Not sure where to put this but just had to let it out I guess. Yesterday and today are the toughest couple of days I can remember. We found out yesterday that our four year old Boston Terrier is in advanced stages of kidney failure. At the time we found out, we weren't sure if this was a hereditary thing or something with bad food, bad vaccination, or maybe she got into something toxic that caused this. I spoke with my step mom (she's also a vet, but lives out of state) last night about it, and with how suddenly this came on she felt it could be something toxic she got into and encouraged me to have our other dog tested as a safety measure. This morning I had our three year old hound Johnny tested and we found that he is also in advanced stages of kidney failure. We have no idea yet what possibly caused this, but right now, it's likely tainted food, a bad vaccination, or something they both got into. Both dogs are terminally ill at this point and best case scenario is a few months to a year. Reason I'm sharing guys is to make sure you all are very aware of some of the recent dog food recalls. Do some research on the internet regarding the food you are feeding the dogs, there are a lot of major brands including one our dogs were both eating for roughly a two week timeframe back in August. There are also some risks associated with lyme disease vaccinations you guys should be aware of, and I really encourage you to do some research there as well. Last of all, please make sure you love those pups guys. They aren't always going to be here and make sure you are making the best of the time you have with them. As you can imagine, we are pretty heart broken right now and this is going to be one of the toughest things I've ever dealt with.
Man, we absolutely love our dog... Went through something a while back that we thought would take her from us early, turned out it wasn't what the one vet thought, but that feeling of devastation was madness until we found out (and had it corrected). I'm sure you're all extremely down. I'm sorry to hear about your little family members. Nothing I can say will make you feel better, I wish there was. Sounds like a good time for some good treats and some serious snuggle sessions.
Sorry to hear about your dogs. I know what you are going through and it is tough to deal with. I have been involved with dogs, specifically Rottweilers, for a long time and a long time ago I stopped giving ANY vaccinations after the initial puppy/kitten shots. I believe they do much more harm than good, if any good, after the initial ones. I give my animals the legally mandated rabies every 3 years but no others. I used to titre my dogs to check their immunities but they always checked out so I stopped doing that also. I have done a load of research on dog food as well as some of my friends doing a lot of research. There are a lot of good foods out there but there are some bad ones too. I have never heard of a food causing kidney failure though. I would suspect the vaccinations for sure. Enjoy the time you have with your dogs. Keep in mind, they have no idea about what you know so they may get confused if you start acting differently or treating them differently. They do know you love them, so just keep doing that and they will be happy until you say goodbye.
Sorry to hear that! Our pup is our second child. Its a very difficult thing to have sick pets. One thing, have they gotten into any grapes or raisins lately? Those can cause kidney failure in dogs.
Woah, that's no good. Sorry to hear about this bud. Make the most of the time you have with them and they will certainly thank you for it.
Really sorry to hear that. I was forwarded an email about a year ago about those chicken jerky treats causing kidney failure. I had a full bag at the time & chucked em. Wasn't worth it, no matter how much my dog loves em. I really, really feel for you I know how tough this has to be. I'm going to walk my furry friend this evening & make some extra play time for her.
One of ours just got diagnosed with Pancreatis and all signs are pointing to the dog food we fed them from Costco.
I have heard its from dog food that is made from corn. PM Iamyourhuckleberry as he was just talking about this last weekend and said I needed to quit feeding my dogs dog food made from corn. He said he has lost 2 or three dogs to it. Check the ingredients in your food
Most dog food is going to have some corn meal in it - even the higher end stuff. Sure, you can find it without corn meal but if that was truly the problem you'd have a lot more dogs with health problems out there.
There is a lot of dog food out there without corn in it. Corn is a huge source of allergies in dogs. I wouldn't feed any dog food that had corn in it.
Man I'm really sorry to hear about your dogs! I do have a question for you, specifically about the Boston....my wide and I have a 5 year old and a few nights ago she kind of stiffened up and was acting drunk for about 5 minutes and her eyes teared up like crazy. Almost seizure like but totally conscious and coherent, and the vet said to bring her in if she does it again, but she hasn't... What was your dog acting like???
Truly sorry about your pups. Sounds like you gave them the best life you could. Hate to ask but what were the symptoms?
The vaccinations and food changes all happened in roughly the same week. They stopped eating for a couple of days after that, and then afterwards got extremely food picky. They would eat table scraps, but pretty much no dry food (they have never had wet food). They both puked a few times, so we brought them back in and he gave an injection to eliminate the throwing up so they could eat again. After that, they just started drinking a lot, peeing a lot, and both had really bad breath. We brought the Boston in due to the bad breath and they saw she had lost weight, we told them about the drinking and peeing........so they tested and we found out. What you are describing does sound like a seizure. We haven't seen anything like this but I'd keep an eye on her for sure. A bud in college had a Boston that had a similar seizure one time and never had another incident again.
Sorry to hear this, Matt. It's awful enough losing one, let alone two. Hopefully they can live out their remaining days ad happy as they've been all along.
Could it be something else they got into...like antifreeze or onions. What about the water they drink?
Back in 2007 our one dog got sick and refused to eat her food. Turns out it was that tainted stuff that killed thousands of dogs. (kidney failure) The other dogs we had here didn't eat the food she did so they were okay. The dog that got sick (an Irish setter) did pull though and lived for two more years and died at 11 years old. We did switch to raw feeding after getting the bad food. We feed venison, rabbits, squirrels, fish, chicken, beef and pork. I think the switch is what helped the sick dog recover. She actually looked better than she did in years for about a year after the incident. My remaining dog will occasionally get dry commercial dog food. For the days where I forget to thaw something out for her. I go through less than 50lbs of commercial food a year. She occasionally get pizza crusts or some home cooked rice but it doesn't amount to much. The less grain she eats, the better. She also only gets the rabies vaccine. And absolutely no dog treats that come from outside the US. Everything from chicken jerky to dentabone type chews from China have been implicated in poisoning dogs. I really hate to hear about you dogs being sick. I have read that a low carb, high fat diet (ketogenic diet) was shown to reverse kidney damage in mice. I don't know if it can help with acute kidney failure but it might be worth trying. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42689095/ns/health/t/low-carb-high-fat-diet-could-replace-dialysis/
My dog recently stopped eating unless I am in the room with him. He was eating Taste of the Wild. It was weird he will put the food in his mouth and then spit it on the floor then eventually he'd eat it. I just swapped him back to Solid Gold which is what he's eaten since birth! We swapped to Taste of the wild because of the solid gold recall, we couldnt get it from our grain store. The whole things got my wife freaked out. I've had dogs my whole life but can't remember a lab that didnt eat fast.
