Vet wants to put doodle on Science Diet CD Help!

[Melissa, Samson & Shelby]

My doodle's sister has been having frequent UTIs.  (Annabelle is the doodle of my good friend.) The vet did extensive testing and found that she has a high pH level, along with some bacteria.  They are treating the infection and want Annabelle to go on a vet prescription diet from Science Diet CD that will lower the pH level.  Annabelle has been eating Acana and my friend does not want to switch to a Science Diet product. We couldn't tell what the CD diet contains that would lower the pH.  I would welcome any suggestions or advice.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

That Science Diet is pure rubbish, wait for Karen & Jack to weigh in on this one as she is the expert on all food related issues.

[Melissa, Samson & Shelby]

Yes that's what I think too.  I read the featured discussion on Vet recommended food and agree, but that discussion seems to mainly talk about GI and allergy issues.  Does anyone know anything about food lowering pH? I could have missed it in that discussion.  My friends research has turned up nothing in regards to what in the vet food would lower pH. And Annabelle had been on Acana for quite some time, over a year at least.  My friend is going to try vitamin C and cranberry juice.  How she'll get that down the doodle, I'm not quite sure.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

check out Cranimals - a powder you add to food - cranberries, or mixed berries http://cranimal.com/

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Allyson would be a better person to answer this question, but the short answer for your friend is, DO NOT FEED YOUR DOG HILLS RX DIETS. You would be better off feeding your dog from any random trash can.

Look at these ingredients:

Ingredients

Whole Grain Corn, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Soybean Mill Run, Chicken Liver Flavor, Calcium Sulfate, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed, Iodized Salt, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Potassium Chloride, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

 

In those first five ingredients there is not one thing that's fit to feed a dog. And you are paying a fortune for this crap which is made from the cheapest possible ingredients.

The vet is prescribing it for 2 reasons: 1. He makes a huge profit on it 2. The Hill's salesman told him this is what you should prescribe for dogs with urinary infections.

The food has lower levels of minerals than many other dog foods. This is what supposedly helps dogs with urinary tract infections. It also has very low protein.

What's interesting is that according to the National Institute for Health, higher animal protein in the diet helps lower urinary PH similar to using cranberry supplements.

But regardless, the presence of a UTI will cause the urinary PH to be elevated; the bacteria and higher Ph of the urine is caused by the UTI, not by the food.

Let them check the urinary PH after the infection is gone and see if those things haven't resolved.

Tell your friend to follow whatever medical advice the vet gave her, including any medications to treat the UTI, and make sure she gets lots and lots of fluids into Annabelle. If Annabelle isn't a big water drinker, she can try fat-free low sodium broth, frozen juice bars, or a couple of spoonfuls of a good canned food added to her meals...canned foods contain as much as 80% moisture. The cranberry supplements are a great idea as well. And if antibiotics were prescribed for the UTI, she should also give Annabelle some plain, unflavored fat-free yogurt with her meals. That will help add moisture as well as replacing the good flora in the gut.

But she should absolutely refuse the Rx food.

 

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Sorry to open this can of worms again. What food is suggested for a dog that has bladder stone issues? A dog of my friend needs to be on a life-long prescription diet (something similar to Hill's CD prescription). Is there anything healthier for a dog with these problems? Thank you.

[Rhonda, Marabelle & Jeriki]

Have you looked into Raw Food Diet, really interesting info on this subject. Each to there own and I know some vets don't agree but its worth the read. Google Raw food diet for dogs BARF is a good article.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In what way would a raw diet be helpful for UTIs? Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any scientific information on this. The websites that promote the BARF diet are not scientifically based and do not cite independent research or studies.

 

 

 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

the fact that they have high water content (compared to kibble) maybe?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That would be true of any fresh cooked food, canned food, or dehydrated diet as well.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Hey Jarka, Jack had a high PH for almost two consistent years. It made me insane...I will tell you what I did, I had my vets approval as well, I used something called UTI edge, in is a very concentrated powder of D-mannose.

It worked amazingly well and brought his PH back down. I went nuts with getting his PH down, this was the fastest most effective way for Jack. I also so an Internal Medicine Vet for Jack that specializes in urinary track disease, She told me that a high PH without bacteria is not a reason to put him on antibiotics.....

For us, Jack now only once a week gets a sprinkle of the D Mannose and his PH is within normal limits....