Quote:
Originally Posted by SueinPgh  Hi Everyone,
It's been awhile since I posted. Last week Pippin peed on the bed and on the rug. Even as a 12 week old puppy, she has never woken up in the middle of the night to pee. Even if she had to go out, she would sit and stare at me and give me a low growl. She also has been licking quite a bit. But she had no other symptoms.
A trip to the vet showed infection (gave an antibiotic) and struvite crystals. She said she would be on a prescribed diet always. She gave me samples of Hill Prescription c/d but said it didn't have to be that particular one.
I asked if the antibiotic and more liquids cleared it up, could she go off the diet. She said the crystals will likely come back.
I'm hesitant to put her on this special diet. My boss has a small dog that had surgery to remove stones and was put on a special diet. Because this was a high fat diet, last week he got pancreatitis.
Any thoughts? Anyone one else have a dog on a prescription diet for crystals?
Thank you so much!!! |
My 2 had struvite crystals @ the same time in the past. They did not have an infection but the vet prescribed antibiotics (I think?) & c/d RX food. It took about 2 months for it to clear. I basically moistened their kibble w/ hot water & mixed in canned c/d as well. I learned later that you don't need to change their diet, just liquefy it. This is only the case w/ struvites.
I did a lot of research on it & it happens that some dogs (& cats) have them (struvites) naturally in their bladder. It's when the pH of their urine gets too high (7+) &/or there's an infection, it causes problems by multiplying & ultimately forming into stones if left untreated. A dog's urine pH is more neutral & acidic, should be 6-. But be aware, if it gets too low/ acidic, it can cause oxalate crystals in dogs that will be prone to it. They do have urine pH strip testers that you can test their urine pH @ home.
In our case, I was not sure if it was the alkaline water (which had a pH of 8)or the food they were eating that was causing their urine pH to be high (maybe it was both). I actually contacted the company & they told me the dogs tested had a urine pH of higher 6-7 eating their food. So I changed to bottled water & also changed their diet to a raw food diet. It's been several years & they both have not had a recurrence.
I'm just blabbering LOL, hope this info helps some & not cause any confusion.
