[Anonymous]

“Surprisingly, Solid Gold has quietly tweaked their formulas as part of this bag design and size change. The changes are small, but significant. Rather than introducing a slew of new ingredients, the majority of the changes are a subtle shift in the current proportion of existing ingredients. As with any food change, time will be the best judge as to how your pet performs on the new formulation” Wednesday, December 17th, 2014

http://smileydog.com/solid-gold-makes-design-and-formula-changes/

[Nate D]

I’ve been researching dog food again and I still come back to the Fromm Whitefish and Potato recipe that their nutritionist even recommended. The ingredients are well balanced imo and their target ph levels are lower then most foods. The whitefish one does have some grain, but some are acidifying, plus it has cranberries and blueberries. http://frommfamily.com/products/four-star/dog/dry/#whitefish-and-potato I’ve always been high on Fromm.
I think I’m going to stick with it. I just need to check the ph levels correctly and at the right times and go from there.

[Anonymous]

I told you, the ph levels will fluctuate. They may never be perfect.
I agree with what you said in previous posts, water, water, and more water. And, don’t forget the potassium citrate supplements I mentioned, I think they help, big time.
I don’t bother with testing, I have other things that need my attention more, right now.

It’s sometimes a genetic thing, the diet will only do so much.
Just my opinion….if your vet tells you something different, ignore me, lol

[Anonymous]

That Fromm whitefish looks good. If I decide to try something different, I may give it a try. My friend’s dog is a picky eater and does well on Fromm products.
The dog’s owner is a nurse and she is very particular about what she feeds her dog.

[Nate D]

Here’s a final update on my dog. She has no more crystals and ph is where it should be. I will be sticking with the Fromm. I will keep an eye on her ph on occasion just to make sure she’s doing well.

[Anonymous]

I bet the crystals were struvite ( the vet told me, often when the uti is cleared up, and an increase of water is added to the diet this goes away) I would keep up the increase in H20, just in case… and continue frequent bathroom breaks. Good luck.

[Nate D]

Yes they were struvite. He said she never had a uti as she never showed any bacteria, but one possibly could have been starting to brew and we caught it in time. It’s possible with her its just genetic or she just simply wasn’t drinking enough water at the time. Vet said I could keep her on the prescription food as a regular diet if I wanted (even though shes been off of it already) to and I was like no. I’ll pass on the corn. lol
I add water to her food now, wasn’t before and I bring her water at times. The Fromm 4 star food also has cranberries and blueberries in it where as the Gold weight management food didn’t so I don’t doubt that’s helping keep things where they should be.

[Robin S]

Needing any advise. My 5 month old male lab is on 4th round of antibiotics for UTI with crystals.(I think). The reason I say this is that after 3 rounds of Clavamox and Science Diet c/d with symptoms reappearing, he is now on Baytril and Science Diet s/d for 2 weeks. He had an xray which showed no stones in the bladder but has crystals in urine, according to the first vet. I have $700 in medical costs with this vet as of today for this UTI. So, I thought I would get a second opinion as I am lucky enough to have 2 veterinarians in my small town. The second vet did a direct draw of urine from the bladder (we had been doing just a catch while he urinated with the other U/A’s) The second vet could not do a culture as I had just started the Baytril so would have to wait until he is off of it for 5 days before she could do a culture. She did ultrasound him and found everything was looking good. She did say his bladder was large and not irritated ( I guess bladders shrink up a bit with UTI’s?). She also did blood work which looked good. She did not find crystals and does not feel that he has a UTI. Now doesn’t that just boggle the mind? My puppy had only had 2 doses of the Baytril and about a can and a half of the s/d so she didn’t feel that things could have been cured that fast. The thing that just slays me is whenever he is not on antibiotics, he turns into a peeing machine, with no bladder control, clear urine, it doesn’t color a paper towel. The longer he is off antibiotics the worse it gets. A previously good puppy where housetraining is concerned suddenly lowers his head starts to walk and pees a streak all the way to the door and out! So if he doesn’t have a UTI (remember one vet says he does have a UTI) what condition would respond to antibiotics that is not a UTI and make the symptoms stop? The second vet said I had two options, I could either finish out the other vets prescription of Baytril and Science Diet s/d and wait 5 days and come in and she will direct draw urine and retest and culture it then if need be, or I could stop the Baytril and wait 5 days and do the direct draw and retest and culture. I am baffled by two very differenct diagnosis. I decided for now to go ahead and do the first vets prescription as I have the Baytril and the s/d and the second vet set it wouldn’t hurt anything to try it. I am aware, however, that Baytril is not recommended for young dogs, but the vet said one round would be okay. Anyway, sorry to be so long on this, but as you can read I am at a loss on this. Any insight would be appreciated.

