Chronic Renal Failure In Dogs
A commonly found disease in most dog breeds is Chronic Renal Failure, a disease which affects a dog’s kidneys.
Whilst any breed of dog at any age can be affected by Chronic Renal Failure, it is more prevalent in senior dogs, with the average age of diagnosis being 7 years old in dogs. However, there are a small number of dog breeds that are believed to be more susceptible to Chronic Renal Failure:
Cocker spaniel
Golden retriever
German shepherd
Shih Tzu
Doberman pinscher
Lhasa Apso
Soft-coated wheaten terrier
Cairn terrier
Bull terrier
Samoyed
Norwegian elkhound
How The Kidneys Work
Food that is digested by dogs produces waste products that are then carried by the dog’s blood to the kidneys where they are filtered and then excreted via the urine. Kidneys are basically a very unique filtration system for a dog’s blood as it removes harmful waste products through the dog’s urinary tract.
But, when something goes wrong and the kidneys are not able to filter these waste products properly, they start to build up inside the dog’s blood. This is when a dog will start to show clinical signs of having Chronic Renal Failure.
To compensate for this, most dogs will increase the water intake in an attempt to flush their bodies of these harmful toxins. Because of the increased water intake, a dog with Chronic Renal Failure will also urinate more. However, since the kidneys are no longer filtering out the waste, the urine will be almost pure water.
Causes
Chronic Renal Failure affects nearly every bodily system and function and so causes quite a few changes in a dog’s body, such as:
A failure to manufacture red blood cells
A failure to manufacture hormones
Inadequate blood filtration leading to retention of waste products
Disruption of electrolyte, fluid, and acid-base balance
There are several different ways in which Chronic Renal Failure can be caused:
Inadequate blood flow to the dog’s kidneys
Insufficient oxygen in the blood
Immune system disorder
Infections
Inflammations
Cancer
Toxins
Treatment of Chronic Renal Failure in Dogs
Unfortunately, the symptoms of Chronic Renal Failure in dogs do not present themselves until the disease is at relatively advanced stage. This is usually when a dog’s kidneys are only functioning at mere 25% capacity.
Most veterinarians, upon diagnosis, will be quite skeptical and state that there isn’t anything that can be done to help reverse the damage and will usually recommend treatments and medications to merely ease the dog’s pain and discomfort and to alleviate any symptoms.
However, dogs who have Chronic Renal Failure can actually live for quite a few months, and even years, longer after their initial diagnosis, depending on how the disease is treated.
Using a herbal supplement, like Tripsy, can be a wonderful compliment to any treatment plan that is recommended by your veterinarian as it was formulated by a naturopathic veterinarian. Tripsy contains a powerful combination of herbal extracts to help fight kidney infections and to improve the overall health of a dog’s kidneys.
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