Hannah Zulueta Canine Nutrition / Kidney Disease
When to See the Vet
Living with kidney disease means a question running under every day: is this normal, or is this the call. Here is the sorting, so it stops running.
The same-day list
- Not eating for more than a day, or refusing water. In a kidney dog, a fast becomes a spiral quickly.
- Repeated vomiting, especially with listlessness. A dog who cannot keep anything down is losing fluid faster than a failing kidney can spare.
- A sick dog with a slow heart rate. Most unwell dogs run fast. Weak or dull with a heart rate in the fifties or sixties needs bloodwork that day, because that pairing points at potassium.
- Pale, white, or grey gums. Press a thumb to the gum and lift. Bubble-gum pink that returns fast is right. Pale that stays pale is a call.
- Straining to urinate with little coming out, or no urine at all. A kidney dog who stops making urine is an emergency, no exceptions.
- Collapse, severe weakness, a dog who lies down and will not get up.
- Trouble breathing, or a soft new swelling in the belly or legs.
- Tremors, twitching, or a seizure. Late-stage toxin buildup and blood pressure both can reach the brain.
The this-week list
- Thirst or urination climbing beyond the established pattern.
- Weight drifting down across two or three weekly weigh-ins.
- Appetite turning picky in a new way, the food refused today that was loved last week.
- New or worsening breath with a chemical or ammonia edge.
- Constipation, or stool going hard and dry, a hydration flag.
- Anything that makes you say quieter than usual for more than a couple of days. You are the instrument that detects what no lab can.
The one thing
Name the red flags once, and every ordinary day gets to be ordinary.
The standing rhythm, even when nothing is wrong
Kidney disease is managed on trends, and trends need data points. The right recheck interval changes with the stage and with every change in food, fluids, or medication.
None of this list is meant to keep you afraid. It is meant to do the opposite: to let you stop scanning. When the red flags are named and posted on the refrigerator, everything not on the list gets to be an ordinary day. Your dog is not a patient every hour. Most hours, your dog is just your dog, asleep in the warm spot, and the list is what buys you the peace to enjoy that.
The list is what buys you the peace to enjoy the ordinary days.
For everything the bowl can carry between vet visits, I am here.
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Hannah Zulueta obtained her Certificate in Canine Nutrition from CASI Institute. She is also studying for her Doctorate in Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Herbalism from the esteemed Pacific College of Health and Medicine. If you’re as keenly interested in health for yourself, visit her website for human health: Satori Acupuncture and Herbs.
She resides in San Diego with her three dogs, Maggie, Orbit, and Mr. Higgins.
She is available for one on one consultations. She develops evidence-based recipes that meet both NRC and AAFCO nutritional standards while integrating the therapeutic food principles of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine into her formulations.
Additionally, you can find her sharing free content on Instagram.
