While the causes and treatment procedures for canine renal failure may vary from pet to pet, there are a number of symptoms that are fairly common across the board.
Most pet owners do not actually detect any signs of trouble early on, since dogs in the initial stages of renal failure simply consume a lot more water than usual and consequently, produce a lot more urine. Since these two signs may be observed in even healthy dogs from time to time, most pet owners do not take any action until the disease has progressed to a more advanced state.
After the initial stages of increased water consumption and increased urine production, a number of more obvious symptoms may appear, and this is when most pet owners first become aware that something is wrong.
Some of the more common symptoms of the advanced stages of canine renal failure are loss of appetite, nausea (which may or may not be accompanied by vomiting), diarrhea, excessively foul breath, mouth ulcers, and a general air of lethargy or depression.
All these symptoms point to an advanced stage of renal failure, and you should bring your pet to a veterinarian when you notice them in your dog.
Your veterinarian will likely prescribe a two-part treatment procedure. He may attempt to “restart” the kidneys for instance, which is to say that he will use abundant amounts of fluid given intravenously in an attempt to flush out the toxins from the kidneys. Called “Diuresis”, this procedure is intended to help the kidneys perform their necessary functions again. If the condition hasn’t caused very much damage to the tissues in the kidneys, they may still be able to perform the required waste elimination functions after this step of the process.
In addition to the flushing process, your veterinarian may also introduce fluids that replace essential electrolytes that have been lost due to diarrhea and dehydration, such as potassium. In extreme cases of vomiting and diarrhea, your veterinarian may prescribe medication for these specific symptoms as well.
After this first procedure, your dog may either make a full recovery in anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, experience an improvement in kidney function that reverts as soon as treatment is halted, or he may not get better at all. Unfortunately, not all dogs will respond favorably to treatment, and there is no way of knowing if your dog will get better unless you have him go through the treatment procedure.
The second part of the treatment procedure is intended to keep the kidneys working as close to normally as possible for as long as possible. This will typically done by placing the dog on a restricted diet, and by treatment with a phosphate binder that helps your dog avoid phosphorous buildup and retention.