BULL TERRIER KIDNEY ISSUES?

nikibuds

Hi! I have a 3 year old boy bully who gets into EVERYTHING. Recently, he ate a bunch of ibuprofen (I know, poisonous, dangerous, horrible). It's been a very very hard few weeks for our family. We took him straight to the vet - where they kept him overnight on IV fluids. His regular bloodwork came back normal after that visit. BUT, our vet also did a new test known as an SDMA test which is registering a small amount kidney damage (25-40%). The test is supposed to predict kidney damage 8 months sooner than it shows up on regular bloodwork. Anyway, they have our boy on the supplement Epaktin (which is $80 a month) and Hills Prescription K/D. He HATES the food. The selling point of the food is that it's extremely low protein, which is easier on the kidneys. I'm wondering if anyone else here has had experience with slight kidney damage or ibuprofen toxicity poisoning and can suggest an alternative diet?

On top of the kidney issue - the vet is telling us he may have an ulcer in his esophagus (not his stomach because there is no blood in his stool). We are treating him with carafate. This medicine has to be administered by dissolving a pill in water and shooting it down his throat three times a day. It's been 2 weeks of this - every day. It's not easy! 

Despite all of these issues, our pup is pretty much acting like his old normal self! Besides refusing to eat his gross food.... he seems pretty much okay. 

Any advice y'all can give would be a huge help! We are just over the moon for this boy and would do anything to help him. But it's at the point where I need to weed through the BS and figure out how we're going to deal with this long term. 

Thanks!! 

BulliesofNC

That's a tough one to provide advice on because it's a rarity to hear about another Bull Terrier that had the same mishap. However, kidney disease is something that can be found within the breed with certain bloodlines as well as unknown bloodlines through backyard breeding. Sadly though many of these Bull Terriers do not make it past their 2 year birthday before kidney failure takes their life.

On a good note, I will say that the Bull Terrier breed is a strong one and they are very resilient and bounce back quick from injury and sickness. I'm no Vet but sometimes I'm totally opposed to hear about the nutritional advice they recommend dogs and especially for Bull Terriers. My goal is always to provide the best nutritional diet as possible in order to maintain optimal health, energy, and balance. I also concentrate my energies ensuring my bullies maintain a strong immune system which remains key to good health.

Personally if I was in your shoes my plan would be to provide my Bullie a diet I knew would be best for him and I couple that with a good supplement like NuVet for his immune system. However, based on his exposure to ibuprofen and noting the problem it caused within his kidneys I would schedule to have a creatinine test conducted every 6 months to monitor improvement.

nikibuds

Thank you so much for your reply! It's super helpful to hear from you. He just went back to the vet today and his creatinine tests came back in normal range. I am starting to let myself hope that he will be all right! We have started working in some wet low-ish protein high quality grain-free canned food with the k/d kibble and that seems to have helped his attitude improve a lot. 

Unfortunately NuVet is high in phosphorus - which is what we are trying to lower in his diet as much as possible. Instead, we're using a fish oil supplement that is supposed to be good for kidneys + skin and coat. 

Hopefully we'll see some improvements soon. We just want our bully runs back! 

Djammy

The most important thing in the nutrition of dogs with kidney issues often are HIGH quality protein sources vs. little to no protein. Phosphate reduction, which can rule out some supplements that would be a great addition under normal circumstances. And in general as little extra substances the kidneys would have to deal with as possible.

Therefore a homemade diet is usually the best bet for a kidney patient, because you have good control over the quality of the protein in there and limited ingredients, no fillers etc., you can supplement energy with healthy oils etc.
There are different possible issues with the kidneys, which is why there is no such thing as THE kidney diet. Feeding strategies depend a lot on the individual situation.

Feeding kibble in general is often not the best choice - not even the limited ingredient varieties - simply because if the dog does not drink enough water with the kibble, impaired kidneys can have a hard time processing that stuff.
Switching to canned therefore was a good first idea (also the omega-3's are).

Maybe you want to think about feeding raw/ homemade. It's not rocket science after all, not even for a dog with impaired health.
But the details are something you should really discuss with your vet, because he knows all the details of your dog's disease.
Also there are some great resources on the internet on that issue. Just google "dog raw/ barf/ homemade kidney diet".

Good luck with your furry friend.