Chunky has a UTI and Cystine stones.

[Hankster]

great news!!! And i too will love to hear about the "if you still need to limit protien" situation.....And if so, what are you feeding.. I think we were both going through some of the same switches for a bit though Hank hasnt had those issues (thank God so far) I would like to protect against if it's a bully thing .. (i need to re read this whole post) Anyway,,, sure wonderful to hear your on track

[Chunky White]

That is great news!! Louie will be getting neutered at 11-12 months so we should be able to avoid the cystine stone issue all together. So what protein percentage do you stick to? I was under the impression that once neutered and if no stones, you can feed whatever. But I have no idea??? I was planning on switching Louie to raw once he gets neutered but maybe I shouldn't if he shouldn't have the high protein.


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What he has had so far has been around 27% which is lower than the Orijen food he was on before the issue showed up. Not really that low of a protein but on the lower end of what I can find locally. I still check the cystine levels in the food also and make sure it isn't too high. I am in the process of switching him back to Acana lamb and apple right now because of allergy issues with the food he has been on for the past two months which is Zignature Kangaroo. He has always done well on Acana

[Chunky White]

great news!!! And i too will love to hear about the "if you still need to limit protien" situation.....And if so, what are you feeding.. I think we were both going through some of the same switches for a bit though Hank hasnt had those issues (thank God so far) I would like to protect against if it's a bully thing .. (i need to re read this whole post) Anyway,,, sure wonderful to hear your on track

The cystine stones is a hereditary issue which seems to pop up after a year from what others on here have posted. It can possibly be avoided by feeding lower protein foods, food with lower amounts of cystine and neutering the dog early on from my understanding. I believe it is Cbrugs dog that has Cysturinia in his genetics also and someone else posted about their dog having stones and they didn't change the dogs diet and have no longer had any issues.

[Cbrugs]

What he has had so far has been around 27% which is lower than the Orijen food he was on before the issue showed up. Not really that low of a protein but on the lower end of what I can find locally. I still check the cystine levels in the food also and make sure it isn't too high. I am in the process of switching him back to Acana lamb and apple right now because of allergy issues with the food he has been on for the past two months which is Zignature Kangaroo. He has always done well on Acana

Louie is eating Fromm right now, I think the protein might be 26% or 27%. I've also been giving The Honest Kitchen for one meal and the protein is only 24%. I tried the Acana but Louie was going to the bathroom a lot...monster dumps lol!!! It might have been too rich for him so we went back to the Fromm. It's definitely a little challenging finding the "lower" protein foods. I've thought about trying Zignature but he's doing well on Fromm and THK so why start messing around.

And yes, Louie has cystinuria. So hopefully (fingers crossed) feeding him a lower protein and neutering by age 1, we can avoid him ever getting stoned as it's supposed to affect mature, in tact males.


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[Chunky White]

Louie is eating Fromm right now, I think the protein might be 26% or 27%. I've also been giving The Honest Kitchen for one meal and the protein is only 24%. I tried the Acana but Louie was going to the bathroom a lot...monster dumps lol!!! It might have been too rich for him so we went back to the Fromm. It's definitely a little challenging finding the "lower" protein foods. I've thought about trying Zignature but he's doing well on Fromm and THK so why start messing around.

And yes, Louie has cystinuria. So hopefully (fingers crossed) feeding him a lower protein and neutering by age 1, we can avoid him ever getting stoned as it's supposed to affect mature, in tact males.


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I hope for you and Louie that he doesn't get the Cystine Stones. Chunky was eating Orijen Six Fish which is high in protein when he started having issues and was on Orijen puppy until he was 6 months. I fed him Fromm but he shed all the time while on it no matter what protein so i switched him to Acana. Then the Acana he was eating was out of stock because of a production issue so he went back to Orijen and the Six Fish that time. I fed him high protein most of the first year so I take credit for the cystine stones popping up on top of it being hereditary.

