned in human Emergency Departments - my elderly Mum with a high pain threshold found it excruciating: "much worse than childbirth". Probably depends on size of stones and ducts, & the availability of treatment for dogs.

My sympathies 

[MALAWUI]

It's really heartbreaking to read your message, I understand your hesitation. I've already been through this with my dog and in the end I followed his comfort on a daily basis as the only benchmark. As long as he ate a little and still found pleasure, I continued, but as soon as the suffering took over I made the difficult decision.