Crystals in Bladder/Urine

[Denise U]

Does anyone here have a Doodle that has the condition where crystals grow in their bladder? If so, what are you doing (food, supplements, meds, etc...) to combat this issue?

Thanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One of the topics we discuss at length; Hills/Science Diet is not only a major sponsor of veterinary school nutritional education, they write & publish the textbooks. The level of nutritional knowledge most vets posess is seriously lacking, not unlike many medical doctors. It's not an area where there is much depth or concentration. There are ways to deal with the vet's recommendations, but in cases of illness, we usually have to go along with them. If this is a long term thing, though, I would question it. First question: What is in this food (or not in this food) that will help my dog?

[Denise U]

I agree with you. That's why I thought I would see if anyone else had this issue and what they were doing about it. I just can't believe that I have such few options for this.

[Denise U]

Our vet had me mix the CD with Science Diet Puppy food as Hills told her that their puppy food mixed with the CD wouldn't cause crystals. Now that she is a year old, she gets only the CD. The vet said we could have went to just CD after she had her spay, but we wanted to see her through a year with getting the additional nutrients.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You don't have to be a nutritionist or a vet to see that the ingtedients in this food are terrible, and about as cheap as it gets:
Ground 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, 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), Choline Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, 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, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
Just in the first five, you have corn, soy, animal fat and by-products. And this is what you're paying a fortune for. But the only benefit in the food is the balance and proportion of minerals, and perhaps the low protein levels. That's why it's being prescribed for the bladder issues. A group of minerals mixed into cheap food filled with cheap ingredients that are not natural or healthy foods for dogs (corn & soy?)believed to be the main cause of food allergies.

[Karol J.]

I was getting angrier by the minute as I was reading the ingredients a bit further and the first 5 ingredients are just fluff and filler. Now if I'm not mistaken, aren't the first 5 ingredients setting the tone for the nutrition of the whole meal?

Actually, the first 9 ingredients are junk!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, and that's all there is in the food except for the vitamins & minerals. Read the Flint River info below. They do have alternative foods.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here is a link to the Flint River website's information on feeding information for dogs with urinary, kidney, and bladder diseases, including crystals in the bladder/urine. I think it will be very helpful to you.
http://www.aplus-flint-river-ranch.com/article-prescriptionpetfoodd...

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Charli (13 weeks old) just diagnosed with a UTI with crystals. Vet thinks she may outgrow the crystal part since she is so young but did not suggest a change in diet.
Charli is being fed mostly Fromm's Gold Puppy. I just introduced Innova Puppy for a change in taste for both girls. Charli also eats Samantha Low Activity Fromm's and vice versa.
Any suggestions? Wait & see?

The animal nutrionist suggested to me to add apple cider vinegar to Charli's food. I copied the following from the following from uti-in-dogs.com

Apple cider vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar is a very popular home remedy for UTI's. It works extremely well for humans, and has the same high effectiveness for treating a UTI in your dog. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to your dog's food once per day. You can also add apple cider vinegar to your dog's water for three straight days. The effect of apple cider is the same as the citrus juices. Apple cider vinegar neutralizes the bacteria in the urine, and can help reduce your dog's discomfort from this disease.