Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My dog has the same problems. When we first noticed a problem, she would have to go, then squat, then nothing would come out. She did this for months. Then one day, she had bright red bleeding and we 'freaked out' immediately taking her to the vet. Turns out she had bladder crystals which eventually turn to stones if not treated.
The vet prescribed the Urinary SO, so we do feed her the prescription Royal Canine diet. However since it's 75 dollars a pop, we stretch it to last 2 - 3 months which would equal the cost of a regular large bag at the grocery store. We supplement the Royal food with a natural diet to keep her urine at the correct pH balance and prevent stones/crystals from forming. I give her fruits and veggies (especially oranges) and lettuce as treats. Some say cranberry juice is helpful, however, my dog wouldn't go near it. Here is my natural vet recommended diet:
3 cups of a fiber (brown rice or oats or barley)
1 cup of meat (hamburger, sausage, chicken, or turkey)
1 cup of a vegetable (carrot, broccoli, or spinach usually).
three Tums for the calcium supplement.
Two tablespoons of a fat (either vegetable oil or olive oil).
Salt to season and to get the dog to drink more water to flush out her bladder.
The above recipe lasts a week, we feed her twice a day, about two cups. We also have a poodle who shares the same diet.
So far, her stones/crystals have not returned and her flow is regular. We do have a week here or there where we give more of the SO to give her bladder an extra boost, but we stretch the food to last three months.
Every dog is different, and once you find out exactly what kind of stones your dog has, you can maybe supplement and stretch the expensive food. It has something to do with the pH balance in the bladder. I searched for alternatives having done hours of research, and it's been almost two years since my dog has had any problems with her bladder. She doesn't constantly squat, her stream is full and heavy, and no blood since she was first diagnosed.
Thanks for the diet tips and helpful post. No way, I have a poodle (toy) too Happy to hear that your dog is doing well. Well, it's going to take another two weeks before I know which stone she had and it may not even be diet related; but in the meantime, I want to do what I can.
My Maltese is doing well. She is drinking water throughout the day, and I let her out even more to go to the washroom. She is eight years old and never had a UI infection or bladder stones, so this is my first experience. My vet confirmed she has no crystals in her urine after the stone removal. In between vet visits for urinalysis, I was going to regularly monitor her pH balance with strips or may use bromthymol blue.
I'll post again when I find out which stone it was.
good for you xero42 , hope you are still reading this posts. went through this with a terrier and did a lot of reading up and found interesting facts when a vet tried pushing that muck on our dog
those "rx" foods, all they do is make the animal thirsty. note all the salt in it so if you are still reading,
if it is Oxolate stone, wanna keep away from foods with high oxolate content. i googled it for my dog when started making his food.
But the big thing is water flowing through the dog and moist food is apparently ideal. dogs are carnivores so good for you for making your meat diet for your dog!
There are prepared foods too, which are freeze-dried raw, like Stella & Chewy's and all you have to do is add water to it. and catsmylove above posted some nice info
hope this helps glad people are catching on and not falling for the "rx" food scam!! foods like Stella and chewy's may seem pricey and people may see some sticker shock but it still comes out cheaper than a bag full of corn and soy and more vet bills down the line
Thanks for your reply. I have to be patient and find out which stone. Two more weeks. I still feel I need to iron out her diet because I'm so concerned. I suppose it's premature, but at least I am aware of different perspectives. Yes, I've noticed the salt content Over a month ago, I added good quality moist food with their dry food called Organic Balance. The wet food is Natural Balance LID at $3.25/can which I can get at any pet food store and my dogs love it. I do have cans of Royal Canin Urinary SO at $4.25 per pop which I will feed too...at least for now. So much to consider.
LoL I was in the dog food business for years, owned a pet shop and own a pet sitting dog walking business, so my "critical mind" is fine, thanks.
My reading skills are pretty good, too. You never once mentioned quality you mentioned PRICE.
Sooooo, lemme understand YOUR "critical mind".
You think the vet sells prescription food that's crap, even though every vet and hospital in the world uses it for this condition....but you're going to find something CHEAPER and of course "BETTER" (now added criteria) at ...A PET STORE.
Is that about right?
Ohhh and vets are stupid and unethical. No critical thinking skills.
Goody for you that you owned a pet store, dog food business, and pet sitting walking business....so what. With your comments, it doesn't look like you learned much. Regarding vets, it's not all or nothing wanna be expert. Vets are in it for the money, like any other profession. We live in capitalism, not utopia LOL. I want choice, and not the mentality that I have to feed my dog this food only, which is a scare tactic, and they jack up the price since it's sold at the vet. My vet didn't suggest other options and she did expend a lot of time trying to convince me that that was the only choice I had. I want CHOICE in what I feed my dog. Stay off my thread and give out your pieces of sheeple wisdom elsewhere.
Thanks for your reply. I have to be patient and find out which stone. Two more weeks. I still feel I need to iron out her diet because I'm so concerned. I suppose it's premature, but at least I am aware of different perspectives. Yes, I've noticed the salt content Over a month ago, I added good quality moist food with their dry food called Organic Balance. The wet food is Natural Balance LID at $3.25/can which I can get at any pet food store and my dogs love it. I do have cans of Royal Canin Urinary SO at $4.25 per pop which I will feed too...at least for now. So much to consider.
You don't have to purchase food through the vet. Have them provide a perscription and then you can order the food online from somewhere like petflow.com or chewey.com. I just checked and the Royal Canin SO is $2.87 a can at petflow.
Goody for you that you owned a pet store, dog food business, and pet sitting walking business....so what. With your comments, it doesn't look like you learned much. Regarding vets, it's not all or nothing wanna be expert. Vets are in it for the money, like any other profession. We live in capitalism, not utopia LOL. I want choice, and not the mentality that I have to feed my dog this food only, which is a scare tactic, and they jack up the price since it's sold at the vet. My vet didn't suggest other options and she did expend a lot of time trying to convince me that that was the only choice I had. I want CHOICE in what I feed my dog. Stay off my thread and give out your pieces of sheeple wisdom elsewhere.
I think the vets themselves love their animals, animals in gen. That's not the problem.
We all know finding a vet that actually does raw or pushes proper food could leave you vet-less. Depending on where you live.
Its the mega corperations that push crap food to get vets rich and pets sick. that's the problem to top it off most vets are not taught raw feeding/or the benefits of such a diet. its like they are part of a cruel experiment.
Dash had a Calcium oxalate stone removed and the vet pushed the hills prescription diet and said I needed to feed low protein a I did a lot of reading and talking to people and learned he just needed to be on food that was low oxalate and you can find a list of such foods so I did ad made his food and he never had another stone. And to be honest I was not that strict as he still ended up eating dog treats and stealing food from Phoenix and later Dazzle but his basic diet was low oxalate foods and lots of water . I added water to all of his meals to keep his kidneys well flushed. I do agree Vets are educated in nutrition by the big dog food companies and like drug companies that is big business and are out to make the sale.
You don't have to purchase food through the vet. Have them provide a perscription and then you can order the food online from somewhere like petflow.com or chewey.com. I just checked and the Royal Canin SO is $2.87 a can at petflow.
Thanks, I'll check into that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Happy to hear that your dog is doing well. Well, it's going to take another two weeks before I know which stone she had and it may not even be diet related; but in the meantime, I want to do what I can.
Over a month ago, I added good quality moist food with their dry food called Organic Balance. The wet food is Natural Balance LID at $3.25/can which I can get at any pet food store and my dogs love it. I do have cans of Royal Canin Urinary SO at $4.25 per pop which I will feed too...at least for now. So much to consider.
