[crazy4cats]

Nate-
I agree the kibble ingredients aren’t great. What little kibble I give him, I feed the Royal Canin dry urinary Rx food. I thought it was better than the Hill’s. I rotate between the hills c/d and the Purina c/d wet foods. Now I’m only feeding about half prescription and half regular canned with a small amount of Rx RC kibble. If his next urinalysis is good in about a month, I’ll even feed less of it.

I don’t agree that the vets are selling Hill’s just to make money. However, that is another subject! Lol! I have contacted two holistic vets and they both agreed that this is the one and only condition that they would recommend the hills c/d or s/d temporarily to dissolve the crystals. It may be different for a dog, though. And everything else I’ve read says to definitely keep any kibble to a minimum. The d-mannose supplement comes up quite a bit too. Im going to check that out when I get him off the Rx food. Good luck to you. Let us know what other info you come across. It could be helpful to all of us.

[Barbara M]

Hey Nate. Here’s my take…as someone who PRIDES themselves in doing the best for my dog like I would a child, I know science diet is a crap food but crystals are painful for a dog. So I did the SD c/d (she would NOT eat the s/d) for a month. I even added water to it to ensure an increase in her water intake. Then I went back to her 5 star kibble. I home cook meat for her once a week and add it to her food with added water to increase he water. She hated the fountain so that’s back in the box. Lol. Just keep I mind that you dog is experiencing discomfort. Don’t wait too long. Let me know what you come up with if not the SD. Kisses to your little ones!!!

[Nate D]

Thanks everyone! I’ll report back soon.
I think what I will do is put her on canned prescription food to get rid of the crystals then switch back to other wet food and give the solid gold supplement on top of it.

[weezerweeks]

That sounds great my YORKIES went from 8 to 6.5 in a month. I also used the solid gold supplement. The canned foods that I use are wellness stews, go fit, simply nourish and all canned that are below average in carbs and below or near average in fat. They will do great with the diet change. Good luck

[InkedMarie]

Nate,
I used to have a dog with struvite crystals. What worked for me was adding canned & water to his food, adding cranberry & one 500 mg Vitamin C. Do NOT do the last one without talking to your vet. Now, I’d feed just a wt food, no dry. It’s so important they get enough liquid.

[Nate D]

InkedMarie,
The vet is more then ok with them being on vitamin c to help lower the ph levels.
Since I plan to use the Solid Gold powder which has vitamin c in it I’ll just stick to that.

[Laurie B]

I used all supplements to get rid of my girl’s struvites. So saying that supplements are preventative, and not curative, is incorrect. I’m not a vet, and what I did may not work for all dogs. I used a high protein food (and yes, it was kibble!) along with D Mannose (a highly concentrated cranberry) and 500 mg of vitamin C with every meal. Lots of distilled water available. I tested her pH once a week, and when we got it down to 6 and held for a couple of weeks, retested. Crystals were gone. First, what the vet recommends to feed makes them drink/urinate more, which flushes the crystals out. I’ve never heard that the C/D food actually dissolves them. Might be true, but in my research, I never heard it. It’s also made of crap ingredients, which I’d never feed my dogs. Acidifying actually does dissolve them. She’s been crystal free since then, and every couple of months, I supplement her for about a week again. Just my two cents.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Nate-
If you do decide to go with the prescription food, I think I’ve read not to give any of the acidifying supplements. Definitely check with the vet on that. I believe it would be harmful to do both. So many opinions. Good luck!

[Nate D]

Yea I don’t plan to do both. My wife is going to call a vet tomorrow that she knows personally who isn’t local, but does know her from her past and see what she says.
My uncle in another state is also a vet I just haven’t talked to him in years so I might give him a call and get several opinions. Anyways as said I’ll report back.

[Barbara M]

I read that people have rid Struvite with supplements alone, but I trust my vet and took his preferred course of action and then did my own research for after. That’s how I found Solid Gold. I started her on the solid gold right after the crystals dissolved. I believe the s/d food has a higher level off salt which is why they drink more and wet food has more water in it as well. Keep us posted Nate. You are a good pet parentnfor exploring what’s best and not what’s easy!

[Laurie B]

I’m just glad there are several options! We all have to do what’s right for our own dogs. My vet did recommend the Royal Canin, but said the holistic was worth a shot for me, and I agreed to try the food if it didn’t work. Nate, good luck!

[crazy4cats]

Hi-

Coincidentally, a poster on the review side of this site asked about struvite crystals as well. Someone responded with this link from Dr. Becker:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/09/struvite-stones.aspx

[Nate D]

Here’s a quick update after making some phone calls.
My dog will be going on the Science Diet for 2 weeks. I actually already started. Went and picked it up. After that if there are no crystals I was told I can go back on the dry food, I just need to add water to it……or I can mix wet and dry and add water. I’m told the solid gold supplement is also ok once off of the SD.
So I will still use dry food, but will mix it with wet. I just can’t afford all wet.
I’m also looking at switching the dry food to grain free. The big problem is with Doxies it’s not easy finding a food they won’t gain weight from no matter how little food you give them. Fromm Gold Weight Management has been the only food that keeps both of my dogs stable and where they should be. They do have a new weight management formula, but I don’t believe it’s grain free either. I have tried grain free in the past, but they just kept slowly putting on the weight. Even tried Wellness Core Reduced Fat. I kept lowering the amount I gave them, but anymore they wouldn’t have any. lol
I see Merrick has a grain free low cal dry food as well as canned. I’m also looking at Evo and Fromm for canned food. Natural Balance has a low cal food as well, but doesn’t look as good as the others, but it is more affordable. By Nature looks good as well.
The Evo dry looks good, but the protein is extremely high. I tried that route with Orijen and Acana before but that high just made their stools very soft and they farted all of the time. lol Not to mention my females anal glands were over active on very high protein.
What brands of foods are you all feeding your dogs that had crystals?

[crazy4cats]

It was one of my cats that had the crystals that caused a blockage and I am still feeding him a small amount of the RC urinary prescription dry food, along with mostly canned. I am being very cautious about letting his bladder completely heal after our ordeal. I will probably continue to feed mostly canned. And yes, it is soooo expensive. Believe it or not, canned cat food is even more expensive than dog. And I have four of them! Yikes! But, his emergency vet bill was over $2000 and we are still paying on it. I could have bought a lot of canned food for that. Not to mention some new furniture! LOL!

Again, a blockage is much less likely in a dog, especially in a female.

I’ve heard a lot of people recommend Wellness Core reduced fat with great results. I have fed my dogs Nutrisource Senior dog food as it is a little lower in fat and calories than than the norm. BTW, my dogs are only three years old, but I like the guaranteed analysis on a lot of senior foods. Right now I’m feeding California Natural grain free pork. It has a lot less ingredients and lower in fat than most foods. It is a little expensive though. I only feed it if it is on a good sale! I have lab mix brothers and one of them tends to get chubby. The are 80 and 85 pounds.

It sounds like your dogs are in good hands. Good luck!

[weezerweeks]

I have my yorkie on wellness core weight management canned when he gains a little weight but I also use the wellness stews, fromn gold, go fit, simply nourish, grandma lucys, and Dr. Harveys grain free oracle. I am lucky that I only have one small dog so the cost of food is not a problem. I am considering starting on raw. Since I switched him off kibble, I have had no problem with crystals. I truly believe the most important thing with crystals is WATER!

[weezerweeks]

Crazy4cats that is a very good article and that is what I did. The foods I mentioned above are low carbs and fats. The dog really should not be on kibble.

[Nate D]

Yes, lots of water is the most important thing from what I’m learning and being told. That and keeping the pH levels normal and not high. I’ve had 3 vets tell me there is absolutely nothing wrong with dry food as long as water is added and mixed with it.