[Robin S]

Needing any advice. My 5 month old male lab is on 4th round of antibiotics for UTI with crystals.(I think). The reason I say this is that after 3 rounds of Clavamox and Science Diet c/d with symptoms reappearing, he is now on Baytril and Science Diet s/d for 2 weeks. He had an xray which showed no stones in the bladder but has crystals in urine, according to the first vet. I have $700 in medical costs with this vet as of today for this UTI. So, I thought I would get a second opinion as I am lucky enough to have 2 veterinarians in my small town. The second vet did a direct draw of urine from the bladder (we had been doing just a catch while he urinated with the other U/A’s) The second vet could not do a culture as I had just started the Baytril so would have to wait until he is off of it for 5 days before she could do a culture. She did ultrasound him and found everything was looking good. She did say his bladder was large and not irritated ( I guess bladders shrink up a bit with UTI’s?). She also did blood work which looked good. She did not find crystals and does not feel that he has a UTI. Now doesn’t that just boggle the mind? My puppy had only had 2 doses of the Baytril and about a can and a half of the s/d so she didn’t feel that things could have been cured that fast. The thing that just slays me is whenever he is not on antibiotics, he turns into a peeing machine, with no bladder control, clear urine, it doesn’t color a paper towel. The longer he is off antibiotics the worse it gets. A previously good puppy where housetraining is concerned suddenly lowers his head starts to walk and pees a streak all the way to the door and out! So if he doesn’t have a UTI (remember one vet says he does have a UTI) what condition would respond to antibiotics that is not a UTI and make the symptoms stop? The second vet said I had two options, I could either finish out the other vets prescription of Baytril and Science Diet s/d and wait 5 days and come in and she will direct draw urine and retest and culture it then if need be, or I could stop the Baytril and wait 5 days and do the direct draw and retest and culture. I am baffled by two very differenct diagnosis. I decided for now to go ahead and do the first vets prescription as I have the Baytril and the s/d and the second vet set it wouldn’t hurt anything to try it. I am aware, however, that Baytril is not recommended for young dogs, but the vet said one round would be okay. Anyway, sorry to be so long on this, but as you can read I am at a loss on this. Any insight would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

If he has struvite crystals in his urine, even though they have not formed stones, they are as sharp as glass and can irritate and inflame the bladder. Struvite is usually caused by infection, hence the antibiotic treatment.
Read through the posts in this thread and see what applies to your situation.

If you are not happy with the way things are going with the traditional veterinarians, consider consulting a homeopath…. http://theavh.org/

Distance is not an issue, many of them do phone consults.

PS: I would not stop any antibiotic treatment that has been started without talking to the prescribing veterinarian first.
Maybe he can explain the different opinions, and his rationale for treatment. Ask him for a diagnosis. Struvite or calcium oxalate? Ask him if there is a genetic component.
Another option, if you want to stay with the traditional veterinarians, ask for a referral to a specialist…

[Sherrie J]

My 3 year old puggle just had surgery on Thursday to remove Struvite stones. They said they extracted close to 100, which made me feel terrible. She really never showed any indication until she started throwing up a week ago. She has three more days of antibiotics and then the vet wants to put her on prescription food (hill’s cd). When I inquired if there were any other more natural means, I was met with a great deal of resistance and was flat out told “no”. Even though the food is more expensive, I do not want my pup to ever have to go through this again. My issue is that after looking at the ingredients, I see very little nutritional value. My dog has never been fed corn, soy or animal by product. All she has ever eaten Diamond Naturals dry food. I’m having a hard time conceiving paying almost triple for nothing but fillers. In the past few days I have been doing much research on alternative treatments. Just wondering if anyone else has had issues with stones and what they did after removal to prevent them from reoccurring.

