Help Needed! Best Food For Crystals in the Bladder

gracoliv

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Jan 3, 2012
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Gracie and Oliver
So my dogs have had the food allergy thing on going, not perfectly fixed but doing really well since being on Fromme 4 Star for the last year or so. Seems my girl Gracie got a Urinary Tract Infection last fall, I took her in, got antibiotics; All was good. Then in December the symptoms showed up a gain, I take her to vet, its back. This time they do radiology to look for crystals in bladder. None found, do a longer stint on some different antibiotics. Things seem to clear up. Now in Jan, symptoms are back, take her in its still or again a UTI, more radioligy and this time they say there are crystals. Vet prescribes some very crappy food, no real meat in it, corn etc.. is first ingredient, but very high in salt to make her drink more water and dissolve/pass the crystal. He also says she should come off the fromme and find something else. We are now giving distilled water (we are on a well, vet suggested it is too hard).

Anyone know what quality dog food I should try with her, if not fromme ? I am out of the bag of crappy food, and dont want to keep her on it for long, so looking for something that might be better for her. Or is the vet crazy and fromme is just fine ? I need to make sure this does not get any worse as those crystals can be very painful and horrible if they turn into stones.

thx everyone.
 

RiiSi

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Did the vet say what kind of crystals they are? It is very important to know. The infection points to struvite, but quessing and assuming can be dangerous. And there is always a better choice of food than the s...t the vet sells, but the urine must be tested to find out the type of crystals.
 

cowsmom

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Apr 27, 2011
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i think riisi is correct you need to know which kind of crystals to know how to proceed. [MENTION=3990]gracoliv[/MENTION]
 
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gracoliv

gracoliv

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Yes, they are struvite.
 

RiiSi

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That's easier to handle, you don't never ever need to feed that crappy food.
I would advice you to
Get a electrical pH-meter and monitor her urine pH regularly. It should just below 7Bathe and groom your dog on a regular basis
ReplaceYour dog's drinking water with fresh water at leats once per day
Give your dog urination breaks as frequently as possible
Add water to your dogs food to increase it's fluid intake
Remove leftover food from the bowl
Provide your dog with appropriate portions of healthy, all-natural and clean food, Fromm is just fine
Wash your dog's water and food bowls on daily basis
Give your dog Cranberry and vitamin C
 

anatess

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You can't fix stuvite crystals with a change in diet if he's already eating quality food that supports his immune system. Stuvite crystals are actually common in dogs and cats. It's not a health problem unless it becomse a UTI and then you need to fix it - And no, prescription dog food will not fix the UTI... silly vet. A lot of times, a vet will prescribe a low-protein food in addition to anti-biotics to help pass the crystals when UTI is present. That's fine. But that diet should be very temporary. Not permanent change. You'll be asking for more health trouble if you make this permanent.

If your dog is prone to stuvite crystals, you can either do pH tests often (same time everyday) to monitor his pH levels (if it creeps up close to 8, a UTI may be coming and a vet notification is needed) or you can give him some probiotic supplements to balance him out.

Okay, I have to admit, I'm not well experienced with stuvite crystals except for my mom had a dog that had it.
 

ABEBD

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By many names depending on the situation?
Hello,

Bulldogs are special dogs.

And along with being a special dog, they also have special needs. Crystals and stones are not special to bulldogs but are still a problem.

Do a search here on EBN for other threads about crystals and stones. There are several very good threads that have lots of great information and links.

Education is the most important aspect of treatment.

I have not had any experience with struvite types...but I have been unlucky enough for the OTHER SPECIAL type of cystine. And I am still learning and looking for something else to feed other than Rx dog food.

Good Day~
 
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gracoliv

gracoliv

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Jan 3, 2012
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Gracie and Oliver
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Thanks everyone. You have help me to decide to keep her on the Fromme. I will make the other changes. I have already changed her to distilled water (fresh every day) and the cranberry/vit c supplement, and I typically add warm water to her food just cus she seems to like it better that way...
 

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