Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My dog has chronic kidney failure. Can it be reversed or cured?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | 1 year and 10 months old | 66.1 lbs

My dog is diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. He is having creatinine at 15. He is 1year and 10months old. Can the condition be reversed?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 25th, 2019

Unfortunately no, chronic kidney failure cannot be reversed. It is ultimately fatal. It can be treated but it cannot be cured. If was acute kidney failure, there is a chance it could be cured. I'm sorry.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 10th, 2016

    I am afraid there is no cure for chronic kidney failure. By the time a dog or cat shows signs of kidney failure, more than 75% of the kidney function is gone. However, a dog or cat can have a good quality of life, with supportive care (kidney diet, fluids , under the skin, usually, and phosphate -binders) for quite a while. But I am afraid , there is no way to reverse the failure or damage to the kidneys.

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog Is suffering from kidney failure. Is there any way to reverse the process?
Poor Honey! She's a beautiful girl. I'm very sorry to hear that she is in kidney failure - how awful, especially at such a young age. To better answer your question, it would help to have more information about her lab results, history, etc. If she is in chronic renal failure (CRF), this is unfortunately not reversible - it is a progressive problem that gets worse over time, and will eventually be terminal. There are medications that can be used to slow the process and help her feel better, but it cannot be cured or reversed. This would be unusual in such a young dog, however, so I would be interested to know what diagnostics have been done and whether the underlying cause is known. If she is in acute renal failure (ARF), which often happens as a result of eating something toxic, or an infectious disease of some kind, this can sometimes be reversible with aggressive treatment. So it really depends on what the underlying cause is. Feel free to post again with more information a
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has very elevated BUN and creatinine, vomiting and can no longer keep down liquid food. If BUN is 155 mg/dl and creatinine is 12.3 mg/dl, is there still a possibility of healing?
Unfortunately this is a very severe and dramatic presentation and renal failure is not possibly reversed. Healing is unfortunately not possible even though this process can be slowed down. Hospitalisation and fluid therapy is highly recommended and nutritional support is needed.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
If a dog has kidney failure, approximately how long would they be able to live without treatment?
Unfortunately, without seeing blood test results and a hands-on exam, it is not possible to give you a time frame. Kidney failure is not curable, however with with giving your dog fluids (you can have your veterinarian show you how) and a low protein/low phosphate diet it is possible to prolong your dog's life with a good quality of life.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is diagnosed with chronic kidney failure with a value ranging 25. She’s not eating nor drinking anything. The vet told she cannot survive as the kidney damage is extreme. Do you have any suggestions
Unfortunately your vet is right, chronic kidney failure cannot be cured. If Jenny isn't eating or drinking anything, it sounds like her quality of life is very poor. You may need to consider letting her go, it may be the best option for her.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My Vet says my 6 year old Beagle has Kidney Failure & there's nothing we can do.Is there anything we can do to help her
I'm so sorry to hear about Daisy's diagnosis! It would help to have quite a bit more information about her situation to be able to give more specific advice, so feel free to request a one-on-one consultation if you wish - this would allow you to upload her lab results and medical records for us to look at, to get a better idea of what's going on. In the meantime, I can try to give you some general information about kidney failure in dogs. The first thing we need to know is whether she has acute or chronic kidney failure. Acute kidney failure may be reversible with IV fluids and other supportive care, depending on the underlying cause. Chronic kidney failure is not curable, but there are lots of things that can be done to help affected dogs feel better and make them comfortable for as long as possible, even though their disease will progress over time. If you opt not to do a consultation through the website, I would encourage you to get a second opinion from another vet - he/she
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog was just diagnosed with kidney failure, what can I do to prolong her life?
There is a distinction between acute and chronic renal failure. Acute renal failure often occurs as the result of a toxin or infection while chronic renal failure is seen more in older pets that have had a slow decline in their kidneys over time. There are four stages of chronic kidney failure with multiple sub-stages. It may be helpful to use our consultation option as we will be able to ask questions and review bloodwork to give you more specific information. Management of acute vs chronic renal failure is different. In either case, a kidney specific prescription diet is probably the number one best thing that can be done to help with kidney disease in the long-term, though hospitalization with IV fluids is often vital in cases of acute kidney injury. Other potential treatments are aimed at the potential side effects of kidney disease including protein loss in the urine, high blood pressure and imbalances of certain nutrients such as Calcium, phosphorous and potassium. I encoura
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
10year Yorkie received NSAIDs for luxating patella 1-7 Feb -Vet decided surgery in 19-Feb + 1 week of NSAIDs + blood analysis: BUN-18 mmol/l (nominal 4-9) and Creatinine-90 umol/l (nominal 40-140). -8th of March he started vomiting, drink a lot of
Poor Miki! This may be reversible if it is acute renal disease, potentially secondary to the NSAIDs or hypotension during anesthesia. Miki should remain hospitalized on aggressive IV fluids, as this is the most important aspect of care with renal failure. The next few days are going to tell a lot as far as how he's responding to treatment. I hope he feels better soon!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has kidney failure stage four. She's getting fed the Hills prescription c/d food and she drinks lots of water and she's peeing and although she has less energy than before, she still looks energetic and happy. Is she getting better?
Hello, sorry to hear about Canela. It’s likely that your medical management of her is supporting her kidneys really well. However, kidney disease is considered a progressive disease, meaning it only gets worse. Despite this, progression may be very slow and thus patients may live a long life with medical management. Keep up the good work, Canela is very lucky to have you , Best of luck
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is in kidney failure. Her ALT 135, ALKP 337, BUN 99 & CREA 4.8 all high. The treatment the vet has her on at home is 100 cc subconscious fluids once a day. She doesn't eat on her own anymore. So I purée a kidney support wet food, pumpkin and
I think given your information you have provided this sounds like appropriate supportive care at home. Iv fluids are always better but much more expensive and not curative in the case of kidney failure. Cerenia can also be used (anti nausea medication) in end stage renal failure to keep them from becoming so nauseated they can't eat or hold down food. Dialysis is available at teaching hospitals or a few specialty hospitals around the country. I hope this helps. My best to you both.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I need a doc consultation for my 10-year-old labaordor blood reports. My local doctor says that he is causing kidney failure. I need the best way to cure it. kindly find attached report
Hello. With both the BUN & creatinine elevated, kidney insufficiency is definitely present. Creatinine is the more definitive measurement so with a value of 2.33, according to the International Renal Interest Society ( IRIS ) Naughty is in stage 3 renal failure. However, we do need additional information to see what & if anything can be done to extend his life. Your veterinarian should run an SDMA ( if available in your country ), we need to see a urinalysis, including a urine protein/urine creatinine ratio & we need to know what Naughty's blood pressure is. If he is truly in Stage 3 renal insufficiency/failure, we will not be able to reverse or cure his kidneys, but there are things that can be done to minimize further damage. This can extend his life for quite a long time depending on what is found & the underlying cause of his condition. I hope Naughty is doing well soon & thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Dog Food UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Dog Treats & Chews Cat Urinary Tract & Kidney Medication Diuretics for Dogs Dog Health & Wellness Prescription Dog Insulin & Diabetes Medication Dog Medicine and Prescriptions Diuretics for Cats Prescription Dog Digestive Medications Incurin UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Natural Remedies UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs PetAlive UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Active Chews UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Proin UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Pet Parents UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Pet Honesty UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Fera Pets UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs Native Pet UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs NaturVet UTI & Kidney Supplements for Dogs
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored