Calcium Crystals in Urine

[SweetChloe]

Hi everyone

I noticed that something seemed off in my little Sophie. She is 7 months old and fully housetrained but started having accidents. The worst was in my bed (aaarrgh) thank goodness for enzymes a handy steam cleaner and an hour to kill before work.

So I decided to have a urine test done. After following Sophie around the backyard at 5:30 am dressed in PJ's a housecoat my hubbies shoes and armed with a soup ladel I successfully collected a sample (hoping the neighbours were alseep I can only imagine what that looked like).

Tonight my vet emailed me with the results. I am just going to copy and paste the body of the email and hope that some of you may have some experience with this. I have told her that I will gladly do whatever it takes to ensure the best health but of course hearing there are any issues is upsetting.

So here's the email:

I am just heading out for the day but wanted to touch base regarding your little ones urine sample that you dropped off the other day. I understand she has been peeing in the house which she has not been doing before.

The concentration of her urine is quite high for a dog, there also doesn't appear to be any blood or bacteria in the sample. However, there are some crystals that we are seeing and they are calcium based (2 different types). There is a concern for this type of crystal because if the bind together to create a stone they are not dissolvable and need to be removed surgically. Some can be an indication of infection as well. The question is what should we do moving forward.

A couple things. I would consider an abdominal x-ray to make sure there is not a stone already present. Also, we can send the urine for a culture at the lab to make sure there is no infection (they will see if any bacteria grows from her urine sample) and then treat accordingly. If that is not an option we could run a course of antibiotics through her and recheck the sample to see if crystals clear.

In the meantime some things to consider. Is the RAW diet not balanced properly and thus causing issues with the urine? Start adding additional water to her food and dilute the urine so it as not as concentrated thus not as irritating and able to flush crystals from the bladder. If we cannot resolve the crystals and there is no stones I would strongly consider putting her on a prescription urinary diet that dissolves crystals so she doesn't form a stone.

Have a read through the above and let me know how you would like to proceed. Talk soon,


She's the most incredible vet I have ever had in 26 years of having dogs so I trust her completely. Just wondering if this has happened to any of your pups. Primarily looking for some info as I can't talk to the vet till she's in tomorrow.

Thanks guys

[Lovetodream88]

Penny had crystals the day after I rescued her. We did antibiotics and they cleared up. I personally would go that route first.

[pstinard]

A balanced diet and plenty of water are important factors in preventing calcium crystals. Is the raw diet that the vet mentioned you are feeding a commercial or a home made diet? If it's commercial, it's probably nutritionally balanced, but it's a good idea to let the vet know exactly what you're feeding, just to be sure. And of course give plenty of water. There are some foods that are more conducive to calcium crystal formation than others, and I'm sure your vet will go over that with you.

The antibiotics might be a good idea. So is the urine culture. To get a good x-ray might require Sophie to be sedated, so that's a little more complicated, so if cost is an issue, you might want to ask the vet if they think it's necessary first. You probably have some time to see if the crystals resolve on their own before you need to make a decision about the prescription urinary diet, but again be sure to tell the vet exactly what you're feeding Sophie now to see if that could be causing the problem.

[SweetChloe]

I have an appointment for Monday morning for an X-Ray to ensure there are no stones. I am hoping that given how young she is that there will be none. Still better safe than sorry.

Her diet is Primal freeze dried raw. I also never give her poultry as it is most likely to cause allergies. She also gets cold pressed hemp oil in the morning for Omega 3 and 6 and a vitamin suppliment at night. I have increased the amount of water so now she has Primal stew lol. Perhaps additional hyrdration will help.

I will be bringing her food in to show the vet so that she can look at it as well as the suppliments.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it so much

[SweetChloe]

Also so happy to hear that Penny's cleared up easily. Hopefully the same will hold true for Sophie

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by SweetChloe

I have an appointment for Monday morning for an X-Ray to ensure there are no stones. I am hoping that given how young she is that there will be none. Still better safe than sorry.

Her diet is Primal freeze dried raw. I also never give her poultry as it is most likely to cause allergies. She also gets cold pressed hemp oil in the morning for Omega 3 and 6 and a vitamin suppliment at night. I have increased the amount of water so now she has Primal stew lol. Perhaps additional hyrdration will help.

I will be bringing her food in to show the vet so that she can look at it as well as the suppliments.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it so much

Primal Freeze Dried Raw is a quality food, so you don't need to worry about nutrient deficiencies. Adding more water is definitely a good idea, so I like the idea of Primal Stew. Check and see if the vitamin supplement contains vitamin C. Vitamin C can mess with the urine pH and increase the likelihood of crystals. Taking everything to the vet is a very good idea. Best of luck at Sophie's exam, and I hope Sophie's DNA test comes back soon as well!

[SweetChloe]

Thanks! I will check for the vitamin C. I had no idea it could do that. I am trying to avoid a prescription diet...they're crappy.

I am anxiously awaiting her DNA test. It's been such a long time of wondering. Well now it's up to the postal service and the lab. Thanks again as always

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by SweetChloe

Thanks! I will check for the vitamin C. I had no idea it could do that. I am trying to avoid a prescription diet...they're crappy.

