[Lori H]

Hi Zach,

I highly recommend checking out the below website. I have worked with Rick surrounding the health of my dog Buddy (my testimonial is on his website) as a result of bladder stone issues among many other things. I can say that after two years of Buddy being on Rick’s program, he is healthy. Rick does free consultations and is a wealth of knowledge. I was at my whits end with Buddy’s health issues, besides the bladder stones, my vet was preparing me for the fact that my dog was going to die of liver failure. I was not willing to give up and wait for this horrible outcome. I did a Google search and found Rick and he changed our lives.
Reach out, listen to what he has to say. He is not a vet, but has spent years coming up with this program and has a passion for dogs as well as health and wellness. He changed the way I view nutrition for my pets and he saved Buddy’s life in the process. It took a while to make the change in thought process, but now, I will never go back.

https://www.doglivershunt.com/dog-seizures.html

Good luck and you can always reach out to me as well should you want further details as well.

Lori

[Lori H]

Hi Helen,

You might want to look at the following website. My dog Buddy (long hair Chihuahua, Dachshund and Pomeranian) has been through a lot, much like your dog. He had so many medical issues including being diagnosed with Diabetes. He is now almost 12 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for the bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes, my vet thought he had Cushing’s and I was also told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over two years and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. He is happy and the most healthy he has ever been in his life! It has been an amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but he is healthy and that is all that matters! I am going to see a new vet on Friday of this week and I am hoping to actually get Buddy off of the Insulin.

Rick helped me and Buddy is now healthier than he has ever been. If anything, read what Rick has to say on his website. The change in Buddy’s food as well as the supplements, changed his life. Rick has had success getting dogs and cats healthy and insulin free!

http://www.doglivershunt.com

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. My vet wanted me to have Buddy on Hills Science Diet for the rest of his life! I looked at the ingredients and thought to myself, there has to be something better out there. There was not one thing on there that was considered a whole food or ingredient that comes from the natural world!

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy!

Good luck on your search for information and I hope you find a solution. Buddy is almost 12, but has a new lease on life.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am happy to talk to you. I have helped three others with their dogs and I truly believe Rick knows what he is talking about. I put my trust in him and I now have a healthy, happy dog. Lori

[Lori H]

Hi Kate,

You might want to look at the following website. My dog Buddy (long hair Chihuahua, Dachshund and Pomeranian) has been through a lot, much like your dog. He had so many medical issues including calcium oxalate bladder stones which he had surgery for to remove. He is now almost 12 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for the bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes, my vet thought he had Cushing’s and I was also told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over two years and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. He is happy and the most healthy he has ever been in his life! It has been an amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but he is healthy and that is all that matters!

Rick helped me and Buddy is now healthier than he has ever been. If anything, read what Rick has to say on his website. The change in Buddy’s food as well as the supplements, changed his life.

http://www.doglivershunt.com/bladder-stones.html

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. My vet wanted me to have Buddy on Hills Science Diet for the rest of his life! I looked at the ingredients and thought to myself, there has to be something better out there. There was not one thing on there that was considered a whole food or ingredient that comes from the natural world! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which had the possibility for complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy! The bladder stones HAVE NOT returned.

Good luck on your search for information and I hope you find a solution. Buddy is almost 12, but has a new lease on life.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am happy to talk to you. I have helped three others with their dogs and I truly believe Rick knows what he is talking about. I put my trust in him and I now have a healthy, happy dog. Lori

[anonymous]

No.
Have you checked the internet for prices? As long as your vet okays it you don’t have to buy it from him.

More Nonsense from Holistic Vets about Commercial Therapeutic Diets

Copied from a previous post:
Also, if the dog is overweight, get the extra weight off, increase walks/exercise/activity.
Work closely with your vet, when the dog has been stable 6 months to 1 year then you can talk about diet changes.
“Dogs that get urinary tract infections and bladder stones tend to have a genetic predisposition, combine that with not enough water intake, not enough opportunities to urinate and you have a problem”.
“Whatever you decide to feed, add water to the kibble or canned food, even presoak and add water. Take out to urinate at least every 4 hours (every 2 hours is ideal) stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to bladder stone formation”.
“Always have fresh water available for the dog 24/7”.
“Supplements are crap, don’t waste your money unless your vet recommends something specific for your dog”.
Ps: You think the prescription food is expensive. Try emergency surgery for a blocked urethra.
Been there, done that.
Regarding cranberry: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=cranberry
Also there are prescription meds for stubborn cases, talk to your vet.
Was an ultrasound done? Dogs can have more than one type of stone, such as calcium oxalate and struvite…that was the case with my dog that had reoccurring UTIs.
This is not veterinary advice; consult your veterinarian.
PS: Note recent question on struvite in comments: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2016/09/science-based-veterinary-nutrition-success-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-121266
Good luck

