Renal Failure in Dogs

Need Pet Insurance?

Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insuranc...

Full Bio →

Written by Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years

Melanie Musson is the fourth generation in her family to work in the insurance industry. She grew up with insurance talk as part of her everyday conversation and has studied to gain an in-depth knowledge of state-specific car insurance laws and dynamics as well as a broad understanding of how insurance fits into every person’s life, from budgets to coverage levels. She also specializes in automa...

Full Bio →

Reviewed by Melanie Musson
Published Insurance Expert

UPDATED: Nov 17, 2020

Advertiser Disclosure

Pet Insurance U receives compensation from the third parties included on this site. This includes payment for clicks from our site to insurance providers’ sites and quote requests generated. Our rankings and reviews are not affected by payments from the insurance companies. The compensation we receive allows the site to be free and regularly updated. Our goal is to review every pet insurance provider, but not all companies are listed on the site.

And many of the companies we review do not pay us anything. We simply rate, compare and review their plan because we feel it will be valuable to you. Our reviews are guaranteed to be unbiased, professional and advertising compensation does not influence rankings.

We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about pet insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything pet insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by pet insurance experts.

Cost of Treatment: $400 – $3,000

Table of Contents

What is Renal Failure in Dogs?

The principal organs of the renal system are the kidneys, which are in charge of filtering the blood to remove metabolic waste and toxins through the urine.

Renal function is one of the most important components of good health.

Renal failure can be acute, meaning that it appears suddenly, or chronic, meaning that it is the result of a long period of the disease.

There are several causes for renal failure in dogs—from intoxication to congenital problems.

Need Pet Insurance?

FACT: Pet insurance pays up to 90% of vet bills when your pet is sick or injured!

GET A FREE PET INSURANCE QUOTE

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap pet insurance rates.

Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Causes of Renal Failure in Dogs

Acute Renal Failure

Injury
Toxicity
Infection
Kidney stones
Ureteral stones
Heatstroke

Chronic Renal Failure

Old age
Infection
Parasitic disease
Cancer
Autoimmune disease
Trauma
Medication
Congenital disease

Symptoms of Renal Failure in Dogs

Appetite loss
Bad breath
Bloody stools
Diarrhea
Drowsiness
Excessive sleepiness
Extreme thirst
Fever
Irregular heartbeat
Sores in the mouth
Sudden increased or decreased urination
Vomiting
Weakness
Weight loss

Treatment of Renal Failure in Dogs

Cases of acute renal failure due to toxicity or poisoning must be treated with gastric lavage and fluid therapy—this usually requires hospitalization. Cases of infection may also need fluid therapy in addition to antibiotics.

Chronic renal failure is usually treated with dialysis to flush the kidneys and get them started working again, followed by medications at home.

Depending on the cause of the kidney failure, the treatment may only be needed once and your dog may be fine for years.

Return to the Dog Health Problems glossary.