Kidney disease in young pup

muirsheen

Hi looking for information and help.

Have a five month old pup who from when she came home had exessive thirst and wetting floors. Brought her to the vet who diagnosed a UTI and she was put on antibiotics for two weeks. After that she has been on antibiotics twice since. I got bloods done and she has kidney disease. Im absolutely devasasted. She has brought so much joy to our lives .

Has anyone heard of this in such a young dog. Has the breeder any responsibility . Its not about money but I would hate for this to happen to anyone else.

Any advice appreciated.

tk123

Sorry to hear about your poor pup Did they do anything else apart from bloods eg urinalysis where they take a sample directly from the bladder? When Lucy was diagnosed there was a possibility that it could have been an infection causing elevated levels?

shanec1928

Happened to us this year with a puppy. She was 12 weeks when we had to put her to sleep. Nothing could be done in our case it was just a matter of when. The vet said they may get it once or twice a year across all breed . Our breeder was devastated as were we.

muirsheen

tk123 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your poor pup Did they do anything else apart from bloods eg urinalysis where they take a sample directly from the bladder? When Lucy was diagnosed there was a possibility that it could have been an infection causing elevated levels?

Happening this week. Ill know more then

muirsheen

shanec1928 wrote: »

Happened to us this year with a puppy. She was 12 weeks when we had to put her to sleep. Nothing could be done in our case it was just a matter of when. The vet said they may get it once or twice a year across all breed . Our breeder was devastated as were we.

Breeder didn't really want to know. My heart is truely broken.

andreac

Very sorry to hear about your pup.

Thats awful. Obviously not a reputable breeder if that's their reaction. What breed is it?

muirsheen

Does anyone know if the breeder has any obligation to me. She's so young. Only have her 3 months.

tk123

muirsheen wrote: »

Does anyone know if the breeder has any obligation to me. She's so young. Only have her 3 months.

Did you go through a breed club to source the pup?

muirsheen

tk123 wrote: »

Did you go through a breed club to source the pup?

no

cocker5

muirsheen wrote: »

no

How did u source your puppy OP?

muirsheen

cocker5 wrote: »

How did u source your puppy OP?

Through a friend who knew the breeder.

Has the vet suggest a prescription diet?

My beloved dog had kidney disease. It first showed up in her bloods about 12-18 months ago and the vet put her on a prescription diet and I do believe it helped for a while.

Unfortuntely I had to let her go a few weeks ago, as things got worse, but she was 14.

cocker5

muirsheen wrote: »

Through a friend who knew the breeder.

Can I ask what breed OP?

Poor pup it’s awful

Knine

muirsheen wrote: »

no

Have you contacted the Breeder?

muirsheen

Deleted User wrote: »

Has the vet suggest a prescription diet?

My beloved dog had kidney disease. It first showed up in her bloods about 12-18 months ago and the vet put her on a prescription diet and I do believe it helped for a while.

Unfortuntely I had to let her go a few weeks ago, as things got worse, but she was 14.

Can I ask you how it affected them? I don't know whats ahead of me

muirsheen

Knine wrote: »

Have you contacted the Breeder?

yes I did. Said all others in the pack are healthy and that not his problem

muirsheen

cocker5 wrote: »

Can I ask what breed OP?

Poor pup it’s awful

German Shepherd

Effects

muirsheen wrote: »

Has anyone heard of this in such a young dog.

Excessive inbreeding. Happens all the time. Kennel Club don't really care/do nothing about it.

cocker5

muirsheen wrote: »

German Shepherd

This holistic vet I find excellent have a read here:

https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/11015021-holistic-approach-to-kidney-disease-treatment

muirsheen

Effects wrote: »

Excessive inbreeding. Happens all the time. Kennel Club don't really care/do nothing about it.

I have heard that before about kennel club. If this post could save someone from the hardship and heartbreak Im suffering.

Knine

Effects wrote: »

Excessive inbreeding. Happens all the time. Kennel Club don't really care/do nothing about it.

How is it the Kennel Clubs fault if the OP did not research & choose a Reputable Breeder?