[anonymous]

https://bichonhealth.org/kidneysbladder/management-of-bichons-with-urinary-stones/

More Nonsense from Holistic Vets about Commercial Therapeutic Diets

Copied from a previous post:
Also, if the dog is overweight, get the extra weight off, increase walks/exercise/activity.
Work closely with your vet, when the dog has been stable 6 months to 1 year then you can talk about diet changes.
“Dogs that get urinary tract infections and bladder stones tend to have a genetic predisposition, combine that with not enough water intake, not enough opportunities to urinate and you have a problem”.
“Whatever you decide to feed, add water to the kibble or canned food, even presoak and add water. Take out to urinate at least every 4 hours (every 2 hours is ideal) stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to bladder stone formation”.
“Always have fresh water available for the dog 24/7”.
“Supplements are crap, don’t waste your money unless your vet recommends something specific for your dog”.
Ps: You think the prescription food is expensive. Try emergency surgery for a blocked urethra.
Been there, done that.
Regarding cranberry: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=cranberry
Also there are prescription meds for stubborn cases, talk to your vet.
Was an ultrasound done? Dogs can have more than one type of stone, such as calcium oxalate and struvite…that was the case with my dog that had reoccurring UTIs.
This is not veterinary advice; consult your veterinarian.
PS: Note recent question on struvite in comments: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2016/09/science-based-veterinary-nutrition-success-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-121266
Good luck

[Kate S]

Hello,
My dog is a 4yr bichon frise and poodle mix. We currently are feeding our dogs Fromms (grain free) because we believe quality food impacts overall health. I recently discovered that he has an issue with forming crystals in his urine, which if left untreat can lead to bladder stones. I was recommended by two seperate veterinarians a prescription dog food diet, for the rest of his life. One was the Royal Canin SO Urinary food and the other suggested Science Diet Urinary. I personally am hesitant to give these foods to my dog long-term since they contain things like corn and by products. I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations? I also worry since my dog has allergies that some foods could irritate him.
Thanks in advance!

[Jeannie C]

Hi. So I have the same problem. Buddy my chi mix has diabetes and bladder stones and they have come back so he’s in surgery a second time. I’m told to put him on hills metabolic and urinary food? I still have a lot of unanswered questions. How’s your dog doing?

[Lori H]

Hi Tanya,

You might want to look at the following website. My dog Buddy (long hair Chihuahua, Dachshund and Pomeranian) has been through a lot, much like your dog. He had so many medical issues including calcium oxalate bladder stones which he had surgery for to remove. He is now 11 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for the bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes, my vet thought he had Cushings and I was also told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over two years and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. He is happy and the most healthy he has ever been in his life! It has been an amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but he is healthy and that is all that matters!

Rick helped me and Buddy is now healthier than he has ever been. If anything, read what Rick has to say on his website. It sounds like you are open to something that might not be traditional medicine through your vet. The change in Buddy’s food as well as the supplements, changed his life.

http://www.doglivershunt.com/bladder-stones.html

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. My vet wanted me to have Buddy on Hills Science Diet for the rest of his life, like you, I looked at the ingredients and thought to myself, there has to be something better out there. There was not one thing on there that was considered a whole food or ingredient that comes from the natural world! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which had the possibility for complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 10+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise. I would loved to have found Rick earlier, I am guessing I could have prevented a lot of the other issues Buddy has had earlier in life as well as the very hefty vet bills!

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy! The bladder stones HAVE NOT returned.

Good luck on your search for information and I hope you find a solution. Buddy is 11, but has a new lease on life. I can’t imagine being just under two as a dog and dealing with this.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am happy to talk to you. I have helped two others with their dogs and I truly believe Rick knows what he is talking about. I put my trust in him and I now have a healthy, happy dog. Lori

[Bobby dog]

Hi Sara B:
Your Vet is helping your dog IMO. If you are not comfortable with his advice I would get a second opinion.

