• Dogs, like people, can suffer from kidney disease.dog image by Michal Tudek from Fotolia.com
  
  Kidney disease (renal failure) occurs when kidneys become damaged, limiting a dog's ability to remove toxins from the blood. Too many toxins in the blood cause other bodily systems to stop working properly. Kidney failure can happen quickly (acute) or develop over a long period of time (chronic). In either case, symptoms of the disease don't usually appear in dogs until 75 percent of the kidney's function is lost.
  
  

Causes of Acute Kidney Disease

• Acute kidney disease can be brought on by a whole host of things. Any trauma to the dog's mid-section (trunk) can cause internal damage to the kidneys. Other traumas include: digesting poison like Antifreeze or medications such as ibuprofen and phenylbutazone. Some antibiotics can also trigger a toxic reaction in the dog's body and impair kidney function. Fetchdog.com indicates that a blockage in a dog's urinary tract also can harm kidneys. In addition, heat stroke and shock are other causes of acute kidney disease.
  
  

Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease

• According to VetInfo.com, the main cause of chronic kidney failure in dogs is old age. Dogs of any age can experience chronic kidney disease attributed to a viral, fungal, bacterial or parasitic infection. Cancer and amyloidosis---a condition that occurs when too much of a specific type of protein is in its kidneys---are also causes. Leukemia and prostate cancer cause a dog's kidneys to stop functioning normally, but they're uncommon cancers in dogs.
  
  

Symptoms

• The symptoms of acute and chronic kidney disease are the same. Dog owners who suspect their dog may not be well should monitor his water consumption. One of the first noticeable symptoms of kidney failure in dogs is increasing thirst. You will also notice either an increase or decrease in the dog's need to urinate. Unfortunately, kidney disease can boost the need to urinate in some dogs, leading to messes in the house. For other dogs, they may feel the need to urinate but are unable. A dog's gums may lose color or become pale---a sign of anemia. The dog may lose his appetite and eventually weight loss will result. He may experience nausea and vomit or have diarrhea. The dog may also appear lethargic and unwilling to move about normally.