[InkedMarie]

Sherrie,
I had a dog with struvite crystals, not stones. I didn’t put him on a special diet. I would not use the food your vet recommended, I’d find a holistic vet to work on a diet with. If you don’t have one close enough to you (do a google search, the website will come up), there are many who will do phone consultations.
I do know that moisture is very important for your dog. Raw, pre made raw, canned are much better than dry.

good luck!

[Robin S]

Just thought I would update with what I know so far. I did the 2 weeks of Baytril and the 2 weeks of Hill Science S/D canned. Again puppy improved with the antibiotic and/or the special food. I waited the five days and the second opinion vet drew a urine sample to do a U/A and sent it in for culture and sensitivity testing. I should have the results of that testing by mid week.

I have to say that my puppy seems to do better generally back on puppy food. He was not gaining like he should while on the “special diets”. He seemed to be always hungry on them.

Will let you all know what I find out from test results.

Thanks for any and all input on this issue. It’s great to have a forum like this to go to for support!

[J S]

Thought I should register and share our story since I’ve gained so much info from all of your stories. We just found out dog #2 ALSO has struvite crystals and high pH, so I’ve been researching foods. Both dogs have been on Canidae All Stages kibble with water and mix-ins (human leftovers or soup, etc.). Both are 1/2 Saluki and from a great rescue organization in NorCal called Stola. I’m beginning to think this breed is high strung, and if not, their early years of abuse or neglect has probably not helped them be mellow, however, we’ve seen improvements lately even in the one we’ve had for two years now, so that tells us to never give up. Anyway, I was angered by someone’s message whose doctor said there was no alternative to Science Diet. That stuff is cr** and it makes me mad that Vet’s are pushers of that. We have our #1 dog (who did have stone surgery just before we adopted her) on part Royal Canin, which probably isn’t much better. We did it all the time for several weeks but she blimped up because of the chicken fat. We used NaturVet Cranberry Relief for awhile but that didn’t prevent a 2nd UTI a year later, so that’s when we started swimming the kibble in water and going out to pee every four hours as well. Now we have to do the same with #2 dog. There’s no sign of infection, but we want to get the pH lower. Even though Canidae is a good brand I’m looking for other options other than cooking for them, if possible. I’m probably going to be baking dog biscuits in case the Kirkland brand is part of the pH issue. I’ve subscribed to this thread so will be following along. Thank you for all your help.

[Sherrie J]

I spoke to a trusted pet store owner, who had more knowledge seemingly than my vet. We are currently giving our dog the following mix twice per day, in leu of the prescription c/d food.

1/8 tsp of pro mas (probiotic)
1 tsp Wysong PH-
1 1/2 tbsp of triumph grain free wet food
1/2 cup triumph grain free dry food
1/4 cup water

We are letting her potty as much as she wants and making sure her water bowl is always full. I will also be adding Cranimals to the mix after I receive it and will test her urine with ph strips to see if this combination is getting us in the proper level.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Sherrie J.

[Barbara M]

Hey Sherrie J,

The only thing I would do differently is do all wet until the crystal clear up. And still add water to the wet (and dry) if you still prefer to use dry. My dog had the Crystals too.

[Kirsten W]

After reading everyone’s stories and gaining some advice, I thought I would share Luna’s story. Luna is a 2yr 10month old cavachon, in January she was taken for emergency surgery for bladder stones. One was stuck in her urethra and she was rushed to a specialist after 4 days of not being able to go for a wee after her op, they were constantly having to drain her bladder poor thing. Since then she has had 2 UTI’s and it seems like she is constantly on antibiotics, today she is going back for treatment of another possible UTI. We were advised to out her on Hills c/d food which she hates and I don’t blame her! So we have switched her back to her pate which has high moisture levels and the hills biscuit. Her last urine sample showed she still had crystals and the vets don’t seem to know how to get rid of these, after reading everyone’s comments on this page, I am going to ask my vet today about cranberry capsules and vitamin C. I will do anything for her to not have these stones again as one was the size of a large peanut and she is only a small dog. They removed over 25 total and we know she had passed 3. It was the worst time of my life seeing her in so much pain, to the point where she nipped me when I touched her Fter she tried to wee and rolled on her back in pain. So glad I have insurance on her as the operation and days following would have cost £7000 each round of urine tests and antibiotics is costing me £80 every 4-6 weeks.
Is there anything else people can suggest? She has water put in her food plus water all, day and constant access to the garden.
Thank you

[J S]

The easiest way for us was to float the food in a moat of water. She laps it all up to get to the good stuff.