Increasing H2O intake is very important along with frequent bathroom breaks. Some OTC supplements can exacerbate the condition. I never used any for that reason alone.

Honest Kitchen recipes are created by a person with an agriculture degree in equine studies. She has no education or credentials in small animal nutrition. To my knowledge she does not employ anyone full or part time with credentials in small animal nutrition. Lots of things can go wrong with a dog’s health when a diet is not formulated properly.

I unfortunately have had a few experiences with UTI’s & stones in my pets over the years. One involved emergency surgery with a positive outcome the other involved a reoccurrence that I blame myself for. I only fed the Rx food for a week or two because I made an executive decision he was doing well and didn’t need it. 🙁

Here’s a site I refer to for up to date info. Your Vet may have even sent your dog’s sample to U of M.
https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/centers-programs/minnesota-urolith-center/recommendations

Good synopsis:

Dietary treatment of bladder stones

For a home made diet option check out Balance IT.com. Your Vet would have to contact the Vet’s there to discuss the lab results so they could formulate a balanced diet that is best for her condition. I have used their OTC vitamins and recipes in the past for my dog, he really enjoys and does well on it. The meals are super easy to make and you can find most if not all ingredients from your local grocery store.

I hope your pup is feeling better, good luck!!

Here’s some more info that you may find helpful:

Why you shouldn’t judge a pet food by its ingredient list

Questions You Should Be Asking About Your Pet’s Food

Much Ado About Therapeutic Diets

http://vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/DecipheringFactFromFictionIngredients.pdf

[anonymous]

/forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113167

/forums/topic/which-food-to-choose-vets-suggestions-are-not-on-the-best-dog-foods-list/#post-80337

/forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166

[Cathy D]

Update:

I’ve been feeding Gryff Orijen original since his bladder stone removal 2 1/2 years ago. Had a scan on Monday 10/22/18 and he is still stone free. Bad news, with all the talk about DCM and the potential link to grain free diets especially those high in pea/legumes the vet suggests I put him on a different diet. She has suggested grain free Purina Pro Plan as it has added taurine, but it gets horrible reviews on this site and it has lentil flour and pea starch. I’m so confused on what to feed him. He did have an echocardiagram and he does have a stage II heart murmur.

If I put him on a regular diet (to avoid heart issues with grain free diet) then I risk silica stones.

I am concerned and I need some guidance on what to feed him.

[Tanya K]

Lori H,

Wow. First of all, I’m sorry Buddy went through all that and worse. I am glad for you though, that he is now thriving! The diet you have him on though sounds super expensive and I don’t know if I’d be able to swing that or all the supplements.

I may try to get a nutritionist so I can make her meals for her.

I do understand the ignorance of vets and dog food. They have been fed the same spew from the cog that is the dog food industry. I did a lot of research about dog food myself and know all the little tricks the manufacturers do to sell their crap.

I actually ended up in a debate with my vet over Purina. Apparently they make urinary prescription food as well. I was like, “My dogs are on Earthborn. They have never had a recall.”

He said, “They will.”

I said, “Maybe, but for the last eight years they haven’t.”

He paused. Thought about it and said, “They will.”

lol And it’s true they may inevitably have a recall, but purina is absolute garbage.

I mean, I don’t want her to get the stones again. Clearly. I love her. I want her around for as long as possible. She’s 10, and she had that bladder stone emergency — I had to bring her to an ER vet nearly two hours away from me. They had to wake the surgeon up. It cost $1,000 just for the emergency surgeon. The entire thing ended up costing $4,900 by the end of it. I am thankful that I was able to swing that and I really don’t want her to have to go through it again. It has nothing to do with the money, but yeah, that doesn’t help either.

I appreciate all your advice and they time you took in responding to me, Lori.

Thank you,

Tanya

[anonymous]

You’re welcome. Discuss the vomiting issues with her vet. She may have something else going on, unrelated to the bladder stones or the prescription diet. More testing may be indicated.

Whatever you do, don’t please fall down the homeopathic rabbit hole!

