Check ups are important
 

Chase had his adult health screen today since he's almost 3. It includes an exam, serum chemistry profile, urinalysis with sedimentation, and cbc with differential. We also did his annual heartworm, lyme etc test, fecal, and bordetella vaccine. His bloodwork was great, but not the urinalysis. He had alot of crystals in his urine. We tried to get Calvin to go while we were there so they could check his too, but he's a stinker and wouldn't go lol. We ordered the prescription food for Chase, and hopefully it will get rid of the crystals. I feel so bad because it's diet related, and I am SO picky about what they eat and research everything and give them only what I feel is THE best foods. After we came home, Calvin went pee (and Jay was able to get some in a cup, can't imagine what Calvin thought of that lol), so we drove it back to the vet (keep in mind it's 35 minutes 1 way), and had it tested. He has a ton of them too, so he will be on the special diet as well. We will recheck them again in 6 weeks. I forgot to ask how much the food was since I won't pay for it till I pick it up, but today alone was almost $400. I really hope the food will help them. It just goes to show that even if your dogs are healthy, these health screens are so important. We caught this before it became a major problem, thank goodness.

Regular check-ups are so important. Tibbe goes in every 6 months for his, just like I do. Thank goodness this situation was caught before it could get really, really bad! I hope your sweet little one is going to be okay. So glad Calvin has a mommy who really cares!

Glad to hear you caught the crystals before they became a big problem! Khloe had crystals in her urine and I noticed she was pottying a lot... It's good to get them in anytime you think there is a problem on top of regular check ups even if they seem healthy :)

So glad they were able to catch that.....
I can just imagine me trying to get Riley's urine in a cup. LOL!!

What were you feeing them?

Yes check ups are very, very important. I take mine every 6 months for a check up with blood work and anything else that needs to be done.

I'm glad that they caught the crystals, before it became a bigger problem.

OP thank you for posting this! It is an excellent reminder about the importance of check ups for our pups!

So glad you caught it and are taking measures to get it corrected. Your babies are lucky to have you.

What kind of food were you feeding, if you don't mind my asking.

Any ideas anyone on how I could catch some Zhoie's urine to get it tested:confused:

When she squats...it's right on the ground:rolleyes:

Thank you, I hope the new diet will solve it too! I take them in every 6 months for a regular exam, and once a year they get bloodwork done. I am really glad this visit called for the urinalysis, because I didn't notice any change in their potty habits!

Oh for sure! Even if I think something isn't quite right, we are at the vets :) He loves me because I catch everything before it gets bad, like ear infections. They are my babies, and it's MY job to make sure they are taken care of :) I wish they could talk (well, sometimes lol) but they can't so I'd much rather be safe than sorry!

Me too! If it wasn't for Chase's 3 year health screen, I don't know how I would have known. I have been rotating between Acana and Taste of the Wild for a long time, and they get Grandma Lucy's freeze dried Artisan in the morning and a spoon of wet in the evening with their kibble. I feel so guilty because my food choices were not the best choice for them, like I thought :(

Thank you, I'm very thankful we caught it early too!

Thank you! After I wrote this I thought of all the people that post looking for a cheap yorkie because they don't have money. How could they afford just regular health screens and check ups if they expect their dog to be less than the average vet bill? I'm not rich by any means, but I WILL get my boys the proper vet care that they need, and any tests to make sure they are and stay healthy! I hate to think of the pups that get stuck with someone that won't do this :(

Thank you :D I'm a lucky mommy to have such great boys! I feed Acana or Taste of the Wild, and it looked like they did great on these as far as poo and eye boogies, but I guess they are not a good choice for them :(

Exactly why I do very thorough vet checks on adopters! I want to know that someone does the responsible thing for their pups.

Good for you for taking such excellent care of your pups! They are lucky to be with you. :)

Me too! If it wasn't for Chase's 3 year health screen, I don't know how I would have known. I have been rotating between Acana and Taste of the Wild for a long time, and they get Grandma Lucy's freeze dried Artisan in the morning and a spoon of wet in the evening with their kibble. I feel so guilty because my food choices were not the best choice for them, like I thought :([/QUOTE]

YIKES! I was feeding Riley Acana and switched him to TOTW in about November. He has been doing really well on it..... I usually put about a teaspoon of Weruva in his kibble morning and night. His 1-year check-up was end of September....about 6-months ago. Maybe I should make an appt. for him this month just to make sure everything is good.

Definitely a good reminder! :thumbup: I can't imagine at least NOT taking him once a year for a check-up, if not for anything but peace of mind. We don't do the yearly vaccs or anything, but I just always want the reassurance that my boy is healthy and doing well.

Jackson's bloodwork came back perfect on Acana, just FYI. :) He'll be checked again probably in the summer for his yearly.

Thank you so much, I still feel so guilty that what I thought was helping them was really harming them, but hopefully this prescription food will take care of the crystals.

YIKES! I was feeding Riley Acana and switched him to TOTW in about November. He has been doing really well on it..... I usually put about a teaspoon of Weruva in his kibble morning and night. His 1-year check-up was end of September....about 6-months ago. Maybe I should make an appt. for him this month just to make sure everything is good.[/QUOTE]

I still think those are great foods, just not for my boys anymore. The wet foods I give are Weruva and Tiki Dog too. The bloodwork was great, so maybe just for piece of mind you would want to do a urinalysis? I know all dogs react differently to foods, so Riley is most likely (hopefully!) just fine. How old is he? Chase is 3 next month, and Calvin is 2 tomorrow!

Exactly! Even if every thing was perfectly normal (which I 100% expected), I would not consider it a waste of money at all. It just goes to show that even paying attention to every little tiny thing, we can't always see everything that's going on with them, and something might be wrong even if they appear super healthy.

Cool! Riley's bloodwork also came back perfect on Acana, in September, but I don't think they can tell if there are crystals in their urine through blood.... I could totally be wrong though.... Can they? If so then he's good to go.... I don't think he has ever had a urinalysis done..... ?? I know I have never collected it. :) LOL!!!

Oh, right... lol. Yeah never did a urinalysis either then.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but do crystals come from lack of drinking water sometimes? I wonder if an all-canned food diet would help add moisture to their diet.