[J S]

Update on our 2 dogs with struvite crystals. The girl with the recurring UTIs and previous-to-being-adopted-stone-surgery is getting more water with her food and getting out to pee more often. Trying to be calmer on our walks so that she can pee as often as she wants/needs to (every five feet if there are good smells around!). She hasn’t exhibited the crawl-peeing of an infection the last two days and has never exhibited pain when peeing. As soon as the crawl-peeing showed up I added 500 mg of vit c to each meal and she’s already getting a scoop of Cranberry Relief in the morning and a scoop of Wysong Biotic Ph with dinner, and eating the Royal Canin S/O with a little wet food. I’m also using Colloidal Silver (10 drops each meal for 2 days, then 6 drops, until 2 days after symptoms ended. Her pH this morning was 6.75. I’ve used Vit C and colloidal silver on myself when I was told I had a UTI. I really dislike using antibiotics unless extremely necessary. Here’s a website on C.S. by a holistic vet: http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2013/08/colloidal-silver-diy-treatment-for-dogs.html . Our boy dog shows no signs of a UTI and his ph on regular diet is 5.75. Next time we run out of food I’m going to switch from All Stages Canidae to their grain-free version to see if that will help with our girl. If anyone has found a difference using distilled water please let me know. I know our country water is a little on the hard side so that would be the next best thing to try. We’d also started giving her a glucosamine/MSM pill which I see includes other minerals which may have contributed to her last crystal-forming. She sure felt like a puppy on that even with signs of an infection, but obviously we’re still learning! I’m thinking her recurrent infections are because of her psyche as well as nearly touching the ground when she pees, and she’s also part husky and loves to dig in the dirt, which flies right back through her hind legs.

[weezerweeks]

The college in Minnesota that most Drs send the stones to suggest a diet low in carbs for sturvite stones .A dog should be on canned food low in carbs with water added in. I would not feed my dog kibble if it had stone issues.

[Chrys H]

Gold Berry Balance very reasonably priced, a little goes a long way..plus it’s good for dogs cats horses etc, supplement added to dogs regular diet cleared Struvite Crystals & bladder shadows in 3 months for our 12+ lb Maltipoo female. Veternary’s Best Urinary Tract support for cats as a period supplement just for added protection

[Chrys H]

Our male Maltipoo 9yr+ 28lbs strongly suspected of Things disease. We have four Cushex by Petalive to be an excellent help in lieu of traditional Western Meds, aiding in symptom reduction, improved coat, symptoms and better over all health, even impressed our Vet

[Chrys H]

For digestive problems I started with Apawthocary tincture, but similar ingredients are found in Veterinary’s Best Stomach Digest now called Gas Busters, tablets well received by both Maltipoos.
Other things in my dog resource bag are Vitalogic Stomache Digest -for humans but same ingredients in dry cap as we’re the Apawthocary product, open cap add 1/2 to dry food made wet (or your food) has plaintain, slippery elm, marshmallow, soothing stomachs aids that we humans take on occasionally as well. Probiotics, Holly Hill Health has a capsule that doesn’t require refrig & is designed to work in intestinal tract, once again human grade, open xap sprinkle on dig food for added boost especially after taking a Heartworm treatment or getting vacc or exposure to extra stress. I found that many times after my dogs as puppies or young dogs after previously mentioned known body stressors or eating muscellanouses (one’s they are too quick & you don’t believe it to be toxic just an irritant help prevent diarrhea or small dog hypoglycemia vomiting from empty stomach too long.

My 8+ yr old female Maltipoo came to us as a pup that even Vet believed to just have kennel cough. Turned out to be Parvo, survived that but due to isolation unit with high level of chlorine in air developed pneumonia as well. Today 8+ yrs old is very healthy but is very sensitive. Human Little Tummies Gripe Water and Little Tummies Colic are part of my first aid kit too.

[Nicole O]

These posts have been extremely informative and I am hoping someone will have some advice for me.

