Canine Kidney disease is a very serious problem for all dog breeds and early detection is imperative. 
The early symptoms of this canine disease include drinking an over abundance of
water and the need to go potty more than usual. Also, the urine has very little color or odor. Some dogs will leak urine but others might not. Your first clue could be if you're having an unusually hard time trying to house train your dog. As the disease gets worse, your dog may start vomiting, experience weight loss, will stop eating altogether, become very tired, and experience weakness. In some cases, you may notice a chemical odor to your dog's
breath. This is caused by the kidneys failing to clean metabolic waste from the body.
Sometimes this disease is found a couple of weeks after birth with it coming into full bloom within two years of the dog's life. Some puppies don't do so well from the start and others won't be affected until it is in the full blown stage. It is sometimes very difficult to diagnose this disease. The dogs may appear clinically normal before suddenly becoming chronic. A dog may not show any signs of canine kidney disease until the function of the kidneys is less than 25 percent. If it is only in one kidney, they may stay symptom free for a long time and can live a long and normal life.
One way to suspect canine kidney disease is when a dog has high levels of protein in the urine. But the most accurate way of diagnosing the problem is to have a vet do a wedge biopsy from the kidney. This can be done any time from the time the dog is 2 months old. Under this age, the biopsy would not work, as the kidneys may not be developed sufficiently. An experienced pathologist should examine this biopsy. The downside of this is that even with an accurate diagnosis, the outcome of the disease will not be affected one way or the other. The upside of it is, if detected early, it can be controlled somewhat, although the damage that has been done to the kidneys cannot be reversed.
There are several ways to treat canine kidney disease and one of these is with the diet you feed your dog. It has to be a diet with low protein which may help extend your dog's life. A low phosphorus prescription diet will also help this problem. The low phosphorus
diet is more important as phosphorus accelerates kidney failure. An IV fluid can be given to correct the retention of the toxins and there are medications that can be given to improve the quality of the dog's life. A kidney transplant is an option in some cases, but only if the blood and tissue type is a perfect match. Only the litter mates can offer a hope of matching correctly. Canine kidney disease is a very real and potentially serious problem in your dog's life.