I am anxiously awaiting her DNA test. It's been such a long time of wondering. Well now it's up to the postal service and the lab. Thanks again as always

Hold on a minute there. Prescription food is absolutely anything but crappy. It saves hundreds of dogs lives. Food is simply not about ingredients and thinking that is scary because more goes into food then that like vet nutritionists on staff, feeding trails and good quality control which all of those are done excellently with prescription food. If your dog does have a chronic crystal problem it would save her life too. My oldest has IBD we tried every single type of food and yes raw to and it all continue to make her sick the raw was the worst then she was diagnosed with IBD and it made it better and seriously saved her life because if she continued to have diarrhea and vomiting and needing fluids it would have killed her. This new age dog food should be a certain way is making people think prescription diets are bad and they absolutely are not. Saying they are crappy makes people truly think they are so when their dog gets sick they refuse to put their dog on it and the dog suffers. I hate dog food advisor because it started all this crud!

[SweetChloe]

It certainly wasn't my intention to offend and if I have done that I truly apologize. My comment was one borne from experience. In treating a joint condition in a past furbaby (not a yorkie) my pup had diarreha and would vomit. This happened in spite of slowly switching. When I brought those concerns to my vet (former) I was told to simply continue. After another week I was done and took her off that food. I have had a couple of friends who didn't have good results but a couple who did. I had looked up the ingredients for the food that would be recommended and the first ingredient is corn. That is a concern for me but of course if an alteration to her diet by introducing additional water isn't helping I will try anything.

My initial choice to switch to raw for my pups was from my last little one who had allergies and was losing her hair and developing skin allergies. I tried numerous foods including prescription and no improvement. Raw was not something I had heard of but an acquaintance who is a vet tech recommended it and Chloe's allergies and skin/hair issues resolved within a couple of months.

I never get my information or form an opinion from any "fad" or believe in pseudo science. My experiences are the basis for my thoughts and opinions. I am really glad to hear that you had such great results and even though I haven't had success with prescription food in the past I would still try again as the ultimate goal is improved health. The fact that they have been selling that kind of food for years shows there obviously must be a benefit. Again clearly my quick choice of words had an unintended result, I should have said simply that I didn't have success with them in the past which would have been more accurate. Glad you brought this to my attention as the last thing I would want to do is dissuade someone from trying a food that could be the best choice for their pup.

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by SweetChloe

It certainly wasn't my intention to offend and if I have done that I truly apologize. My comment was one borne from experience. In treating a joint condition in a past furbaby (not a yorkie) my pup had diarreha and would vomit. This happened in spite of slowly switching. When I brought those concerns to my vet (former) I was told to simply continue. After another week I was done and took her off that food. I have had a couple of friends who didn't have good results but a couple who did. I had looked up the ingredients for the food that would be recommended and the first ingredient is corn. That is a concern for me but of course if an alteration to her diet by introducing additional water isn't helping I will try anything.

My initial choice to switch to raw for my pups was from my last little one who had allergies and was losing her hair and developing skin allergies. I tried numerous foods including prescription and no improvement. Raw was not something I had heard of but an acquaintance who is a vet tech recommended it and Chloe's allergies and skin/hair issues resolved within a couple of months.

I never get my information or form an opinion from any "fad" or believe in pseudo science. My experiences are the basis for my thoughts and opinions. I am really glad to hear that you had such great results and even though I haven't had success with prescription food in the past I would still try again as the ultimate goal is improved health. The fact that they have been selling that kind of food for years shows there obviously must be a benefit. Again clearly my quick choice of words had an unintended result, I should have said simply that I didn't have success with them in the past which would have been more accurate. Glad you brought this to my attention as the last thing I would want to do is dissuade someone from trying a food that could be the best choice for their pup.

I didn't read anything bad into your comment. I just assumed that you meant that it would suck to have to put Sophie on a prescription diet. They can be highly beneficial, but sometimes they aren't as tasty as the dog's regular food, and it can be hard to get them to eat it at first. It can be difficult to change a dog's diet once they are set in their ways. No offense taken on my part. Hopefully a prescription diet won't be necessary, but I know you'll do the best for the health of Sophie if required.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by SweetChloe

It certainly wasn't my intention to offend and if I have done that I truly apologize. My comment was one borne from experience. In treating a joint condition in a past furbaby (not a yorkie) my pup had diarreha and would vomit. This happened in spite of slowly switching. When I brought those concerns to my vet (former) I was told to simply continue. After another week I was done and took her off that food. I have had a couple of friends who didn't have good results but a couple who did. I had looked up the ingredients for the food that would be recommended and the first ingredient is corn. That is a concern for me but of course if an alteration to her diet by introducing additional water isn't helping I will try anything.

My initial choice to switch to raw for my pups was from my last little one who had allergies and was losing her hair and developing skin allergies. I tried numerous foods including prescription and no improvement. Raw was not something I had heard of but an acquaintance who is a vet tech recommended it and Chloe's allergies and skin/hair issues resolved within a couple of months.

