Getting to know how your dog's kidneys work, and what you can do to support healthy kidney function, is the first step in taking control of your dog’s health. And I'm here with you the whole way.
I've been doing this a long time, and what I find helps more than anything is understanding what's happening. So let me give you the quick version, what your dog's kidneys do, and how you can help them.
Your dog's entire blood supply is filtered through the kidneys approximately every 3 minutes. They pull out the waste that normal living leaves behind and send it out as urine. Most of the water and the good stuff stay in circulation.
They decide how much fluid to keep and how much to let go, a little like a thermostat, and that keeps blood pressure in a healthy range.
Acid and alkaline, plus minerals like sodium, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. The kidneys fine-tune all of it, minute by minute. They also make sure there are enough red blood cells in circulation.
Three big jobs. And your dog has two of them to manage it.
Your dog's two kidneys hold almost a million tiny filters, called nephrons. Your dog was likely born with a full set.
And they don't need anywhere near all of them. A dog's body can run on about a quarter of their kidney power, roughly 25 out of every 100 of those filters, and still keep up with the demands of the body, live a long, full and happy life. That's the part I want every owner to know.
Since a dog needs only about a quarter of their kidneys to live a happy life, the goal was never to chase perfect kidneys. It's to protect and support the ones they've got.
Your dog was born with a blueprint for health. Every second of every day, every cell in your dog's body is striving to do its job efficiently to keep up with the demands of the body and rejuvenate it.
The whole job, yours and mine, is to give the body what it needs to achieve that.
Over 24 years and more than 50,000 dogs, I've learned what really helps and what only wastes time and money. I put together a step-by-step plan to help support your dog's kidneys.
I want you to feel in control of their health, and to know you can do this. And I can help you get there.
— Amanda
Get the second set of questions to ask your vet and make sure you don't miss the conversations that could make the biggest difference for your dog's kidney health.