Whether the dog has chronic or acute kidney failure, the symptoms also differ. Below is a summary of some of the most common signs.
With both forms of kidney failure, you must take your four-legged friend to a veterinarian as soon as possible after symptoms appear. The sooner your pet gets treatment, the better the chances of getting better quickly. How to recognize the disease.
Symptoms of acute renal failure
This dog disease is usually preceded by severe stress on your dog’s organism. Poisoning, high fever or heavy blood loss, for example, can lead to your pet developing acute renal failure.
In addition to the symptoms of illness that stem from the cause of the insufficiency, dog owners usually find that their dog is restless and eats little or nothing. He hardly ever urinates, possibly not at all, and suffers from diarrhea or vomiting.
Identify chronic kidney failure.
The symptoms of chronic kidney disease usually come insidiously and only become apparent when around two-thirds of the kidneys are only functioning poorly. A sick dog drinks a lot, eats less and loses weight. He is calmer than usual, appears listless and dull, and his coat may lose its shine.
A sick dog urinates more than usual and sometimes cannot make it outside. Vomiting and constipation may occur, with severe cases leading to seizures.
A healthy diet prevents kidney failure.
To prevent kidney failure in your four-legged friend, there is one aspect in particular that you can influence: dog nutrition. This should be species-appropriate. Dry food can contribute to the development of kidney failure. In some cases, it contains harmful substances and only meat flour instead of high-quality meat. Also, being dry can weaken body organs such as the kidneys. This can eventually become dehydrated, causing toxins to enter the body.
The problem: Dogs find it very difficult to compensate for the moisture loss that dry food inevitably causes repeatedly. In this respect, you should feed your fur nose healthy and appropriate to the species – and thus prevent kidney failure. High-quality wet food is an option, but you can also barf your dog.