History: feb2015 my pup was diagnosed with a UTI, was given antibiotics, and after completion of the antibiotics continued to urinate blood. 2nd visit the vet did an X-ray. My poor girl had her entire bladder filled with stones varying in size from a grape seed to the size of a lychee. She had surgery to remove the stones and was placed on hills C/D dry mixed with a little hills c/d wet. Everything went back to normal but FIVE MONTHS LATER she began to have diarrhea with blood in her stool. Again, I rushed her to the vet. He placed her on antibiotics and probiotics + a chicken/rice/cottage cheese/pumpkin diet for 7 days. After the antibiotics and the 7 day food change, we started to incorporate the C/D food in to transition her back. 5 days later she began to diarrhea with blood again. Went back to the vet. Did another X-ray (thank goodness the X-ray looked good). But now he is saying she’s having an adverse reaction to the hills C/D. He has now put her on Royal Canin SO dry. There is no more diarrhea, but she is also only having a bowel movement once a day.
After reading all of your posts, I don’t know what I should do. We haven’t been adding water or wet food to her dry, but will definitely start that. But knowing that this super expensive food is mostly fillers has me a little uneasy.
Any advice or suggestions?

[Anonymous]

What breed is the dog? How old is the dog? What are her diagnoses? What type or types of stones does she have?
What is wrong with only having 1 bowel movement a day, most dogs go once or twice a day (in my experience).
But is she is a little constipated, increased water in the diet will help.

PS: If you soak the kibble in water overnight in the fridg, it doubles in size, ask the vet if you can add a spoonful of cooked lean chicken or red meat. I would still add more water.
Ask the vet about supplements, fish oil, dog multivit, etc.
Make sure she is offered a bathroom break, the opportunity to urinate at least every 4 hours (every 2 hours is ideal) Keep the bladder flushed.

[Nicole O]

Red,

We adopted her from the shelter and don’t know her actual breed but many have said she looks like a small American Eskimo mix. She is 5 years old. As far as diagnosis. Vet just told me she is prone to the formation of stones due to the struvite and that’s why she needs to be on the prescription diet. Prior to everything, we had her on Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small & Toy Breed Light Dry Dog Food. The vet said it is her food that cause the stones to form. We had only had her for 3 years and don’t know her prior history, the size and amount of stones removed from her bladder indicated that they may have been forming for a while. She nevershowed any signs of discomfort until her UTI.

I will ask the vet about supplements and will start adding water to her dry food.

[Anonymous]

My dog had both (struvite and calcium oxalate), no symptoms till the age of 11, started with UTIs. He has had no recurrences in 4 years since his emergency surgery.
In fact, I just took him in for a geriatric workup and his lab work was good.

I was afraid the vet would want to do x-rays and test his urine…..but he said as long as he is not having symptoms we are not going there (he’s too old to tolerate another surgery)
I do monitor his urination habits and check for normal flow, stream, amount. If I note any discomfort I will take him to the vet.

There is a genetic component and some breeds are more prone to bladder stones. My guy is a peke. Did your vet have the stones tested?

Anyway, if you do nothing else, add water and take her out to urinate frequently.
I went along with the prescription diet for almost a year, since then he has been on Nutrisca salmon and chickpea kibble soaked with water +, I use the wet food too, but the canned foods seem so greasy to me…

[J S]

I would do some research on struvite crystals to make sure your doc is giving you the right info. From my understanding having a high pH (non-acid) in the urine with an infection is the environment in which struvite crystals form. The battle is two-fold. First you want to increase water to flush the uti out of her system which also means frequent and low stress times outside to empty the bladder entirely each time. We take our Saluki/Husky rescue outside every four hours and have her kibble swimming in water so she has to drink that before eating (she’s never been a big water drinker). Sometimes we drip an ice cube in the water bowl to make it more interesting. I’ve also just started adding some colloidal silver to the water bowl as that helps with all infections and is supposed to help deter tooth plaque (I used CS when I had a UTI and didn’t have to take an antibiotic). We also put cranberry urinary plus powder in her kibble, but it did not stop another infection so I don’t know if we’ll continue using it in the future. We also use a powder called Biotic-pH from Wysong. The main ingredient in it is the same as in the Royal Canine food used to keep the pH lower. Our bodies have their own systems of regulating pH, but what we eat does make a difference. Increasing meats would increase an acidic environment. We’ll be switching to a non-grain kibble next to see how that works. Royal Canine is a lot of chicken fat and our girl does plump up on that somewhat. Best of all would be to get off the dry kibble completely but we haven’t been able to break that habit yet. She does get wet food, chicken leftovers, canned premium dog food, etc. along with her kibble and water stew. If we could keep her from digging in the dirt (which I think is what’s giving her the UTIs) then maybe we’d have a chance to end this cycle, but as part Husky that would be asking a lot! Best of luck as you find out what works best for your pooch.