[Derek L]

Does anyone else have tips to encourage drinking water?

I have added much more wet food for moisture, there is fresh water out but i’m not sure what else I can do to encourage my dog to drink water.

He’s had struvite for a few months now and the antiobiotics didn’t seem to do too much. I purchased the cranberry vitamin C supplement to assist but I notice his urine is a lighter yellow but still noticeable. The vet I visited did not provide me much quality input and I am looking for another vet.

Should I be looking into a urinalysis?

[Nate D]

Derek,
Have you tried a water fountain? I bought a Drinkwell fountain on amazon and it works pretty well for my dogs. One thing to take note though is the filters used in them are carbon fiber and can actually make the water slightly more alkaline so be sure to test the water ph with test strips, use distilled water with it, or just don’t use the filters if you try them.

I know you asked if you should be looking into a urine analysis, but isn’t that how they determined your dog had crystals to begin with? It’s important to have re-tests so if it’s been awhile since one has been done then yes I would get one done.

[Derek L]

Thanks Nate i’ll take a look.

So background. I noticed my dog had red in his urine when marking so I immediately took him to the vet. It was a UTI. The vet found the struvite crystals and then gave him a few rounds of antibiotics. Each with a urinalysis afterwards to see how he was doing. He didn’t give me much feedback aside from either do a $200 test to check which antibiotics would work or continue giving him what he already was.

I wasn’t pleased with his answers and ability to really help me understand. I’ve then used the vitamin c and cranberry supplement, incorporated more wet food into his diet and tried to further encourage my dog to drink more water.

I’ve been monitoring and trying to find a better vet in the process. Any next steps that I may be missing?

[InkedMarie]

Nate: two foods to look at are Wellness Core reduced fat and Annamaet Lean.

Derek: dogs generally don’t drink enough water, that is why a wet food is “best”. Adding water to dry with a little canned is an easy way. You can try a little of the lowest sodium chicken breath you can find to the water to entice drinking.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Derek-
Did the follow-up urinalysis still show crystals? Finding a vet that you can easily communicate with shouldn’t be so difficult, but I feel your pain! I had the same experience and ended up with a cat at the ER.

[Nate D]

InkedMarie,
As said I’ve already tried Wellness Core RF and didn’t have good results on it. I’m going to keep comparing foods.

[Derek L]

@crazy4cats it did still show crystals. I didn’t like the idea of just continuing to pump antibiotic over and over again. I’m trying to find another vet and hopefully one that will be more helpful.

[Barbara M]

@Derek L the antibiotics was for the UTI not the crystals. The crystals require either a prescription for or wet food and increased water. I use solid gold berry supplement and someone recommended above Cranimals supplement. Nate I ise Blue Buffalo grain free turkey and potato I think the flavor is.

[Nate D]

Been doing some research and happened to find a page with a bunch of urine ph levels for different brands of cat/dog food.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Urinary-Tract-Infections—Crystals—Symptoms,-Causes,-and-Treatment&id=2943114

Looks like Fromm is good, but I need to switch to the grain free.

[crazy4cats]

Hey thanks for sharing. It lists cat food too!

[Anonymous]

My dog had surgery for both type of bladder stones 4 years ago, I give him potassium citrate plus cranberry 4 tabs per day (he weighs 15 pounds).
I keep his diet simple, he does well on a little Wysong dry mixed with cooked chicken or beef or salmon. He has 4 small meals per day, I add water (about 1/2 cup) to all his meals except his bedtime snack.
I take him out to urinate about every 2 hours during the day…..the stones have not returned. He is 14 years old. I have not complied with the vet’s recommendation of frequent checking of urine ph levels or x-rays. Of course if I observe any difficulty urinating, I will take him right in.

