urinalysis showed high calcium oxalate level

[Sally]

Duncan has been drinking and peeing way more over the last couple of months. I brought him to vet and they sent urine out to lab for full urinalysis. The only thing they saw was an elevated level of calcium oxalate which she said could develop into bladder stones. 

They want me to put him on the rx royal canin s/o food for a month and then re-test urine but I don't want to put him on that food. He currently eats blue buffalo (not the wilderness and not the basics just the regular one in blue bag). He's been on that since he turned 1 and he is now 5.

Any suggestions? Is there another way to go about this???

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I'm sure Karen will give you some good suggestions that don't involve the Rx rubbish. Meanwhile I hope this is something that resolves easily.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The tendency to form calcium oxalate stones is mostly genetic. And diet is not very effective in managing calcium oxalate crystals in dogs. If he actually had stones, it might warrant Rx food. But based on one urinalysis, especially if it was a first morning sample, I would not use it, or become alarmed. It's not that unusual to find calcium oxalate crystals in the urine of healthy dogs, or in dogs with other unrelated health issues.

The Royal Canin s/o food is really awful. 

I wish the vet had done some bloodwork in addition to the urinalysis. 

Here are a couple of good articles: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=662

That one has some resources for homemade therapeutic diets.

This one also discusses diet in detail: http://www.2ndchance.info/oxalatedog.htm

Switching to grain-free food may help. Many grains and starchy foods are high in oxalates. You should also avoid giving him peanut butter and dairy products, as well as any foods or treats that contain soy. 

Keeping the urine very dilute can help, which means encouraging a lot of water consumption. 

[Sally]

thank you! Reading these links now...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, from some of the reading I've done on this, only crystals that show up immediately in a fresh sample tested on the spot are significant. 

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/urinary/c_multi_crystalluria#.U...

"Crystals that form in the urine following elimination or removal of urine from the patient often are of little clinical importance (i.e., crystals formed in the urine after leaving the body). Identification of crystals that have formed in vitro (in a lab environment) will not justify therapy. Situations that will require further follow-up are instances where some types of crystals are detected in patients without symptoms (asymptomatic); large aggregates of crystals (e.g., calcium oxalate or magnesium ammonium phosphate) in apparently normal individuals are detected; or, when detection of any form of crystals in fresh urine collected from patients with confirmed kidney stones may have diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic importance."