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My muscular dog's creatinine is high, but kidneys are normal?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | neutered | 4 years and 8 months old | 85 lbs

My 4 year old lab went in for regular blood work. All his blood levels were normal (including all other kidney values); however his creatinine was slightly elevated (1.6). He’s 85 lbs and built like a rock, so the vet has a feeling the slightly higher levels are due to that. His urine analysis came back normal and concentrated. Has anyone experienced this before? I’d hate to think my young boy has any kidney issues so early. He doesn’t drink a ton of water unless he was just exercises so I won

1 Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on June 13th, 2022

If your vet isn't worried about Kodiak, I would not be worried either. Slightly elevated creatinine can also be due to dehydration, so it could be that he may be dehydrated caused this elevation. A slight elevation isn't a cause for worry when other values are normal and there aren't any other concerning physical signs. To get him to drink more water, I'd consider adding canned food to his diet. It has a higher moisture content, and you can mix it in with his dry food. You would have to cut back on his dry food to a little to account for adding in the wet food, so ask his vet for the correct ratio. The other option is to add a bit of low sodium chicken broth to his dry dog food to get extra moisture into his diet. I hope this helps.

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Actually I asked you about this as this terbinafine or itraconazole and augmentin has any affect or kidney or Not because I recently had his blood work done where his blood creatinine came 1.15 You can see the attach report for the reference Can
The elevated creatinine on it's own does not indicate kidney disease. Remember, this blood was taken at one second in time, he may have recently eaten or been a bit dehydrated at the time which caused the CREA to be a bit elevated. You can not determine kidney disease with just this one test. If you are concerned this should be repeated when he is fasted and a urine test should be done at the same time. If you want to give him a kidney supplement that will help to support kidney function you can use this: https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=132504
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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I have an active 6.5 yr old lab on a high protein performance food (30/20). Hes at vet today for a dental and his creatinine levels came back at 1.4. Last year they were 1.3. Would switching to a food closer in the 22% protein range help his bloodwor
Thank you for using Boop by Petco! This level of creatinine is still within relatively normal range (according to most diagnostic laboratories and analyzers). Such a small increase can be incidental, Mav may have had a recent meal, or have been less hydrated than he was at his previous appointment. It is unlikely that this is related to the protein content in his diet. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My 10 year old Lhasa Apso has high creatinine level 6.1 but totally normal BUN. What can cause that and should I be concerned?
Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. BUN and Creatinine typically have an intimate relationship on blood work, meaning that when one is elevated, the other is typically elevated as well. There are relatively few conditions that would have an elevated Creatinine without the BUN being elevated. These are typically due to muscle breakdown which would release more creatinine in the blood. Exercise could produce such an increase. Pathologic muscle breakdown would produce sharp levels but such conditions would likely be accompanied by symptoms such as weakness and lethargy in particular. The value of 6.1 is high, which could indicate any of the above or this could potentially be a lab error. I would consider having the blood retested to check and make sure this value is correct. It may be wise to have it sent to a laboratory as well to ensure the values are correct. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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He never had any medical issue or any serious medical history he is right now also doing very much fine and is enjoying playing and eating his normal diet with normal sleep. I want to know by looking CBC what problems can be alarming for future ??
Blood work reflects a single snap shot in time. It can't predict any disease. Performing blood work days or weeks apart can help monitor disease progression or healing. On this lab machine, normal creatinine in dogs is under 1.1. This value can go up a bit if a dog is dehydrated, so that is why it is important to put the numbers together with the pet. The CBC isn't overly concerning. The red cell values are high, and the most common cause for that is dehydration. The total white cell values states high, but the individual values are within normal range. White cells increase with infection or inflammatory conditions. That supplement shouldn't cause increases in lab values.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Hi! Charlie had bloodwork done at a vet appointment yesterday. His creatinine level in one of his kidneys was showing a 2.4. Our vet ordered a test for him- SDMA (Symmetric dimethylarginine) – RefLab (ES) (Lab: IDEXX), which I we won't get results ba
