[Deborah R]

My dog had bladder surgery for stones and is now on Hills CD food and the vet said she would need to be on it the rest of her life. I think it is pretty crummy food and would like to put her on a better quality food but it’s confusing since some say low protein (like CD) is best while others say No, high protein like Wysong or Flint River Ranch is best. The vets only recommend the Rx food of course so it’s hard to figure out what to do. I don’t want her to have a recurrence and I am using a cranberry supplement and making sure she drinks more water but just not sure what food is ok for her with this issue. Does anyone have any recommendations? They were Stuvite Chrystal stones. So her PH needs to be more acidic, less alkaline. I will test her periodically, have a culture every few months and bladder x rays every 3-6 months to make sure she’s doing ok. Just a question of what food she should be on and no I can’t do home cooked. I can supplement with some home cooked but need a base of a commercial food. Thanks for any info.

[anonymously]

Have you checked the search engine at this site for “bladder stones”

Here is a good thread: /forums/topic/crystalstone-in-bladder/

Ask your vet if he thinks this product would be helpful? http://www.chewy.com/dog/k-plus-potassium-citrate-plus/dp/112519

The best thing you can do is to increase water intake and offer frequent bathroom breaks, opportunities to urinate. Sure, dogs can hold it, but that’s not good for this condition, You want to keep the bladder flushed. Stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to stone formation.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Deborah-
Sorry to hear about your dog’s condition. Is she currently eating the Rx food? If yes, I would caution you on feeding any supplements without clearing them with your vet. They could actually over acidify her pH causing calcium oxalate stones instead, which are even worse because they cannot be dissolved like the Struvite type.

Like you mentioned, water is of the utmost importance along with plenty of bathroom breaks to keep the urine diluted and the bladder clear. Also, after my ordeal with my cat, I started feeding three smaller meals per day to keep the pH level more even.

The Rx food not only helps lower the pH, it also has the proper amount of the magnesium. phosphate and calcium minerals to keep the crystals at bay. I’m assuming you are talking about feeding the kibble, not canned. If yes, have you asked the vet if you could at least supplement with a little canned or fresh foods safely to make the food more appetizing and healthy?

Does your pup have recurrent infections? I was led to believe most of the time crystals and/or stones are associated with uti’s in dogs. And once those are gone, the stones are gone.

There are some really good links on this site on this condition. I’m on my iPad now and don’t know how to post them. If you use the search bar and type Minnesota, you can find a great one from their university on bladder stones. Best wishes!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Deborah:
I’m not on my tablet right now (ha ha c4c) so I will post the links mentioned above.
http://www.cvm.umn.edu/depts/minnesotaurolithcenter/recommendations/home.html
http://www.cvm.umn.edu/depts/minnesotaurolithcenter/prod/groups/cvm/@pub/@cvm/@urolith/documents/asset/cvm_asset_143354.pdf

Here’s another site I like to reference:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=460

[crazy4cats]

Yes, those are the ones! Thank you BDog!

[Deborah R]

Thank you! I printed off the info from MN. That is where they sent her stones for analysis but I don’t have the results yet. Expect them to be stuvite. I will check out the other links as well. Vet seemed ok with the cranberry (Solid Gold) supplement I told them she is on. Just told me not to give her Vit. C. She has had recurring UTI’s. This was her second. MN site recommends low protein. Yes, she is currently eating the Hills CD dry. I add a cup of water to it and let it soak 20 minutes or so. I add green beans as well. And yes I would like to add some other foods too. I am still trying to decide what to do. Thanks for your responses. Yes, I have increased her water intake at least when we are home. I work 4 days a week and she doesn’t get as much till I get home. I mean she has water out all the time of course but she doesn’t drink it. I have to take her food bowl and put a few teaspoons of chicken broth and 1 cup of water, 1 tsp of pumpkin, and about 4 kibble crunchies and then she will drink it. It’s in her food bowl so she thinks it’s food. LOL. So I try to make sure she gets at least 4 cups a day. She does drink water in the summer when we’ve been out walking. But winter, she’s really bad. Before the stones we weren’t monitoring her intake though. Now we have to.

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