[Darcy W]

Hello! I need some input on my homecooked diet. I have 4 dogs. They are all healthy and very active. They are ages 3 and 4. I had urinallisis done on two of the dogs, and they both had a high ph (one was 8, one was 8.5).
These are the things i hve tried so far-
-tested my water ph and it was high(8). I had been giving them Brita water but I switched to spring water.
-started giving them cranberry (natural factors brand 500 mg 36:1)
-started giving them 500 mg ester-c vitamin
-started giving them water with their food.
Here’s what I normally feed them (2x per day)
-1/2 cup ground beef
-1/2 cup chicken thighs with skin
-1/4 cup brown or white rice cooked til mushy
Ground eggshells for calcium
Cod liver oil (EPA Dha vit. D)
Coconut oil
Ground flax seed
Vitamins e,b
Liquid kelp
Does anyone have any thoughts on what to add or leave out to lower the ph of the urine?
Thanks in advance.

[Darcy W]

Oh, I forgot, I also give them yogurt, cottage cheese, pumpkin, cooked and puréed carrots and green beans.

[theBCnut]

Cut down on the amount of plant matter so in total it is no more than 25% of the diet, less than that would be fine too.

[Darcy W]

Thank you for responding! This is what is puzzling me. They only get 1/4 cup rice to 1 cup of meat. I only give 1 tsp. coconut oil, flax seed and hempseed oil, and i only give those things once a day. They get 1 tbs. veggie per day. They are defiantly getting 75 percent meat.

That’s why this isn’t making sense to me.

[Darcy W]

Reading over this, I realized I didn’t say that since my changes, I had another urinallisis done, and they still have high ph.

[theBCnut]

1/4 cup of rice plus 1 tbs veggies plus flaxseed. And if your 1/4 cup rice is measured before cooking it is actually 1/2 cup or more.

[Darcy W]

When I cook the rice I double the water, and cook it for longer ( til it has absorbed all the water) it is basically like rice mush. I measure it after it is cooked like that. They get that 2x per day. Then they get 1 tsp flax seed, 1 tsp coconut oil, 1 tsp hempseed oil, and 1 tbs carrots (usually) 1x per day. 1 tsp. pumpkin 1x per day. They get 1 cup of meat 2x per day. 1/3 cup cottage cheese 1x per day, and 1 tbs yogurt per day.
I give them the oils for omegas. I give them flax seed for omegas too. I could defiantly leave out the flax, but I’m not sure 1 tsp less plant matter will make a difference. Rice seems to have a neutral ph. I could leave out rice too… Do you think it would make that much of a difference?

[pugmomsandy]

There’s some articles at b-naturals.com about urinary pH/crystals/stones which say some dogs will just have a high pH. And as long as they are asymptomatic for urinary issues, it shouldn’t be too worrisom. That being said, I’ve added dl-methionine (in Wysong Biotic pH-) once a day to my dogs’ meal.

[Darcy W]

I am so glad you responded! I will look at those articles. I had just been researching dl-methionine. Have your dogs had any negative side effects from it? How long have you been using it? Do you use it all the time, or just when there is an issue?

[Darcy W]

Oh, and my one female did develop a uti. She finished antibiotics and we waited almost a month to test her again. Her ph was 8.

[pugmomsandy]

Did you find out if the UTI is completely gone? My dogs haven’t had any noticeable side effects. I’ve been using the product a couple times a week as I alternate with a cranberry plus herbs supplement for several weeks to a few months. I dont remember the actual time i started using it. I think the highest pH was 9, and it was down to 8 and they have a follow up in April. Although I do have pH test strips here at home. Tonight they ate a duck neck for dinner so they’ll get the urine supplement with their canned food breakfast. In a six month period, two of my dogs had the high pH, so I’m using the products fairly long term. My third dog who eats the exact same diet has normal urine. Go figure. As they don’t have blood in the urine, frequency or other issue, I’m going to stick with these products for now. They do get vit C occasionally too.

[pugmomsandy]

I just tested the pH on one of mine and it was between 7.2-7.4!

[pugmomsandy]

I tested their first morning pee and they did get some Wysong Biotic pH- last night and the pH was 6 this morning!

[Dori]

Hi DarcyW. A diet that is high in fruits, vegetables or grain can cause a higher urine pH. Fruits and vegetables should be 20% or less of their daily diet, NOT for each meal if you’re feeding twice a day as most of us do. Is the Spring water that you’ve switched to. There are quite a few companies that are not that reputable and have at times be caught using tap water. They may have all changed their ways, I don’t know. Also try using reverse osmosis spring water. That might also help. If I come up with any other thoughts I’ll chime back in.

[losul]

Hi Darcy, just wanted to say that kidney/urinary tract bacterial infections can bring on on a higher PH in themselves, as these bacteria produce enzymes that create a more amenable alkaline environment for themselves.

Just some other thoughts you might investigate, not sure how much basis they have, l’m also wondering about the liquid kelp. Don’t know how much you are giving of this, but I imagine it would be a concentrated form of kelp, and much more bioavailable. Not sure if/how high iodine amounts and thyroid activity can effect PH, but I would also imagine the liquid form would also be very high in calcium and magnesium, 2 minerals that are very alkaline.

Excess vitamin D/A could maybe be a factor also?, not sure how much cod liver oil you are giving. I prefer to use small amounts of whole meat liver (5 to 7%, from quality sources for A, D, and B vitamins) in the diet, and then use other fish oils (sardine, krill, anchovy, salmon) for omega 3’s.

Lastly what quantity of ground eggshells are you adding to a pound of meat?

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