More information on cranberry extract:
Tips in Treatment for Struvite Stones
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, raw meat, 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.
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.
Giving a B vitamin supplement may be helpful and has been indicated in use for humans with these problems.
See our supplement recommendations below
There is also some question that high calcium, rather than causing stones, may help dissolve them. This is also true of vitamin C
The administering a botanical vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry extract), in tablet, capsule or powder form has been known to attain the necessary acid pH to dissolve and prevent the formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate crystals and bladder stones. Your Animal's Health Vol 4 Wendell O. Belfield DVM.
Cranberry Extract has proven by many to be what they call the "magic bullet" needed to treat, prevent, and control the formation of struvite crystals in cats and bladder stones in dogs. This Cranberry and its extract or concentrated form in products is toxic free and will dissolve struvite crystals sometimes within a few hours.
Not until 1984 did dr. Anthony Sobota and his staff succeed in showing that cranberry extract works by preventing the rod-shaped bacteria fron sticking to mucosa of the urinary tracts. In this way they were flushed out with the urine.
Cranberry contains - among other things - the sugar substance D-mannose which has the special ability of being able to prevent harmful bacteria from sticking to the walls of the mucosal wall without harming the friendly-minded bacteria. They also contain the substance arbutin which is effective against certain bacteria and fungi, among others the Candida fungus.
If your dog is already affected, surgical intervention may be necessary to remove the stones. Cranberry Extract can then be administered as a safeguard against the return of the stone. As in the cat, crystals can be detected on routine urinalysis in the dog and a preventive protocol with Cranberry extract will prevent the formation of larger stones.
How does it work?
Cranberries and cranberry juice have been proven effective for treatment of urinary tract infections in humans (e.g. cystitis)and bladder stones in animals in a number of clinical trials. Researchers used to believe the action of cranberry juice is due to acidifying the urine and the antibacterial effects of a cranberry component, hippuric acid but recent studies have shown components in cranberry juice to reduce the ability of bacteria to adhere to the lining of the bladder and urethra. In order for bacteria to infect, they must first adhere to the mucosa. Thus, taking cranberry products, the causative bacteria are flushed, preventing their colonization of the urinary tract. The more the patients drinks liquid or takes the extract of concentrated juice, the more effectively the bacteria are flushed out from the urinary bladder.
While cranberry juice/extract is indicated as an effective treatment for urinary tract infections in pets, most cranberry juices on the market contain one-third cranberry juice mixed with water and sugar. Since sugar has such a detrimental effect on the immune system, sweetened cranberry juice cannot be recommended. For obvious reasons, patient compliance may be very poor with unsweetened cranberry juice. Cranberry Extract (Capsules, tablets or powder) give your dog (or cat) the benefits of cranberry juice in easy to swallow forms, without added sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Cranberry supplements can provide you with an exact, pharmacologically effective daily dose with natural biologically active substances against urinary tract bacterial infections. Cranberry extract is high in natural vitamin C and other natural antioxidants (proanthocyanidines) and tannins that keep bacteria (E. coli) from clinging to the walls of the urinary bladder and the urinary tract.
Cranberry is used to prevent kidney stones and “bladder gravel” as well as to remove toxins from the blood. Cranberry has long been recommended for pets and persons with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Cranberry prevents E. coli, the most common cause of UTIs and recurrent UTIs, from adhering to the cells lining the wall of the bladder. Cranberry's antiadherence action renders the bacteria harmless in the urinary tract. Cranberry has been shown to reduce bacteria levels in the urinary bladders of older women, which may help to prevent future infections. Cranberry can help people with urostomies and enterocystoplasties to keep them clear of mucus buildup. |