[Lauren D]

I have a 2.5 year puggle. Several months ago she was diagnosed with a uti…she had RBCs,WBCs & crystals in her urine. She had an x-Ray which was negative for any stones. She went through 3 back to back rounds of antibiotics but still had crystals in her urine. The vet put her on Hills urinary health diet and wanted a follow up urine sample after 2 weeks on the new diet. The follow up urinalysis shows a large amount of crystals, WBCs, and pH is way off. With the first uti, I would give my dog some plain yogurt and apple cider vinegar. Any thoughts or recommendations? Thanks!

[Nate D]

Lauren what brand food are you feeding your dog? Wet or dry? If dry are you adding water to it? Do you use filtered water or just regular tap? I’m going to post an update on my dogs in a few so you might find some tips in it.

[Anonymous]

Like I said, what worked for my dog was water added to his meals (the more the better), frequent bathroom breaks, keep things flowing, you don’t want to encourage stagnant conditions conducive to stone formation. Ask the vet if the potassium citrate tablets would be a good idea for your dog?
Consider a homeopathic approach to your dogs care (less chemicals, pesticides and vaccinations)
PS: My dog did not like the prescription food, he prefers Wysong and they actually have a prescription food for prevention of struvite stones but I haven’t tried it.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Anonymous.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Anonymous.

[Nate D]

Thought I’d give an update on my dogs.

I’ve had the one with crystals on Science Diet per the vet for 1 week now. ph is down from 8.0 to 6.5 and holding. I am testing daily. I won’t know if crystals still exist or not until I have her retested next week.
I do not have her just on the Science Diet though. I am mixing in a small amount of the dry with it along with water.
I have been giving the Solid Gold Berry Balance supplement that I bought to my other dog with his food and have been adding water to the dry food. His ph is dropping so it is working. I plan to have both dogs on it once my female is off of the Science Diet.
I’ve been mixing a 50/50 of distilled water and filtered water I get which already has a neutral ph of 6.0.

I contacted a nutritionist with Fromm who said their food’s ph is 5.6-5.8, which is lower then most high quality dry foods, but the actual output will vary. A lower protein, lower carb diet is good. As I had mine on their weight management food I was suggested to try their 4 star whitefish and potato food as it has lower protein and the carbs are within the same range as the weight management. The food also has a different protein source.
I mentioned trying the new gold coast weight management food as it is grain free and was told I could try it, but was suggested the whitefish food due to the lower protein. 23% vs. 25%.
I was told a cranberry supplement like I am now using is a good thing.
In reality the food should be grain free with no starch/potatoes, but just eliminating it doesn’t mean it will help. I will give the whitefish food a shot and see what results I get from it.

Water consumption is the main key and if using dry food add water.
I was told even using wet food once a day can help a lot.

Unfortunately what will work for 1 dog may not work for the other so it’s a matter of finding what will. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else, but the best thing one can do for any pet is water, water, water. If one uses tap water which may have tons of minerals in it, testing it is a good idea. Water is very good, but it can also cause issues if the ph levels aren’t where they should be.

Ph test strips and testing regularly is a must.

[Lauren D]

She’s currently on Hills c/d diet. I m using both hard and soft food and I mix it together (I’ve even been putting a bit of water in to help mix it up). I use the filtered water from our refrigerator for her drinking water. Thanks!

[ashley a]

