Lotensin or Fortekor:

Benazepril hydrochloride is used for humans as well as animals to treat and slow down Chronic renal disease, this medication can be used in humans under the name Lotensin to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), congestive heart failure, and chronic renal failure. In animals under the brand name Fortekor, benazepril hydrochloride is used to treat congestive heart failure in dogs and chronic renal failure in cats and you see it mostly used with cats and they seem to respond better than dogs to treatment for kidney disease, nevertheless we have found that our dog Marley begun showing signs of improvement after a few days on the drug, she stopped drinking so often, needed to urinate less often and stopped having as many accidents in the house. Dosage will vary according to your dog's weight, consult your vet for the proper dosage.

Azodyl:

Azodyl is a probiotic that claims to work by having the beneficial bacteria feed on the toxins that accumulate in the bloodstream due to renal disease, the claim is that this process will reduce BUN and creatinine levels. This is referred to as enteric dialysis and is often used with another product called Epakitin (see below). My experience with this product remains inconclusive since we started our dog on this at the same time as Fortekor and sub-Q fluids, therefore I cannot say with any certainty that it made a difference either way but we did not want to mess with things so we continued it's usage and there seems to be a lot of info online that is favorable to warrant it's usage. My advice is to perhaps introduce this last in your treatment to determine if it does make a difference. And also to get it at your local vets since ordering this online may be tricky since it needs refrigeration at all times.

 

Epakitin (Calcium Carbonate):

Acts as a phosphorus binder used to reduce the absorption of phosphate and taken with meals and snacks, this avoids accumulation of excess phosphorus in the bloodstream by diverting it's metabolism to the intestines from the kidneys. This is a tried and tested approach for humans as well and there are other types of Phosphate binders. We decided to simply use s Tums, Tums are also Calcium Carbonate and much cheaper in price, this will become a concern as you continue treatment for your pet believe me. It is also suggested that you add the Epakitin or Tums to your dogs food, But we found that counter productive since it turned OUR dog off the food and since you will also be battling loss of appetite we suggest crushing the Tums and putting it in a eye dropper with some water and feeding it through the corner of their mouth in much the same way you would feed a small puppy. Ideally right after of before the meal.

Vetri-Science Renal essentials for dogs:

Is a multivitamin geared for dogs with kidney disease and is formulated to help maintain optimal kidney function. Again this is something be started to do at the same time as everything else so I cannot say if this is for sure beneficial, but it stands to reason that dogs with bad appetite that are perhaps not eating always properly with kidney disease will have use for supplements, you may also want to look into human multivitamins for seniors since they are low in Phosphorus. the best place I found for purchase of this product was an online store called Cattyvet http://www.cattyvet.com/Renal_essentials.html