[Anonymous]

The most common health problems in American Eskimo Dogs:

Eye diseases are a concern in American Eskimo Dogs, especially cataracts, and also progressive retinal atrophy, which occurs at 2-6 years old and always progresses to blindness. Fortunately, a simple DNA test is available for PRA in American Eskimo Dogs, so you can find out at any time whether your dog has the disease, carries the disease, or is completely clear of it.

Allergies cause itchy skin and can lead to bacterial skin infections (pyoderma).

Orthopedic diseases in American Eskimo Dogs include luxating patella, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, and hip dysplasia. The Orthopedic Foundation of America evaluated the hip X-rays of 750 American Eskimo Dogs and found 9% dysplastic. That’s a high.

According to the Michigan State University Thyroid Database, up to 12% of American Eskimo Dogs have hypothyroidism.

Other serious health issues in this breed include epilepsy and urinary stones.
http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/americaneskimodogs.html

[crazy4cats]

Nicole-
You have received some great advice. One word of warning, be careful with the supplements if you are going to feed the Rx food. You shouldn’t do both as you will over manipulate her system’s pH.

[Nicole O]

Thank you all so very much for all this input.
I think the first step is definitely adding more water into her dietary regiment.

J S: I will try the kibble in water and see how she takes to that. I have noticed that since putting her on the Rx diets, she has gained weight. We’ve been taking longer walks in hopes to balance it out.

Red: thanks for the post on the common health problems for American Eskimo breeds. She is turning 6 and my husband and I notice she is extr anxious and weary when walking at night. Last night I brought a bright flashlight and kept it lit in her path and she did much better. I think we’ll take her in to get her eyes tested. Also, yes, the vet tested the stones which is why he placed her on the Rx foods.

Crazy4cats: thanks for the heads up, I will talk to my vet first to see what is safe to give with the Rx.

[Nate D]

It’s been a quite some time since I’ve posted here, but wanted to give everyone some information.
A lot of you are doing good with the water, supplements, etc..

For dry food check out Zignature. I just recently heard of it. I’ve been feeding Fromm for so long.
Zignature is limited ingredient, grain free, potato free (which I was told was very important), lower in calories, etc..
All good things for helping keep ph in check and is good for dogs with kidney/bladder issues.
I contacted them about the target ph and they said theirs is 5.5. That’s lower then most high quality foods. Fromm is 6-6.5 and Wellness was 7.
A few others wrote me back with numbers all within 6-7, but Blue Buffalo told me they don’t know the ph because they aren’t prescription food. A response like that will keep me away from that food forever.
I can say that since switching to Ziganture, adding water, a tablespoon of wet food and using an occasional dose of Berry Balance my dogs ph has been holding steady and no crystals.
I did try the Wysong Biotic ph supplement, but I was not a fan of what was in it.
What works for my dog may not work for another, but I thought I’d mention the Zignature food. Might be worth a try. A lot of their formulas have cranberries and blueberries in it, but there are a couple like the new Kangaroo that do not. zignature.com

[Robin J]

Where can you find pH strips to test your pet’s urine?

[Barbara M]

I ordered from Amazon. But any pet online store has them too.

[Anonymous]

I have never used those PH test strips, for one thing, it takes several months after making a diet change to see a difference.
PH levels fluctuate…..so the strips may not give an accurate picture of what is going on.

If you must test, it might be better to take the dog to the vet every 3 or 4 months and let them do it.

In my opinion it is more important to offer frequent bathroom breaks and observe urination habits, in example: normal flow and amount.