Hi, I could use some advice, I will try to keep the background info as short as possible. I have a great dane puppy she is currently 5mo old. She has had green discharge when she pees from the time I brought her home at 12wks old. At her first vet apt in Jan the vet was fine with the discharge and called it normal puppy Vaginitis. In between her Jan and Feb vet appts I noticed she was peeing more and having some accidents but since she was a puppy and otherwise acting normal I didn’t think anything of it. On Feb 5th we went to the vet for a round of shots, the vet saw she had a temp of 103, that plus the pee accidents and green discharge made the vet treat for a UTI, she started a 1wk course of Clavamox, shortly after starting she started leaking pee while sleeping. We went back at the end of of the week and she still had a temp so the vet did a urinalysis and ordered another 2wks of Clavamox, urinalysis showed bacteria and crystals but the vet said she expected to see them with a UTI and would retest at the end of the 2wks. And the end of the two weeks we went back to the vet they didn’t take her temp but saw she still had green discharge and decided to do another 2wks of clavamox and another urinalysis. That urinalysis showed no bacteria but her crystals had doubled. So now the Vet wants her on Cosiquin and wants a bladder xray to rule out stones, though she says stones are unlikely given my dogs age. I ordered D-mannose already and started that today. She eats Taste of the wild dog food and gets wet food twice a day. We go back to the vet on Friday for the bladder xray, is there anything I should ask, anything else I could be doing? My girl is otherwise thriving, she hasn’t had pee accidents in about two weeks, she eats and drinks great. I take her out every 2hrs during the day and at night at 10pm then again at 3am and 5am. Thanks for any advice or questions I should be asking at the vet.

[crazy4cats]

Wow, Ashley, you have had a rough time. It sounds like you are doing everything right. I have no experience with infections, but one of my cats had crystals. I have been feeding him prescription canned food with a little bit of prescription kibble as well. His first follow up urinalysis was clear and I’m weaning him off the Rx food now. I have done a lot of research on Struvite crystals and have learned that anxiety can play a role in them as well. We had too many big changes going on in our household all at once topped off with us going on vacation. He’s now on anti-anxiety pills as well. Have you had any major changes in your house? Have you considered changing to another brand of kibble? Maybe the chemistry of TOTW isn’t compatible with your pup. Again, water, water, and more water is important! I wish you well. Please let us know how she’s doing.

[Anonymous]

I mentioned in 2 previous posts in this thread what has helped my dog, he has not had a recurrence in in 4 years and is 14 years old. He had a uti, was treated and then ultrasound revealed both type of stones, he required emergency surgery.

Your dog seems kind of young for this problem. Ask the vet if she is at risk due to her breed? Was she spayed recently? Is this a complication of that surgery? The UTIs, vaginitis? Is she going into heat?
Ask if potassium citrate/cranberry tablets would help?

Increased water, add it to the food is a must, my dog laps it up to get to the food (4 small meals per day). Frequent bathroom breaks, keep things flowing.
Ask the vet if she has struvite or calcium oxalate stones? Or both? An ultrasound is a good idea.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_struvite_bladder_stones.html

“Struvite stones form in urine with a high pH (alkaline urine), diets should help to maintain a low pH (acidic urine). Diets with animal-based protein sources are most important in maintaining an acidic pH, while
vegetarian or cereal-based diets are more likely to cause and alkaline urine”.

“With Calcium Oxalate stones, a high protein diet can cause stones by increasing calcium in the urine. It lowers urinary pH and can increase uric acid. High quantities of animal protein can contribute to stone formation by increasing urinary calcium and oxalic acid excreting and by decreasing urinary citric acid excretion”.

“Your should increase your dog’s water consumption to help dilute the urine. You can do this by adding water to your dog’s food, it should look like wet mush. Avoid table scraps when caring for an oxalate stone-forming dog”.

“Depending on the kind of stone, you either want more, or less protein, and lower in fat (3 -8%). Be sure to check with your veterinarian before changing your dog’s diet”.

PS: Vaccinations should only be given to healthy dogs.
http://vitalanimal.com/vaccinations-consider-carefully/

• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Also, I would refrain from using supplements without your vets approval while your dog is receiving treatment with antibiotics, prescription medication. Some supplements can interfere or have interactions with the current regimen.

