kidney problem?

[ilovemarkb]

worried about my cav king charles (7 month) .Basicaly he.s a nightmare to feed, we,ve spent a fortune on many types of dog foods which all end up going in the bin.Also he.s quite sickly, and frequently his urine stinks, its really bad. Recently we took him to the vets, they tested his urine which was high in protien, we were advised to give him pasta and rice with small amounts of chicken, but because he.s so fussy he.ll only eat something a few times and then he,ll turn his nose up! we end up giving him leftovers which could be anything from beans and sausages to tinned soup. Ive noticed that when he looks up the whites of his eyes are pink/red. When i spoke to the teacher from his obedience class she said it sounds like his kidneys aren.t functioning properly. I know i should take him to the vets but im worried how much it will cost, i do have pet insurance but not sure if it would pay out under these circumstances. any advice would be greatly apprieciated!

[wiggal]

Dont give in and feed him leftovers, big mistake!
I did for a long time, and always worried he was ill because he wouldnt eat any time of dog food.
But they arent as simple as alot of people seem to think, he will have learnt that if he doesnt eat his pet food, he will get much tastier human food (which is not always good for him)
Yes take him to the vets, it does sound like he may have a problem, but dont give in to feeding him your leftovers.
He will be really difficult to train out of begging and expecting your food, and it could cause more problems.

[jules77]

If you have pet insurance why do you think they wont pay, this is exactly the type of thing you took it out for in the first place. Take him to the vets before he gets ill. If the vet advised chicken and pasta etc, try a variation by adding a few veg or some stock to give it some taste. He may be better on a prescription diet for a while. You are not doing him any favours by giving him leftovers if he has a protein problem and he will get so used to it, no wonder he turns his nose up at anything else. Sorry to be so blunt, but if you are worried about how much the vet bills will cost you should have considered this before you took him on.

[ilovemarkb]

thanks for advice. ive checked my policy, they do pay out for any vet bills except for the first �50. I am worried, and we.ll be taking him to the vet on saturday morning. Jules I dont normally have cashflow problems, but had a couple of unexpected bills, should be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Our dog means the world to us, he,s brought so much love and happiness , we definatley wouldn.t let him suffer. As for his diet, would you just persevere, serve him dog food, then if he eats it , he eats it, if he doesnt he doesn.t? sounds like we,re going to have to be cruel to be kind!

[leelapops]

Hi, poor woofer and poor you!

Everyone's advice so far is really good. If it was just a case of fussiness I would say that being "firm" to be kind would be the best approach. However, I have no idea of the implications of bad kidneys, and so this might do more harm than good. See what the vet says; if you find a good food with the right nutritional balance your pup needs, then perhaps just keep trying to feed him on that. He won't starve: dogs don't like to! He would probably like a routine, and to know what to expect in his bowl!
There's no reason why your insurer won't pay out...Make the most of it, and see my posting on M&S insurance-get what you can out of them!

Let us know how he does.

Lisa x

[charlie01]

I'm a dog trainer and I would never make any kind of asumption as to your pets health problems! your insurance will pay out, don't worry but don't ignore the problem it'll only get worse and you'll pay out more in the long run, i dont think you should not take him to the vet just because you can't afford it. you can look into pdsa help with vet bills if you google pdsa they might help you out too.

[jules77]

Hi, I would persevere with the food the vet recommended until you take him for a check up, no point giving him leftovers as you could be making the matter worse. However, there are other low protein foods you could try ie: cottage cheese usually goes down well, and if it is only protein you are cutting down on, lean minced beef boiled with some broccoli and carrots cant do any harm - just try him with a spoonful at a time and see how he goes on. But definitely recommend seeing the vet asap.

[ilovemarkb]

thanks again everyone for all your advice. the teacher from our obedience class, did stress to me that shes no expert and only said that "it could be his kidneys" and to take oscar to the vet. THANKS EVERY-ONE!!! YOUR SO CARING!!!

[BRIGHT SPARK]

sorry to hear about your dog - they are such a worry. please let us all know how you get on. keeping figures crossed for you