PS: Just saw your post, you can decline x-rays and tell the vet you want no more x-rays unless the dog has symptoms. Tell the vet you do not want aggressive treatment.

My vet agreed and we were able to keep my old peke comfortable till the age of 16.
I didn’t bother with PH testing either, just lab work and annual exams.

If the dog is having symptoms, that’s another story.
Good luck

[Lori H]

Hi Tanya,

You might want to look at the following website. My dog Buddy (long hair Chihuahua, Dachshund and Pomeranian) has been through a lot, much like your dog. He had so many medical issues including calcium oxalate bladder stones which he had surgery for to remove. He is now 11 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for the bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes and I was told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over two years and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. He is happy and the most healthy he has ever been in his life! It has been an amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but he is healthy and that is all that matters!

Rick helped me and Buddy is now healthier than he has ever been. If anything, read what Rick has to say on his website. It sounds like you are open to something that might not be traditional medicine through your vet. The change in Buddy’s food as well as the supplements, changed his life.

http://www.doglivershunt.com/bladder-stones.html

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which has complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 10+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise.

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy! The bladder stones HAVE NOT returned.

Good luck on your search for information and I hope you find a solution. Buddy is 11, but has a new lease on life. I can’t imagine being just under two as a dog and dealing with this.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am happy to talk to you. I have helped two others with their dogs and I truly believe Rick knows what he is talking about. I put my trust in him and I now have a healthy, happy dog.

Lori ([email protected])

[anonymous]

@ Tanya K
Please listen to your vet instead of the internet and dog food marketing strategies.
Dogs that get bladder stones often have a genetic predisposition (struvite and calcium oxalate are the most common), not enough water is another contributing factor.

Please see my posts, example:
/forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166

/forums/topic/dogs-with-struvite-bladder-stones/#post-104899

[Tanya K]

Hello. I’m new to this forum but I have a question right off the bat. I have a 10 year old Shih Tzu/Poodle Mix. She had emergency surgery earlier this year to remove a calcium oxalate stone that was stuck in her urinary tract. She also had struvite stones. My vet put her on one food (then urinalysis) but her ph was too low. So, he prescribed her another supplement to raise the PH. Her PH is still too low. He had to discuss with another vet and both are seemingly mystified as to why they can’t get her PH higher. Basically, they are at a loss with what to do. So now she is on a new prescription food (and more urinalysis — omg, so many urinalysis tests!) So, his advice is to stay on the prescription food and do x-rays every so often to make sure she’s not getting stones again.

I hate the thought of her being on this food forever. For one thing, I pride myself on having dogs who throw up next to never. She was previously on Earthborn Holistic but now she’s on one of the prescription diets and she’s constantly throwing up as is my other pooch (who the vet said was okay to eat that food as well.)

Basically, I feel like if I have to get her x-rays every once in a while then why not feed her what she was already on? She’s eaten Earthborn for nearly her entire life. The only difference in diet before she got the stones were some Etta Says chews — those were the only things that were given that were different to what she normally had within the time frame it takes to develop stones.

I am wondering if anyone else has done this … going against the vet’s counsel? I trust him as a vet, but I just figure wtf — this food is making her ill. It’s making my other dog ill. If they can’t get her PH to a happy medium then why not give her what she was eating before? Thoughts? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Tanya

[anonymous]

I am not aware of any such thing. In fact, one of my dogs does best on fish based kibble as a base
She is a senior with environmental allergies and has never had a uti.
For best results discuss with a veterinarian that has examined your dog and knows the dogs history, not the internet.

Per the search engine.
/forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166

[Terry K]

I have a 9 year old Australian Shepherd and he got Silica bladder stones over 2 years ago. I made myself crazy researching dog food and nutrition! The sad part was is that there was not really a starting place. I too spoke to Minnesota every nutritionist across the United States. Minnesota told me that unfortunately because there are so few cases the research is very limited
Soooo off I went Looking for what?? Sooo longer story cut short I have been feeding
NULO it is a kibble out of Texas.
Every6 months I have X-ray/ultrasounds done and so far so good.
Really encourage a good water intake, One of my dogs favorite things to do was drink out of the hose so I bought him a big dog fountain so it’s running water all the time and he drinks it out of the spout which encourages the water intake. I give him distilled water only make sure if you’re giving them a supplements that it does not contain silicon dioxide so since my guy is nine he gets Xhosa Quinn caplets I pulled them apart and sprinkle it on his food because if you give them anything in a Tablet form it will contain silicon dioxide. His pH was off the charts before we started the Nulo Dog Food and his specific gravity was off the charts since we have started the Nulo Dog Food and have the water fountain he has been consistently stable I hope this helps you

