My 15 year old girl stopped drinking water 3 weeks ago and I took her to the vet. She was given subcutaneous fluids and diagnosed with CKD stage 1. Her appetite is good but she’s been picky about what she eats. She eats wet food but that’s not enough hydration for her. I try adding water into her food but she doesn’t like eating it with added water. I tried chicken broth instead (homemade with just chicken thigh) and that doesn’t do it. It’s not her bowl or the type of water, I’ve played around and nothing works. She can’t keep getting subcutaneous fluids because of heart disease. What do I do? I’m working with her vet but wanted to hear if anyone has dealt with this before.
kawaiichristi
New member
@iklog Ask your vet for an appetite stimulant and anti-nausea drug and then try the broth again. CKD messes with their food interest by making them nauseous. That can look exactly like pickiness.
Ask your vet to check for ulcers or anything else that might be painful in her mouth or throat. That is treatable too, if it's present. It would be surprising in stage 1, but doesn't hurt to check.
The biggest thing I learned in my old dog's experience with kidney disease is if he's not eating or drinking, it requires a medical change. Trying to cater, trying this special food or that special dish, is a recipe for burnout, and isn't a consistent solution for the dog anyways. It was better, every time, to call the vet, report our current status, and see what medical/drug changes they recommended.
That said, my dog always really liked gatorade, so I'd water it way down like a tablespoon in a cup of water. He also really liked rice milk, the non-enriched kind with no minerals added, so I'd similarly dilute that. I made a lot of boneless chicken thigh broth (don't use the bones; they add extra phosphorus to the broth).
I've also heard of people making jello wigglers with unflavored gelatin, for hydration, but I've never tried that. If she doesn't want broth then I doubt she'd want these other things either.
Ask your vet to check for ulcers or anything else that might be painful in her mouth or throat. That is treatable too, if it's present. It would be surprising in stage 1, but doesn't hurt to check.
The biggest thing I learned in my old dog's experience with kidney disease is if he's not eating or drinking, it requires a medical change. Trying to cater, trying this special food or that special dish, is a recipe for burnout, and isn't a consistent solution for the dog anyways. It was better, every time, to call the vet, report our current status, and see what medical/drug changes they recommended.
That said, my dog always really liked gatorade, so I'd water it way down like a tablespoon in a cup of water. He also really liked rice milk, the non-enriched kind with no minerals added, so I'd similarly dilute that. I made a lot of boneless chicken thigh broth (don't use the bones; they add extra phosphorus to the broth).
I've also heard of people making jello wigglers with unflavored gelatin, for hydration, but I've never tried that. If she doesn't want broth then I doubt she'd want these other things either.
@kawaiichristi That’s super helpful-thank you. I didn’t think about her situation like that but you’re definitely right. I’m waiting to hear back from her vet so hopefully they get to me soon and I can get her some help. Pinky appreciates your help
kawaiichristi
New member
@iklog Good luck. In the meantime, no harm in trying things. Maybe a slightly different flavor or brand of wet food would be more of a hit with water added than her regular food? I have had good luck with Weruva canned food for that purpose. They have some that have a texture of shredded meat in gravy, so if you add water it becomes kind of like chicken soup.
@kawaiichristi I’ll have to try around. Her food now doesn’t mix too well with water so that makes it harder. I think she’d like a more gravy based food.
kawaiichristi
New member
@kawaiichristi She’s on her regular food. I tried her on prescription hills low fat I/d and she ate it for a few days and then wasn’t into it. Maybe if I get her nausea treated she’ll be okay with it
kawaiichristi
New member
@iklog i/d is more for sensitive stomachs and gastro upset. A prescription kidney disease diet would be low in phosphorus. Examples are hills k/d, royal Canin renal, just food for dogs renal. Fwiw my dog liked the royal Canin cans best, and he thought hills k/d was absolutely disgusting.
That's not to say your dog necessarily needs a prescription diet at this point. And I'm certainly not qualified to recommend one that is also suitable for heart trouble. But when you're at the vet and you tell them about her pickiness and unwillingness to drink, the vet should talk to you about diet options that put less stress on the kidneys, whether a Rx food or a recommendation for a regular over the counter food.
Even if not on a prescription diet, I would avoid feeding large quantities of foods which have a ton of phosphorus, like liver. A little in the dog food is no biggie, but don't go using a whole bag of dehydrated liver treats.
That's not to say your dog necessarily needs a prescription diet at this point. And I'm certainly not qualified to recommend one that is also suitable for heart trouble. But when you're at the vet and you tell them about her pickiness and unwillingness to drink, the vet should talk to you about diet options that put less stress on the kidneys, whether a Rx food or a recommendation for a regular over the counter food.
Even if not on a prescription diet, I would avoid feeding large quantities of foods which have a ton of phosphorus, like liver. A little in the dog food is no biggie, but don't go using a whole bag of dehydrated liver treats.
@kawaiichristi I’ll ask them to prescribe both so I can pick them up and try it. Her levels are pretty low, her creatinine is at 1.3 and bun is at 35 so they didn’t think a kidney diet was necessary right now but I do want her on something low in phosphorus and sodium. It sucks because she loves Stella and chewys turkey stew but that upsets her stomach. I’ve been doing chicken thighs because I read those have low phosphorus compared to other meats and she does love it. She tried digging through the trash yesterday to get some lol. I’m meeting with a nutritionist from the university of Tennessee soon to possibly put her on a home cooked diet or at least see what over the counter foods are good
kawaiichristi
New member
@iklog If you can get a recipe or two formulated by a legit board certified nutritionist that is an awesome option. They can customize it to her exact needs and preferences. You are so on top of this!
In the meantime, if your vet still wants her on OTC foods rather than Rx foods at this point, ask them for goal phosphorus and protein ranges. Without numbers it's really hard to choose. You'll have to email companies to ask for exact values on a dry matter basis or on a caloric basis. The protein listed on packages is a minimum value, not actual, and is moisture inclusive. Normalizing by dry matter or on a caloric basis let's you compare apples to apples across brands. Any legit food brand can give you values like that if you email to ask.
There's a summary of some brands here, although I'm not sure how well it's kept up to date (you'd still want to email the food brand to double check values). Looking at the table here, aim for low-ish values (not red) in the rightmost column. https://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneynonprescription.html#table
In the meantime, if your vet still wants her on OTC foods rather than Rx foods at this point, ask them for goal phosphorus and protein ranges. Without numbers it's really hard to choose. You'll have to email companies to ask for exact values on a dry matter basis or on a caloric basis. The protein listed on packages is a minimum value, not actual, and is moisture inclusive. Normalizing by dry matter or on a caloric basis let's you compare apples to apples across brands. Any legit food brand can give you values like that if you email to ask.
There's a summary of some brands here, although I'm not sure how well it's kept up to date (you'd still want to email the food brand to double check values). Looking at the table here, aim for low-ish values (not red) in the rightmost column. https://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneynonprescription.html#table
@iklog Work with the vet and listen to your heart. When they stop drinking water is one sign they are ready to go. Have you tried chicken pieces, cut up and mix up with her dry food. Heart disease does not cause a dog to not drink water. And I bet the vet has suggested to put your baby down. You will know when it is time. And she is 15 years old. You do what you feel is right, we here cannot make the decision for you. You heart tells you what the right thing is to do. Keep hanging in there.
@johnm8269 They haven’t suggested it, they actually said she’s in really good shape for her age. And I had 3 vets and a cardiologist say that. She walks for 30 minutes everyday and is pretty active, they think she just won’t drink because of stomach issues. Besides her drinking, she doesn’t show any signs that it’s her time so I don’t think it is but I have definitely thought about it