Can a dog with crystals eat holistic pet food?

I was working out with my trainer this morning. He has two adorable little Springer spaniels, young rescue dogs. One had crystals in his urine and was put on a special pet food. Justin was feeding them Canidae, I had given him a bag of Life’s Abundance and I keep him in healthy dog treats, but the little dog had a bladder problem (not related to the food) so the vet put him on Science Diet C/D.  Then he ran out of C/D and bought something at the grocery store.

Knowing that I’m a holistic pet person and animal rescuer, Justin asked me what he should put his little guy on. He definitely wanted a better food because the little dog is not gaining weight as well as his brother.

I was cautious about putting him on Life’s Abundance because in my experience with cats, UTI’s can be deadly so you have to give them prescription diets. But I gave him a 3.3 lb sample bag that I had in my car just to get him off a very nasty grocery store brand and told him I’d do some homework.

What follows should be reviewed with your own veterinarian and it DOES NOT APPLY to cats!

I’m so happy to say that, as long as the dog doesn’t have a chronic UTI problem or kidney stones, he can be on holistic food (AFTER his course of antibiotics and prescription food and whatever else the vet recommends)! Crystals don’t lead to kidney stones in dogs the way they do in cats. And they’re apparently quite common. It’s all about making sure you DO treat any infection that is present.

I, personally, would say, choose foods from the USDA APHIS certified manufacturers (see my article here).  My observation is that those truly are the best foods on the market, they source from US animals and grains which follow US standards of fertilizer and pesticide and fungicide controls… just safer, in my opinion.  So for a pet that is already prone to UTI’s and crystals, go very safe.

Here is my homework:

From JustAnswer.pet — answered by a real vet
http://www.justanswer.com/questions/xqw-causes-dog-urine-crystals

The main thing I see on the UA is the pH is high.

So now that I have some history…I will give you “my opinion” on this
problem.

Struvite crystals in a dogs urine…in the absence
of a UTI, don’t mean anything…and don’t lead to anything. Acutally the crystals
can form in urine as it cools. In any case, you can take the urine from 100 dogs with out UTIs and maybe 40% have crystals…doesn’t mean anything. I do not agree that C/D is the correct food at this time.

Unfortunately, lots of vets treat these like they do cats, but the formula for cats, like acidifying urine and special foods…are not the treatment of choice.

Now, if this dog becomes chronic with UTIs, and struvite crystals progress calculi…then problems…but it will not be because she has crystals now…the issue
relies on the infections.

A premium food that is balanced is fine. Some of my clients will occasionally use cranberry pills…but the urine acidity is not as important in dogs as cats, but it can help alittle.

Here are some great natural tips to help your dog avoid crystals:

Once a diagnosis has been obtained from your veterinarian and treatment has been implemented, it is important to adhere to these tips:

Keep fresh water available for the dog at all times, and encourage consumption of water. Keeping the kidneys and bladders flushed is of paramount importance to help prevent crystals and stone formation. Water consumption is very, very important!

Try and feed moist diets, such as fresh food diets, broths, canned diets and extra water added to foods served.

Do not keep the dog confined, but allow access for urination at all times or as frequently as possible. Holding the urine causes concentrations that encourage crystal and stone formation.

Teresa’s note:  Crate training?  Is this causing more UTI’s and crystal formation in our dogs?  Just wondering…

Distilled water may be helpful in averting some cases of stone and crystal formation and check your own water supply for minerals if possible, especially if you have hard water in your area.

Teresa’s note:  Now, I HAVE seen this discussed, so if your dog is prone to crystals, might want to look into this.

Giving a B vitamin supplement may be helpful and has been indicated in use for humans with these problems. http://www.doctoryourself.com/kidney.html (good site for human stone problems)

There is also some question that high calcium, rather than causing stones, may help dissolve them. This is also true of vitamin C. (See above link)

Source: http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/bladder-stones-crystals/

Originally posted on one of my other blogs, reposted here because it was so darned useful!

Teresa Holladay
The Holistic Pet Food Blog
http://holisticpetfood.wordpress.com

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