If your vet advises differently, ignore me 🙂

[Nate D]

Red that is not true.
Yes ph levels do fluctuate especially after dogs eat which is normal.
That is why one needs to check the first catch of the day or at least 5/6 hours after the dog has had any meal or treats and has gone to the bathroom a few times.
When a dog eats the food naturally rises urine ph levels.
I recently switched vets and the vet has a nutritionist phd. Won’t even sell the prescription foods unless absolutely necessary.
It does not take 3-4 months. You can most certainly see a a difference in ph in just a day of being 100% on a new food. I sure did.
Now if you’re giving supplements on top of it then urine needs to be checked on a regular basis just to make sure things are not going in the wrong direction. Waiting 3-4 months is to long. 3-4 months is good for checking for actual crystals if a dog comes back negative. ph checking should start right away and if a dog is prone to crystals it should never stop. I check mine weekly as long as the levels are staying steady.
So the key is to check the first catch of the day prior to feeding which will be accurate.

For those looking for ph strips amazon is the best place to get them as they are affordable for a lot of them.
Wysong also sells them.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, for the correction. It depends on the dog. My dog is 15 years old and has had no difficulty urinating (since emergency surgery 4 years ago)…it’s all good.
I recently took him in for a senior checkup, his blood work was normal. I asked the vet if should I check his urine ph? Have x-rays done?
The vet said due to his age, we are not going to go there unless he is having symptoms.
Odds are at his age he wouldn’t be able to tolerate any type of aggressive treatment.
So, it’s important to find a vet that you trust and go by his recommendations.

[J S]

@Nate – would you tell me what food the nutritionist recommended which you saw near immediate results in lowering your pooch’s pH? The current no-grain food I just tried hasn’t been as good as I hoped, so I’m looking for the next thing… Thanks!

[Nate D]

J S, look into trying Zignature. Try the Kangaroo formula if you can get it. It’s low calorie, lower protein, grain free, potato free, chicken free, gluten free, the mineral levels aren’t high, its limited ingredient so not a lot of high alkaline vegetables, etc..
I add 250 mg of Solid Gold Berry Balance once a day to the food (vet said to give my dog 250 mg’s of cranberry so I use the berry balance) and float the food with distilled water. I also add a tablespoon of wet food.
The canned Zignature is much more expensive then the dry which is why I just use it as a topper and more moisture.
Any of the Zignature’s are worth a try, but the Kangaroo is working great for mine. Might be worth trying and see how your dog makes out.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by Nate D.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by Nate D.

[J S]

Thanks Nate. I looked into Zignature when it was first mentioned it and I didn’t like the “natural flavors”. What is so great about that that it’s in everything? Seems completely unnecessary for something supposed to be healthy. I will try the distilled water idea tho, as I’ve been using filtered tap water and our water is a bit hard. I’ll look into the gold berry balance now that I’ve used up the Cranberry Relief. Thanks to everyone for all the ideas!

[Nate D]

J S, you could email the company and see what they say about it or what it is. They’ve answered all of my questions so far. The food works wonders for me so I’m sticking with it.
You could also look into using Biotic ph- by Wysong. They have a – and + version. You’d want the – version for acidity. Only thing is the ingredients aren’t the best at all, but are why it makes the urine acidic.
If your water is a bit hard even if filtered then I would defiantly start using distilled water only.
I would get 5 gl bottles of water myself for the water cooler, but testing the ph came back slightly alkaline so that wasn’t going to work for me.

[3pupmom]

Good afternoon. My apologies for the length of this post. My Miniature Schnauzer Ninja was dx w/struvite crystals in Sept. I took him to vet to get some Metro for his yucky diarrhea & it turns out he had a raging UTI, his liver function was out of whack plus pancreatitis all at once. He was hospitalized for 2days, xrays showed no stones and he came home w/antibiotics. I think clavamox. 1 month later at his recheck, ph was 7 still has struvites in his urine plus some rbc/wbc but no infection (vet did a culture). 2nd recheck in Nov ph was 5.5, no struvites, but now he has calcium oxalate crystals. In Sept, before the hospitalization, Ninja was on Canidae All Stages only. When he came home I started him on THK Halcyon, the duck formulation, with a little of the Canidae. After the Oct followup I started him on VetriScience UT strength supplements which contains D-Mannose & Cranberry Extract and switched the kibble to Nature’s Domain Turkey. I was going to add Vitamin C supplements but now after the Nov followup with his urinary ph being 5.5 my vet said not to. I’ve now completely cut kibble out of his diet & he’s on 1/3cup THK only with 3/4cup water to rehydrate twice per day. I give him a 1/2 cup of unsalted broth (23mg sodium) mid-day and there’s plenty of fresh/clean water throughout the house which he barely touches. I’m putting a little bit of white rice in his food/broth to entice him to eat/drink. 2weeks ago I switched from the VetriScience UT Strength to UT Stat. He goes back for another recheck on 12/18. He’s 5years old & this has never been an issue before. Since Sept the vet has been suggesting Royal Canin SO. It’s garbage food & I’d rather not feed that. I’m at a loss at this point. Any suggestions on a different supplement?