[ashley a]

Thanks, I did call and ask about the D-mannose and was told it was fine to give. My vet did not give her the shots she was in for when we went in Feb because of her temp, however I was told at the apt she has on Friday she can get her shots because the bacteria is gone from her urine and she is fever free. I will ask about what kind of crystals she has, all the vet said on the phone was she had crystals but they expect to see that with a UTI, then last week that the bacteria was gone but the crystals had doubled. She has not been spayed yet and I don’t think she is going in heat. The issue started a couple days before she turned 4mo old and she is only 5mo now, her mother didn’t go into heat until almost a year. I am willing to try another food if that is an issue, she was on Iams large breed puppy when I got her but her stools were really soft and she was having very bad gas/licking herself a lot. Those issues all cleared up when I switched her to taste of the wild. I do feel like she drinks a lot of water, I joke that she drinks like a horse, but that is to be expected given her breed. The vet did say it is unlikely that she has stones given her age but that she wants to do the bladder xray because of the amount of crystals she has. I just feel like I am listening more then asking and I don’t want to miss anything. We have spent over $600 in vet bills since Jan, of course I will pay whatever needs to be paid for her health I just feel it is time I also start researching. Topanga is acting normal/happy and doing great but she has recently started dribbling pee again when she sleeps 🙁 Her temp is still normal though so I am hoping that means the UTI hasn’t returned. We see the vet again fri afternoon.

[Derek L]

Just an update. Sorry @ashley_a that you are going through this 🙁

I took my dog to a different vet and boy was I much more happy with their service, knowledge, and ease to work with. They did an overall exam and noted he looked healthy. I informed them and provided all of the paperwork of what the previous vet prescribed for antibiotics. The ran a urinalysis and a urine culture. The urinalysis returned with no signs of blood and only a slightly high pH. The vet called back a few days later with the culture results which were negative.

At this point the vet advised as long as my dog is not acting differently, there are no signs of blood, that he looks to be fine. They did mention very few or any traces at all of struvite but said we could look into an xray if we wanted to. He advised it is not absolutely necessary given his results.

The things I did differently. After the rounds of antibiotics, I supplemented with a cranberry + vit c supplement. I provided and suggested more and more water intake. Meals were prepared with half a cup of kibble mixed with wet food and added additional water. Water was the key thing I ensured to increase overall. I’m not positive what the perfect combination is, but regardless I am going to continue to monitor him and get a few pH strips just to see how he’s doing.

His demeanor never changed so pay more attention than you need to. The only way I found out about this was I noticed his urine had a little red tint. He acted normal this entire time, so just be conscious.

[theBCnut]

D- mannose does nothing for crystals, only for e-coli infection. I would not use it at all in the absence of infection. I would worry that it wouldn’t work when it was needed if over used. The best thing to do for crystals is to really encourage drinking water any way you can. That will help keep the bladder flushed out.

[ashley a]

I took Topanga to the vet on Fri and the vet decided not to do an xray because the odds of stones being there were so slim given her age (5mo old). She wants to do a repeat urinalysis in one month and Topanga is taking Carpaquin for 1 week. She told me to give wet food daily and push water as much as possible and that is it. I asked about giving distilled water or changing her food and was told not to worry with those things. I asked about her last urinalysis and was told it was struvite crystals and her ph was a 9 but that was expected since there were crystals in the urine. I really want to get her ph lowered, so I am going to do the distilled water anyways and see if it helps. I am going to get ph strips and check her pee myself and I am open to changing her food if her ph levels stay high. Any thing else I can do to safely lower her ph levels?

[Anonymous]

The test results (ph levels) will fluctuate, I find 4 small meals with water added, instead of 2 regular meals is helpful.
Potassium citrate/cranberry tablets (if your vet approves), as I mentioned before, I give my 15 pound dog 4 tabs per day. This is what I use. http://www.entirelypets.com/k-plus-potassium-citrate-plus-cranberry-300-tabs.html?cmp=nextag&mr:referralID=2b34b4bd-6c95-11e2-b779-001b2166c62d

Offer frequent bathroom breaks, keep things flowing, you don’t want urine to stay in the bladder longer than it has to. Stones form in stagnant conditions.
These things have worked for my dog, I make sure he doesn’t have difficulty urinating, good amount and normal flow.

