Archive for December, 2008
Treatment of Degenerative Kidney Disease of Dogs and Cats
Author: John Simon
It is hard for any owner that loves their dog or cat to become comfortable with the fact that these pets age so much more rapidly than we do. This accelerated aging is even more obvious in the larger breeds of dogs that begin to reach their geriatric years between 8 and 10 years of age. A pet’s kidneys are often the weakest link in the aging process and all to frequently the cause of old age death. Things that pet owners can do to support their pet’s ailing kidneys are as follows:
Feed a high quality, higher fiber, low protein diet prescription diet available from all veterinarians–
or — feed a home made kidney diet by following a receipe that we make availablet to our patients. The diet will decrease the formation of waste protein toxins, discourage obesity and reduce the work load of the kidney.
Encourage your dog or cat to drink more by providing lots of fresh water throughout the day. Doing this will promote proper hydration while at the same time flush the kidney and reduce accumulating protein toxins. Adding Celtic sea salt to the pet’s food will encourgage drinking, provide trace minerals he or she are likely to be deficient in, and alkalinize the animal’s body Checking the pet’s blood pressure is recommended, especially when adding salt to the diet, to help detect hypertension.
Make sure your dog or cat receives a regular dental prophylaxis to reduce oral bacteria which are injurious to the animals kidneys, liver, and heart. Home dental care is probably more important for pets than for humans.
Supplement your dog or cat’s diet with anti-oxidant enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and glandulars to reduce tissue injury by free radicals and to stimulate natural immunity. Omega 3 fatty acids, Coenzyme Q10 and alpha lipoic acid are 3 important supplements that promotes kidney health. Homeopathics that can be placed in the pet’s drinking water are also beneficial. Of course it is better to begin these supplements early on in life before the kidneys have received significant damage and symptoms become apparent. Strategically detoxifying the body with special homotoxicologic and nutritional formulas is an important adjunct to treating kidney disease and most any other disease in the body.
Starting these same supplements after kidney damage or kidney failure have been detected will help conserve the remaining kidney cells but will not restore the cells that have died.
Have your veterinarian perform semi annual blood and urine testing to monitor your dog’s kidney function and to provide an early warning system for the development of other degenerative disease. Recently a new urine test, the ERD micro albuminuria test, has become available. The ERD test requires only a small amount of urine and can detect kidney disease much earlier than blood tests. Any dog or cat over the age of 6 years old should be routinely tested with an ERD test because not only does it detect kidney disease but it is also a screen for inflammatory disease of many other organs.
Recent scientific literature out of Europe has shown Infrared laser therapy to provide beneficial effects in both kidney and liver disease.
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Woodside Animal Clinic is a unique, very personal, one doctor practice where, for over 35 years, Dr. Simon has been healing dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, and reptiles with both conventional and alternative medicine. Dr. Simon is the author of 4 pet care books and he writes a monthly pet care column in the Mirror newspaper.
Woodside Animal Clinic sees pets from all over the greater Detroit Michigan area including Royal Oak, Berkley, Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Detroit, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Warren, Centerline, Clawson, Troy, Sterling Heights, Southfield, Birmingham, Bingham Farms, Franklin, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, Wixom, Brighton, Livonia, Plymouth, Commerce, Ann Arbor, Ortonville, Waterford, Union Lake, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Utica, Romeo, Windsor, and Toledo.