Creatinine level of 2.4mg/dL means mild to moderate elevation. Creatinine level goes up with kidney diseases but it also can go up after a large, meaty meal or excessive excercise. Some dogs with a lot of muscle mass have naturally elevated creatinine, not related to kidney problems. SDMA test will confirm (or rule out) kidney disease in Charlie's case. Please, note that SDMA is not a better or more specific test that creatinine, it is just another blood test to check kidneys funcion. In the best case scenario, Charlie had elevation in creatinine because of aforementioned physiological conditions and his kidneys are ok. In the worse case scenerio, he has early stage of kidney disease and will be put on a special diet.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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I am giving him this CANITONE LS as shown in attach photo and I am also attaching his liver and kidney biochemistry blood work where his creatinine was not came in range may be he has some kidney disorder so can this ingredients of CANITONE LS can if
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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His creatinine came 1.15 and next day when I again went for blood work it came 0.9 so why just in a day it came down automatically why there’s an fluctuation? I have notice sometimes it came elevated and sometime normal so why so ? Any idea ? His
Blood levels likely fluctuate every day for all pets and people. It's possibly related to how much water he has drank (or moisture in the food) and possibly what time and how much he has eaten within the last 12-24 hours. I recommend to have an additional test called an SDMA run. This test will accurately predict if kidney disease will develop within the next 18 months in about 95% of pets. Bruno should also be having his urine specific gravity tested along with his kidney values as you need to know all the values in order to know if kidney disease is a concern or not. For example, a dog with a higher CREAT and extremely concentrated urine is likely a little dehydrated. Where as a higher CREAT and not so concentrated urine may have kidney disease. I hope this helps.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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Hello, My Chihuahua / Rat Terrier mix is 5 y/o and 15lbs. His Creatinine levels were 1.4 on Friday and 1.5 on Sunday. This after ingesting and having an induced emesis of two grapes on Friday. I took him into the ER ASAP. Should I worry?
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! If the grapes were brought up in the the vomit, the 1.4 creatinine has likely nothing to do with the grape ingestion. That value on friday is high normal but it depends on the normal ranges for the reference lab used by your Vet. I would repeat his kidney values (get full chemistry with BUN too) with an SDMA (more sensitive for kidney disease than creatinine )and first morning urine mid this week. I would monitor his values. I wish you the best
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Hello. My dogs BUN level is 49. But her creatine level is 1.6 and SDMA is 12. So everything is in normal range except bun. Why? She's been getting subq fluids and a lower protein diet as 2 weeks ago the crea was a little high but has since been norma
If her SDMA is normal and her creatinine is wnl then her kidneys are likely normal. BUN can be increased from dehydration, a stomach ulcer, a high protein diet or a very muscular physique. You would normally see vomiting or black stool if she had a bleeding ulcer so I doubt this is the cause of the high BUN. To ensure her kidneys are okay, I would talk to your vet about checking a urinalysis on her. Your vet will assess her protein levels and specific gravity to see how her kidneys are functioning. If the protein levels look high on the dipstick and there isn't an infection, I would talk to your vet about doing a urinary protein creatinine ratio. If it is elevated it could be challenging the kidneys and can cause future problems. There is a medicine to help called benazepril. You can also switch her to a prescription kidney diet just because they have a much lower protein content than the food over the counter. Some dogs just naturally have a higher BUN and as long as it isn't
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My dog (female,indian pom,7 years old) has slight high creatinine level,and has not been eating for two weeks now. We had a vet visit today after which she is acting totally crazy like running around continuously with scared tail for 5hours now,or si
Poor Bubbles! There are so many things that can cause these things. An elevated creatinine level could be secondary to true kidney issues or dehydration or other illnesses. I would have your vet do a urinalysis on her to see how well her urine is concentrated. If it isn't directly related to the kidneys I would be looking for other things that can affect the kidneys like dehydration, leptospirosis, addison's disease, etc. I would also have your vet check her fecal for any parasites. Your vet should also be able to do x-rays to ensure there isn't a blockage or tumor in her abdomen. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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