[Hankster]

I hope for you and Louie that he doesn't get the Cystine Stones. Chunky was eating Orijen Six Fish which is high in protein when he started having issues and was on Orijen puppy until he was 6 months. I fed him Fromm but he shed all the time while on it no matter what protein so i switched him to Acana. Then the Acana he was eating was out of stock because of a production issue so he went back to Orijen and the Six Fish that time. I fed him high protein most of the first year so I take credit for the cystine stones popping up on top of it being hereditary.

Right now we have settled on a rotation of the preferance w our home cook turkey ,acana grasslands, and or ranchlands , and spots dehidrated (he loves) , wonder how those stand up ?? As far as the cystinestones are concerned

[Chunky White]

Right now we have settled on a rotation of the preferance w our home cook turkey ,acana grasslands, and or ranchlands , and spots dehidrated (he loves) , wonder how those stand up ?? As far as the cystinestones are concerned

Acana has that information on their website. Go to the page for the selected food and click on analysis in the middle of the screen and then amino acids. You have to scroll down a some to see analysis and amino acids is below. Grasslands is .33% cystine and I don't see ranchlands on their website anymore. Applachian Ranch which I have fed Chunky in the past and he really liked is .32%

The Lamb and Apple is .27%

I cannot find the article but I believe the suggested percentage for cystine is below .3%

I would have Hankster tested to see if he has this hereditary disease before I took all the precautions even though they are simple.

[Hankster]

Acana has that information on their website. Go to the page for the selected food and click on analysis in the middle of the screen and then amino acids. You have to scroll down a some to see analysis and amino acids is below. Grasslands is .33% cystine and I don't see ranchlands on their website anymore. Applachian Ranch which I have fed Chunky in the past and he really liked is .32%

The Lamb and Apple is .27%

I cannot find the article but I believe the suggested percentage for cystine is below .3%

I would have Hankster tested to see if he has this hereditary disease before I took all the precautions even though they are simple.

thanks And yes, he is liking his food again so im greatful for that. Mealtime is much easier. And he likes all those im feeding. Just dont want to over protein or something .. mabie i should just relax huh? Im going to go back and read but....................... how did you know your Chunky had it? I mean what mad you go check for it.. Ha! already got my answer in your first sentence of this page one thanks

[Cbrugs]

thanks And yes, he is liking his food again so im greatful for that. Mealtime is much easier. And he likes all those im feeding. Just dont want to over protein or something .. mabie i should just relax huh? Im going to go back and read but....................... how did you know your Chunky had it? I mean what mad you go check for it.. Ha! already got my answer in your first sentence of this page one thanks

If Hank doesn't have cystinuria then you don't need to be concerned about what you're feeding. Plus he just got neutered and the type of cystinuria that affects bulldogs is testosterone related which is why neutering takes care of the problem.

I believe Louie was DNA tested when he was younger but I think there are other ways to test as well.


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[Chunky White]

thanks And yes, he is liking his food again so im greatful for that. Mealtime is much easier. And he likes all those im feeding. Just dont want to over protein or something .. mabie i should just relax huh? Im going to go back and read but....................... how did you know your Chunky had it? I mean what mad you go check for it.. Ha! already got my answer in your first sentence of this page one thanks

Chunky was peeing in the house which he had not done in 6-8 months at the time and when taken outside to go he would try to go every 20 feet or so with nothing coming out. I thought at first that he was marking and didn't do anything for about a week then I took him back to the vet for a checkup. He had a few shots the week before he started having issues so I thought that could possibly be what was causing the issue. The vet did a urinalysis to see if he had a kidney infection and it came back clean so they tested for stone and that came back positive. After removal of the stones they were tested and came back as Cystine Stones and the hereditary kind. He was neutered at the same time as the surgery to remove the stones and put on a kidney diet for a few weeks of some crappy canned food but I stuck to it before giving him The Honest Kitchen which I figured his body could process easier than kibble for a few months. No issues since

There have been a few other threads about cystine stones on this forum and I believe one was started by @Cbrugs that might have more information. I cannot find some of the articles that people referenced in this thread that went into more detail about kidney issues and different kinds of stones.