VinnieG

New member
Dec 29, 2014
3
0
Massachusetts
Country
US
Bulldog(s) Names
Vinnie
My English bully Vinnie is now 2 1/2 years old had emergency surgery in August for stones that completely blocked his urethra. Luckily they were all removed! The stones came back as Cystine and he has been put on Hills U/D diet to prevent the stones from forming again. Let me tell you this is quite the bill once a month with him eating 2 + cans per day minimum.

The worst problem now is I am positive that Vinnie is allergic to this food. Ever since changing, he constantly licks as if he has dry mouth the entire time he is awake. He also is getting severe ear infections, infections between his toes and above the nose. I spoke with his Vet and she too is sure this may be an allergic reaction and has consulted with Hills for an alternative.

They have suggested to change him to Hills D/D and add a potassium citrate plus water to get his urine to the proper pH. This gets worst, the dietary guidelines for this food is almost DOUBLE the amount of the U/D.

Does anyone know of an alternative diet for cystine stones or a raw diet for low ph you could provide?

Please help!
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
We have a couple members that went through this and raw or homemade would be the best option for you. i will try to find the threads and post a link back for you.

:welcome3: to EBN
 

RiiSi

Well-known member
Community Veteran
Sep 30, 2011
5,014
535
Sysmä
Country
Finland
Bulldog(s) Names
Taisto, Kylli, Salli, Angel-Usko and Angel-Voitto
My boy has hyperuricosuria had urate stones, so it is different and I'm no real help in this case. Cystinuria is most common with mastiffs and you can find groups in the internet to get more help with your babys feeding. Also google dogaware cystinuria to get some great info.
 

sunkissedpr1ncs

New member
Apr 3, 2013
296
6
Houston, TX
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Barkley and Pippen
I'm so sorry to hear about poor Vinnie :( Our bully, Barkley, had to have cystine stones removed last year as well and the vet recommended to switch him to Hills U/D too but I did not want to do that since the ingredients in that food are so bad. I did a lot of research on this (there isn't a whole lot out there unfortunately) but there is a Yahoo group with some good info.

Is Vinnie neutered? It seems that neutering has been shown to prevent the stones from recurring in bully/mastiff breeds. Barkley had JUST gotten neutered not even a month before we found out about the stones, so I'm hoping that this will prevent them from now on. I have also switched him to Stella & Chewy's food, which are commercial raw frozen patties. A lot of people feed a raw or commercial raw diet since this gives them a lot more moisture in their food and I also add water to his food. I've seen a lot of people also recommend The Honest Kitchen food, they have just a base mix that you can add your own protein to, that way you can monitor how much protein he is getting.

There is also a test being done at UPenn where you can send a urine/blood sample and they will do cystine testing on it. There is a lot more info on this in the Yahoo group. I haven't sent a sample of Barkley's yet since he has been doing fine but would like to eventually just to make sure everything is good.

Let me know if you have any other questions!
 

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