Cherry Blossom

Did you sign a sales contract when you bought the pup? You would have if they were a proper breeder. Given the timing and the fact that very few responsible breeders had litters for sale throughout the COVID pandemic it’s probably likely that you bought from an unscrupulous back yard breeder or puppy farmer. If you did you have no more comeback that you would have if you bought a cheap car. If you have no sales contract the pup was likely sold ‘as seen’. This is why it’s so important to do proper research before buying a dog and sourcing a reputable breeder. With things the way they are at the minute well bred dogs are extremely hard to find and even more so with German shepherds, a breed that has been destroyed with unscrupulous breeding including by the showing community. I’m afraid you will probably have to take this one on the chin OP.

muirsheen

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Did you sign a sales contract when you bought the pup? You would have if they were a proper breeder. Given the timing and the fact that very few responsible breeders had litters for sale throughout the COVID pandemic it’s probably likely that you bought from an unscrupulous back yard breeder or puppy farmer. If you did you have no more comeback that you would have if you bought a cheap car. If you have no sales contract the pup was likely sold ‘as seen’. This is why it’s so important to do proper research before buying a dog and sourcing a reputable breeder. With things the way they are at the minute well bred dogs are extremely hard to find and even more so with German shepherds, a breed that has been destroyed with unscrupulous breeding including by the showing community. I’m afraid you will probably have to take this one on the chin OP.

thank you for replying. Yes I think you're right and have confirmed what I had feared.

tk123

Effects wrote: »

Excessive inbreeding. Happens all the time. Kennel Club don't really care/do nothing about it.

That’s an impressive diagnosis you’ve done over the internet.. where is the IKC mentioned.. back yard breeders don’t typically go through breed clubs who health test their dogs.

OP my experience of kidney disease is that there were no textbook systems..like excessive thirst and weeing... I just felt that she wasn’t thriving - she was 6 and her 10 year old brother was running rings around her. She was ever so slightly hesitant when eating... but still eating. I wrote a list of all the random little things and quirks about her and took it along with a wee sample to the vet and they were floored when the tested it and did bloods because clinically she looked to be in perfect health. Treatment wise she had high phosphate levels so had a binder in her food, and was leaking protein so went on fortekor for that. Her diet had to be changed too. I switched to a mix of homemade and wet renal food which she loved. We did fluids at home for a good while too. Luckily we had insurance as the treatment was expensive.

Lucy was stage 2-3 when diagnosed - do you remember what stage your girl is at? I’d urge caution googling and don’t join any kidney dog FB groups as they’re very upsetting

muirsheen

tk123 wrote: »

That’s an impressive diagnosis you’ve done over the internet.. where is the IKC mentioned.. back yard breeders don’t typically go through breed clubs who health test their dogs.

OP my experience of kidney disease is that there were no textbook systems..like excessive thirst and weeing... I just felt that she wasn’t thriving - she was 6 and her 10 year old brother was running rings around her. She was ever so slightly hesitant when eating... but still eating. I wrote a list of all the random little things and quirks about her and took it along with a wee sample to the vet and they were floored when the tested it and did bloods because clinically she looked to be in perfect health. Treatment wise she had high phosphate levels so had a binder in her food, and was leaking protein so went on fortekor for that. Her diet had to be changed too. I switched to a mix of homemade and wet renal food which she loved. We did fluids at home for a good while too. Luckily we had insurance as the treatment was expensive.

Lucy was stage 2-3 when diagnosed - do you remember what stage your girl is at? I’d urge caution googling and don’t join any kidney dog FB groups as they’re very upsetting

Getting more tests done next week and I'll know more. Her blood ranges were out of ranges and its obvious the kidneys are failing. Just difficult to accept at such an young age.

tk123

muirsheen wrote: »

Getting more tests done next week and I'll know more. Her blood ranges were out of ranges and its obvious the kidneys are failing. Just difficult to accept at such an young age.

Have they any idea what caused it? With Lucy I suspected her L4 vaccine as I could trace everthing back to when she got it and had a reaction.

Effects

Knine wrote: »

How is it the Kennel Clubs fault if the OP did not research & choose a Reputable Breeder?

Maybe because the Kennel Club have no real issues with breeders who aren't reputable.

Cherry Blossom

Effects wrote: »

Maybe because the Kennel Club have no real issues with breeders who aren't reputable.

At no point in this thread has the OP stated if the dog is registered with the IKC or not. The chances are the dog is not even registered.

Very much as you described already, muirsheen.

I noticed an increase in thirst, and that she was having accidents in the house - something which she never had before, even after having 2 strokes. I could tell by her behaviour she had absolutely no control over when these accidents happened, she simply didnt have time to get to the back door.

My vet was of the belief at the end that it was having an affect on her brain, as she was becoming very confused and unresponsive, but this could also be down to her getting on in years.

(eta) I dont know if its particularly relevant, but she was a cocker spaniel.

Alun

Sorry to hear about your pup. There are UTIs that affect the kidneys too and can cause acute kidney disease. I'm only familiar with chronic kidney disease which can be managed if it's caught early enough, but not sure if the acute form can be treated in the same way.

Effects

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

At no point in this thread has the OP stated if the dog is registered with the IKC or not. The chances are the dog is not even registered.

It's probably an even worse case of inbreeding if the Kennel Club aren't involved!