In healthy dogs, the kidney creatinine values should be below 1.4 mg/dl and the SDMA value below 18 µg/dL. In acute kidney disease, however, these values can be increased many times over, depending on the stage.
Basically, doctors differentiate between two different types of kidney problems depending on how long they last:
- Acute: Short-term kidney problems less than 3 months
- Chronic: Long-term kidney problems over 3 months [1]
The progression of kidney disease is classified into different stages. This should primarily help with diagnosis and treatment.
Below you will find a table of kidney values for dogs depending on the stage of the disease. In stage 1, kidney function is usually still over 33%.
Phase creatinine
[mg/dl]Creatinine
[μmol/L]SDMA
[µg/dL]Azotemia Stage 1 none Stage 21.4 – 2.0125 – 17918 – 35 mild Stage 32.1 – 5.0180 – 43936 – 54 moderate Stage 4 > 5.0 > 440 > 54 severe[2, 3]
As a rule, creatinine levels only increase when the kidney has already lost ⅔ of its function. For this reason, the SDMA value is determined more often these days. [4]
It is a biomarker for kidney function. It can also indicate kidney problems with a loss of function of just 25%. [5]
The measurement is carried out using the IDEXX SDMA test. Nowadays, this value is even considered to be more reliable than the pure creatinine value and allows early treatment.
Ideally, creatinine should be measured at least twice. Always on an empty stomach, with enough fluids and at intervals of several weeks.
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If the dog's creatinine levels are below 1.4 mg/dl, this does not necessarily indicate a healthy kidney. Because many factors can influence the measurement.
At the same time, a result of 1.7 mg/dl does not automatically mean that the dog is in the second stage. It should never be interpreted without a urine test.
More precisely, this refers to the specific gravity of urine. This value should always be taken into account when interpreting the kidney values from the table.
If the specific urine weight is below 1030, the urine protein/creatinine quotient (UP/C) should also be determined. It provides evidence of existing proteinuria:
Proteinuria?UP/CNoMaybe0.2 – 0.5Yes>0.5[6]
In order to be able to interpret the results even better and to make the treatment more effective, measuring blood pressure can be useful.
The number to the left of the slash indicates the systolic blood pressure and the number to the right of the slash indicates the diastolic blood pressure. Here is an overview:
Risk levelBlood pressure
[mmHg]0 – Minimal1 – Low150/95 – 159/992 – Moderate160/100 – 179/1193 – High> 180/120[7]
In any case, you should always discuss your dog's kidney values with a veterinarian. There are also numerous influencing factors that can distort the results:
- race
- Gender
- Old
- Medication
- muscle mass
- Toxins
- Nutrition
- Dehydration [8]
According to studies, bull terriers, German shepherds, Bernese mountain dogs, German boxers and Samoyeds in particular are more likely to suffer from kidney problems.
If there is existing kidney failure, creatinine levels can sometimes rise above 5 mg/dl. In order to be able to better interpret the kidney values in the table, the SDMA value, the urine protein/creatinine ratio and the blood pressure are usually also measured.
Symptoms of existing kidney disease
- Low appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Metallic bad breath
- Constant urge to urinate
- Lethargic behavior
- Dehydration
- Unexplained weight loss
- Excessive thirst
- Pale gums
- Blood in urine [9]
Kidney values as a graphic
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