I never get my information or form an opinion from any "fad" or believe in pseudo science. My experiences are the basis for my thoughts and opinions. I am really glad to hear that you had such great results and even though I haven't had success with prescription food in the past I would still try again as the ultimate goal is improved health. The fact that they have been selling that kind of food for years shows there obviously must be a benefit. Again clearly my quick choice of words had an unintended result, I should have said simply that I didn't have success with them in the past which would have been more accurate. Glad you brought this to my attention as the last thing I would want to do is dissuade someone from trying a food that could be the best choice for their pup.

Food allergies are rare so I just don’t really buy the whole raw food fixed everything that people say with the it clear it up I figure there is actually something else going on. At this time there is very little research to back raw except that it can be dangerous and unsafe. I have also been on the medical side and seen how damaging raw food can be and all the cons of it and how they out weigh any pros in my opinion. I have also meet many vet and staff that are very against it. With all the pre made raw food being recalled lately as well as the general risks that would scare me more then corn. Just because we see corn as bad doesn’t mean it’s bad for dogs. Our nutrition is much different then dogs. I’m a big fan of Royal Canin prescription foods and I noticed many urinary diets without corn as the first ingredient. IBD is caused by food allergies and my dog is on the food that has a man made protein in it which is really hard to be allergic too for a dog to be allergic to.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Food allergies are rare so I just don’t really buy the whole raw food fixed everything that people say with the it clear it up I figure there is actually something else going on. At this time there is very little research to back raw except that it can be dangerous and unsafe. I have also been on the medical side and seen how damaging raw food can be and all the cons of it and how they out weigh any pros in my opinion. I have also meet many vet and staff that are very against it. With all the pre made raw food being recalled lately as well as the general risks that would scare me more then corn. Just because we see corn as bad doesn’t mean it’s bad for dogs. Our nutrition is much different then dogs. I’m a big fan of Royal Canin prescription foods and I noticed many urinary diets without corn as the first ingredient. IBD is caused by food allergies and my dog is on the food that has a man made protein in it which is really hard to be allergic too for a dog to be allergic to.

I think this might have come out crappy when it wasn’t meant to. I’m just very passionate about prescription food and the thought that people call and think it’s crap bugs me terribly. I have seen so many lives made better and saved as well as prolonged by prescription food.

[SweetChloe]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Food allergies are rare so I just don’t really buy the whole raw food fixed everything that people say with the it clear it up I figure there is actually something else going on. At this time there is very little research to back raw except that it can be dangerous and unsafe. I have also been on the medical side and seen how damaging raw food can be and all the cons of it and how they out weigh any pros in my opinion. I have also meet many vet and staff that are very against it. With all the pre made raw food being recalled lately as well as the general risks that would scare me more then corn. Just because we see corn as bad doesn’t mean it’s bad for dogs. Our nutrition is much different then dogs. I’m a big fan of Royal Canin prescription foods and I noticed many urinary diets without corn as the first ingredient. IBD is caused by food allergies and my dog is on the food that has a man made protein in it which is really hard to be allergic too for a dog to be allergic to.

With regards to allergies and the benefit of non-chicken foods I can of course only look at empirical evidence and in my case it solved the issues. Raw food of course can be a hotly debated topic and ultimately each dog parent has to make the choice that they feel is best. I am very happy with it and the dogs are in excellent health so again this is just the choice that I have made. That said of course I respect the choices that other dog parents make.

There are certainly risks associate with a raw diet and the intensive research I have done shows that the greatest risk is to humans. Safe handling practices such as those used when preparing meals for human consumption are vital. In determining whether this has posed a risk to our pups we have always had a fecal test done as part of their annual health check. In 6 years of using a raw diet none of our pups have ever tested positive for salmonella or E. Coli.

Again it's simply a choice, like all diets one weighs benefit vs risk.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by SweetChloe

With regards to allergies and the benefit of non-chicken foods I can of course only look at empirical evidence and in my case it solved the issues. Raw food of course can be a hotly debated topic and ultimately each dog parent has to make the choice that they feel is best. I am very happy with it and the dogs are in excellent health so again this is just the choice that I have made. That said of course I respect the choices that other dog parents make.

There are certainly risks associate with a raw diet and the intensive research I have done shows that the greatest risk is to humans. Safe handling practices such as those used when preparing meals for human consumption are vital. In determining whether this has posed a risk to our pups we have always had a fecal test done as part of their annual health check. In 6 years of using a raw diet none of our pups have ever tested positive for salmonella or E. Coli.

Again it's simply a choice, like all diets one weighs benefit vs risk.

There are risks to the dogs and its not just a risk to the people who are handling the raw food but other people as well but that goes of topic so I will just leave it. I do hope you saw my post apologizing for coming of as crappy. I was offended and got well a little crappy.

[SweetChloe]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

There are risks to the dogs and its not just a risk to the people who are handling the raw food but other people as well but that goes of topic so I will just leave it. I do hope you saw my post apologizing for coming of as crappy. I was offended and got well a little crappy.

Lol no worries 😊 we all love dogs so much and I just saw your post as an expression of that love I felt bad that I could have offended you lol. Glad to know it's all good 😊😊😊