Chicken Broth Questions

[mimimomo]

I have the low sodium, no fat kind, but it has onion juice concentrate in it...Is this safe to give to our dogs? Since onion is a no no? I need to get him to drink more water, so do I boil it 1st &/or mix w/filtered water? Or should I use the one w/reg sodium, no fat & dehydrated onion?

Momo has struvite crystals in his urine (no infection) & vet said all he needs is more moisture in his diet. I got a can of Hill's C/D as recommended by vet & have been moistening his Canine Caviar (Duck) kibble w/hot filtered water & mixing it together. He LOVES it! He'll eat anything really. We go back to the vet after New Years for a recheck...hoping he'll improve by then!

Thanks to Cathy (107barney) for recommending the chicken broth!

[107barney]

I would make your own. You buy chicken soup bones cheap at whole foods. Then you can defat and just freeze in mini ice cube trays and pop them out when you need them. Alternatively, Walmart Great value brand used to have an onion free chicken broth. Not sure if still true.

[chachi]

Unless you know it only has a tiny bit of onion in it it wouldnt be worth it to me. It is something that is just unknown what could be immediate or long term problems. I would boil some chicken breasts and use the broth

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by 107barney

I would make your own. You buy chicken soup bones cheap at whole foods. Then you can defat and just freeze in mini ice cube trays and pop them out when you need them. Alternatively, Walmart Great value brand used to have an onion free chicken broth. Not sure if still true.

Ok, thank you! So necessarily, there doesn't have to be sodium to get them to drink. Do you just heat it up, let it cool & serve it undiluted?
I didn't feel comfortable giving him anything w/onion in any form...

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by chachi

Unless you know it only has a tiny bit of onion in it it wouldnt be worth it to me. It is something that is just unknown what could be immediate or long term problems. I would boil some chicken breasts and use the broth

Thank you, that's another good idea! I have organic hormone free chicken breasts that I especially got for them in the freezer...will boil one up right now.
Need to go to whole foods later anyway to do grocery/veggie shopping, will pick up some chicken soup bones. Thank you ladies, Momo sends bunches of kisses!

[107barney]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

Ok, thank you! So necessarily, there doesn't have to be sodium to get them to drink. Do you just heat it up, let it cool & serve it undiluted?
I didn't feel comfortable giving him anything w/onion in any form...

No I don't cook with salt so any sodium is what is naturally in the chicken bones and that's minimal. I would use about a teaspoon of the broth and maybe 3 tsp water - just add it to the kibble at meals. That's why the ice cub trays are handy - you just always have them and can just micro to defrost. He probably would lick it up on a small bowl. In a pinch a little coconut water can do the same. But chicken broth is better and nutritious for them.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

Thank you, that's another good idea! I have organic hormone free chicken breasts that I especially got for them in the freezer...will boil one up right now.
Need to go to whole foods later anyway to do grocery/veggie shopping, will pick up some chicken soup bones. Thank you ladies, Momo sends bunches of kisses!

Ask the butcher - they probably would give you chicken backs or necks dirt cheap. You also could use beef bones but again make sure you defat after cooking them down. My vet had also recommended tuna water. I didn't want tuna faces

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Ask the butcher - they probably would give you chicken backs or necks dirt cheap. You also could use beef bones but again make sure you defat after cooking them down. My vet had also recommended tuna water. I didn't want tuna faces

ohh no, chicken necks blech loll! I'll do it for Momo. Thank you Cathy!

[chachi]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Ask the butcher - they probably would give you chicken backs or necks dirt cheap. You also could use beef bones but again make sure you defat after cooking them down. My vet had also recommended tuna water. I didn't want tuna faces

I dont blame you I wouldnt want tuna faces either I have enough of that after my cats eat their whitefish and tuna and they dont give kisses

[mimimomo]

I mixed in half warm filtered water & half boiled chicken breast broth & they lapped it up like it was the most delish drink they ever had! Momo wants more lolll.

[chattiesmom]

I only use homemade defatted stock. If the object is to get him to drink a lot of fluids, dulited homemade stock (chicken and/or beef) should work great, especially if he's a chow hound. I would use only enough stock in the water to "trick" him into drinking and give him as much as he would like - especially after eating his regular meals and after play sessions.

If he only needs a small amount of extra fluids, I would still do the broth diluted with water and control how much he drinks.

[Ellie May]

Not safe.

Moistening the kibble is fine if the vet's only goal is to dilute the urine. If they also want to change pH, lower protein, and lower magnesium (to help get rid of the crystals), then they may want your pup on just the rx food and water.