I keep his diet simple, grain free kibble, he likes Wysong, with a little cooked chicken or lean meat added. I soak his kibble in water overnight in the fridg so it is like wet food.

I have not complied with the recommended testing and x-rays (this may be an error on my part). But he looks comfortable to me. He is 14+ years old so I’m not sure he could tolerate another surgery anyway.
Good luck.

[Nate D]

Here’s an update to my situation. After 2 and a half weeks of my dog being on Science Diet prescription I switched back to regular food, Fromm….only after working with their nutritionist I went with their Whitefish formula over weight management and I mixed in their Salmon/Chicken wet food and added the Solid Gold Berry Balance supplement.
I noticed her ph jumped extremely high after this, so I switched to straight wet food with the same results at 8.5, however I found out I was doing it all wrong. I should be testing first thing in the morning before eating not a couple hours after eating because that can easily spike the ph. I also wasn’t testing enough during the day so I’m going to test more throughout the day. I was testing today and all times so far are at 6.5…where I want to be.
She is having a new urinalysis done this weekend so we’ll see what the vet says then and what the results come back as. I’m trying to find a grain free, potato free, carrageean free, low calorie food, but it’s hard. What’s funny is some say lower protein diets are needed and others like Wyosong say higher protein. I did look into Wysong, but their protein amounts are very high from what I’m seeing and for a Dachshund that’s not always good. Gas, weight gain, overactive anal glands, etc.. I tried Orijen in the past and that didn’t work well at all.
I’m determined to find a good medium though. We’ll see what the vet says this weekend. Won’t be surprised if he says to keep her on SD long term.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Nate D.

[Anonymous]

Nutrisca dry (salmon) is potato and grain free (ingredients copied from chewy.com)

Salmon, Menhaden Fish Meal, Peas, Chickpeas, Salmon Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Pea Fiber, Flaxseed, Calcium Carbonate, Salmon Oil (a source of DHA), Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Dried Eggs, Natural Flavor, Tomato Pomace, Carrots, Cranberries, Apricots, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Iron Proteinate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Proteinate, Biotin, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Rosemary Extract.

[Laurie B]

I’ve contacted Nutrisca, because stores in my area aren’t carrying it anymore, due to sourcing in China. They won’t confirm or deny, and have given me a non-answer. I personally won’t go near their food again. Which is a shame, because my dogs did well on it.

[Anonymous]

I heard it was just the jerky treats (or something).

[Laurie B]

That’s where it started. All I know is that I contacted them about their sourcing for their kibble, and I was given an answer regarding their ingredients being of the highest quality. A non-answer, IMHO. I know they have to be careful how they say things, but I’m responsible for my dogs’ well-being.

[Nate D]

If a company can’t say where they source their food from that’s a red flag. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about them not responding about it. I haven’t tried finding out myself though.
Has anyone tried Sold Gold dog food? It may have grains, but after looking at the ingredients in some of the food they use more acidic grains then alkaline ones. Wouldn’t have to use the berry balance with it either as it already has cranberries and blueberries in it.
Not to mention it’s still far better then what’s in Science Diet.

[Anonymous]

Check the reviews for Solid Gold…..I believe they changed their formula recently.

I’m sticking with Nutrisca (as a base) for now, it works for my dogs.
If you look hard enough you will find something you don’t like about all the brands of dog food.
The only thing left would be a homemade diet. As it is, I do 1/2 kibble and1/2 homemade.
My dog with the history of bladder stones continues to do well on Wysong (senior), but when I run out, he’s going on Nutrisca (salmon) too.
Easier and cost effective for me to go with one brand.

[Barbara M]

I don’t see where the reviews reflect a change in formula for Solid Gold Berry Balance. It’s still a 4.5 out of 5 when I checked

[Author]

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