[anonymously]

There is NO magic supplement. The trick is to add water to each meal 3-4 small meals per day soaked in water, don’t measure, just fill the small bowl, the dog will lap it up to get to the food.
The dog must be taken out to void (pee) ideally every 2 hours during the day. At bedtime and first thing in the morning. Stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to stone formation.
There is nothing wrong with Royal Canin SO. If you get the dry, soak it in water overnight then add water too. Once the dog is stable, few months to a year, you can talk to your vet about adding something tasty to the prescription food, like cooked chopped up chicken breast or some other lean meat.
Did you check the search engine here /forums/search/bladder+stones/
I don’t necessarily agree with all of the opinions expressed.
Some info at this site you may find helpful http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=bladder+stones

[anonymously]

I would ask your vet for a referral to an Internal Medicine Specialist. If he thinks this would be helpful.
Remember, food and supplements are not medication or treatment.
If your dog’s condition is serious, there are prescription meds that might be helpful, talk to your vet.

[anonymously]

Excerpts from previous posts:

As your vet will confirm, dogs that have a tendency to make bladder stones have to be on a special diet the rest of their lives, this is a serious condition and it just doesn’t go away.

The x-ray is important, but once she is stable for about 1 year, ask the vet if you can skip the x-rays and testing urine PH as long as she is urinating normally and having no difficulty? Ask him the warning signs to look for. You didn’t mention her age?

I would comply with the prescription food for now.
And don’t forget, water, water, and more water added to the diet. Ask the vet ….but I believe this helps big time. And frequent bathroom breaks, opportunities to urinate.

“My dog had both (struvite and calcium oxalate), no symptoms till the age of 11, started with UTIs. He has had no recurrences in 4 years since his emergency surgery.
In fact, I just took him in for a geriatric workup and his lab work was good”.

“I was afraid the vet would want to do x-rays and test his urine…..but he said as long as he is not having symptoms we are not going there (he’s too old to tolerate another surgery)”
“I do monitor his urination habits and check for normal flow, stream, amount. If I note any discomfort I will take him to the vet”.

“There is a genetic component and some breeds are more prone to bladder stones.

“Anyway, if you do nothing else, add water and take her out to urinate frequently.
I went along with the prescription diet for almost a year, since then he has been on Nutrisca salmon and chickpea kibble soaked with water +, I use the wet food too, but the canned foods seem so greasy to me”…

PS: Soak the kibble, even the prescription food in water overnight in the fridg, add more water prior to serving. Keep the bladder flushed. Maybe add a little canned prescription food as a topper.

[3pupmom]

So had another recheck today. No calcium oxalate crystals. He’s back to struvites. No UTI. No infection so they’re sterile stuvites. Stopping all supplements and putting him on Purina Pro Plan UR which has a s/o profile like Royal Canin. He won’t eat water soaked kibble. Is also picky abt kibble soaked in unsalted chicken stock. He goes out to urinate every 2-3 hours. There is fresh water everywhere. Let’s see how his next follow up goes. Paws crossed.

[crazy4cats]

Hi 3pupmom-
Your pup has been through so much. Our paws are crossed for you here, sister! Sounds like you are on the right track. Best wishes!

[doxygal]

I have a 10yro doxy she’s been paryllized from waist down
for 6yrs she has urinary tract infections constantly
I feed her canned food with extra water added to it and put some dry food in it also put cranberry capsules in it what else can I do she still has infection do I need different food

[anonymously]

Your dog has a unique situation, I would talk to your vet about what prescription medication would be helpful.

[Donna B]

I’m so confused. The only problem my puppy has is that he urinates all the time…even in his sleep. I was told he has struvite stones with bacteria. Told he need to be on the Hills c/d dog food. My vet said he would need to be on it for the rest of his life. Ummm…29.99 for 8 pounds!! Reading a lot on here about name brand foods and lots of water. Might try this first. Did anybody else have problems with their dog leaking all the time?

[Author]

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