I saw on your other thread that an infection was ruled out. Unfortunately, that would have been a good thing to have bc then yu have an easy answer. It is possible that there isn't one, but almost all struvites are present bc an infection was or is present. But as long as your vet has done a culture (and preferrably two) to rule that out then maybe there really isn't one.

One of my dogs has extensive bladder problems and has had crystalurea (struvites). No crystals found since he tarted earing RC SO. He gets nothing else.

I'm guessing if the vet pulled an rx food thy would tell you not to add anything to the diet. If they say go for broth I'm sure Cathy could give you her recipe. Onion is never ok even in tiny amounts.

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

I only use homemade defatted stock. If the object is to get him to drink a lot of fluids, dulited homemade stock (chicken and/or beef) should work great, especially if he's a chow hound. I would use only enough stock in the water to "trick" him into drinking and give him as much as he would like - especially after eating his regular meals and after play sessions.

If he only needs a small amount of extra fluids, I would still do the broth diluted with water and control how much he drinks.

'chow hound' is a perfect word to describe Momo loll! I feel much better now that I know how to make homemade chicken broth that is 100% safe for my dogs. Thank you!

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Not safe.

Moistening the kibble is fine if the vet's only goal is to dilute the urine. If they also want to change pH, lower protein, and lower magnesium (to help get rid of the crystals), then they may want your pup on just the rx food and water.

I saw on your other thread that an infection was ruled out. Unfortunately, that would have been a good thing to have bc then yu have an easy answer. It is possible that there isn't one, but almost all struvites are present bc an infection was or is present. But as long as your vet has done a culture (and preferrably two) to rule that out then maybe there really isn't one.

One of my dogs has extensive bladder problems and has had crystalurea (struvites). No crystals found since he tarted earing RC SO. He gets nothing else.

I'm guessing if the vet pulled an rx food thy would tell you not to add anything to the diet. If they say go for broth I'm sure Cathy could give you her recipe. Onion is never ok even in tiny amounts.

Vet wanted to lower or said these were high (sorry, I can't remember which, but is it the same thing loll): magnesium & phosphorous & wants me to feed him low ash protein that part I'm not sure, but she did mention low ash. She said I can mix the kibble w/some of the canned to give him some more moisture. I've been making it really soupy w/x-tra water & he lapped it up!

I was worried that Momo might have some sort of mild liver issue since he has no obvious symptoms. He did have an acid bile test couple of years ago & it was inconclusive. Vet said he spoke to a specialist bc his values were a little high (I don't know what was high & I didn't ask for any paperwork) but that it wasn't something to be worried about, that it can be high from the dog being nervous or stressed. He said I can retest if I wanted to couple of months later, but I never did.

I will need to talk to the vet about this & we will also discuss retesting him, also request a urine culture be done.

I'm so glad I asked here b4 I gave it to him, I know onion is a no no, so wanted to make sure. Thank you!

[mimimomo]

oops sorry, I wasn't asking if magnesium & phosphorous are the same things...I meant, these 2 things: being high or lowering them, is the same thing

[salazark]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Not safe.

Moistening the kibble is fine if the vet's only goal is to dilute the urine. If they also want to change pH, lower protein, and lower magnesium (to help get rid of the crystals), then they may want your pup on just the rx food and water.

I saw on your other thread that an infection was ruled out. Unfortunately, that would have been a good thing to have bc then yu have an easy answer. It is possible that there isn't one, but almost all struvites are present bc an infection was or is present. But as long as your vet has done a culture (and preferrably two) to rule that out then maybe there really isn't one.

One of my dogs has extensive bladder problems and has had crystalurea (struvites). No crystals found since he tarted earing RC SO. He gets nothing else.

I'm guessing if the vet pulled an rx food thy would tell you not to add anything to the diet. If they say go for broth I'm sure Cathy could give you her recipe. Onion is never ok even in tiny amounts.

I agree. My vet wanted Sadie on nothing but the prescription diet until the crystals were gone. Then I had the option of a different prescription diet or very slowly transitioning back to her regular food, but he didn't want anything outside the plan in her diet. He said I could add water but nothing else till we were cultured clear on just her regular food. After that if I add anything it has to be one thing at a time with a culture after a couple of weeks of any change. I used to add green beans to her food. I need one more clear check before we try adding them again. His thoughts are that if something causes the crystals to come back, we need to be able to isolate it and remove it without guesswork.