[Mary G]

Hello! We rescued and adopted a little beagle who had a lot of health issues, one of them being bloody diahrrea every other day. After tests, ghere was no medical reason for it. Aside from that she had bladder stones which made it worse as far as food choices. I did some research as vets were not finding anything and found a fb group for natural food called K9 nutrition who is ran by Lew Olson. I asked for help and she suggested I give Lola probiotics and supplement her witb L-Glutamine. I could not find a formula for dogs here in Mexico but found it at GNC. Nowadays I give her a crushed tablet in her dry food and mix in kefir. It has been a slow process but she has improved dramatically. Lew has written a book on natural food for pets. You might want to look into that. I was out of my mind worrying about her bit thankfully she is much better. Another suggestion would be to get a referral for a nutritionist who might give you a list of ingredients to feed natural home-cooked meals which will help. I hope this info helps!!

[anonymous]

“The specialist called me today and said the bacteria is now resistant to all medication and she feels that he needs surgery to remove the stone. Naturally I am terrified to let him go under anesthesia with his heart condition, but I know if the infection continues it can lead to kidney issues”.

If the bladder stone blocks his urethra (again) this is not only a extremely painful condition but life threatening as well. You will have to rush him to the nearest emergency vet and your treatment options will probably be quite limited.
So, you can listen and go along with the recommendations of the specialist or you can roll the dice and see what happens. I would call the specialist and go over the risks involved with having the surgery versus not having the surgery.
Urinary tract infections are painful too.
No guarantees with anything in life. Best of luck.

You can use the search engine to look up bladder stones. Example /forums/topic/frequent-utis/#post-109553

[Kerry M]

Hello all, I apologize in advance, this is going to be a long story. My boy Sam is a 12 year old beagle. He had been on Wellness Core for a couple of years when I decided to put him on a raw diet (not a commercial one – gave him chicken and turkey necks, pork necks, beef, etc, with the recommended ratio of organs, bones, and meat). I started that in June of last year. In March, he started coughing and had trouble breathing, so we rushed him to the pet ER where they diagnosed him with congestive heart failure. The day after we brought him home he was unable to urinate, and we took him back to the vet and he had a bladder stone blocking his urethra. They were able to flush it back into his bladder and put him on Royal Canin SO to dissolve it. At the time they said his white blood cells were elevated, and tested him for a bladder infection, which came up positive. For the last six months he has been on different antibiotics trying to clear up the infection, and we have been seeing an internal medicine specialist for about a month now. They did an ultrasound and he still had the bladder stone, and put him on Hill’s S/D, despite the high sodium content that would put a strain on his heart. He had a urine culture again last week that again came up positive. The specialist called me today and said the bacteria is now resistant to all medication and she feels that he needs surgery to remove the stone. Naturally I am terrified to let him go under anesthesia with his heart condition, but I know if the infection continues it can lead to kidney issues. If anyone can weigh in with experience with resistance to antibiotics and/or pets having surgery with CHF, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

[Carly F]

I sure do hope everything was resolved with all the animals in this forum who had issues. I have worked for a Vet for 4 years and there are definitely some foods that are better than others. Just like in people, all pets are different and tolerate things differently. A diet change is usually the first thing a Vet recommends when a pet starts having urination issues. Yes a higher quality food can help, but yes, sometimes a prescription food is the only thing that helps. If there is a homeopathic remedy that helps, then you should definitely try it- I just wouldn’t do anything “willy-nilly” that google could come up with. Royal Canin, Blue Buffalo, Purina, and Hills Science Diet all have really good prescription a non- prescription foods. Male cats have a high tendency to get blocked (can be fatal) so they definitely need to be seen as soon as they are having urine issues. There are so many things that can cause stones so it definitely is best to have them sent off for analysis. We have a patient who had stones previously due to diet, had the surgery at a different office, then came to us for stones again. When the patient was opened up, there was a polyp in the bladder from the previous surgery- and that was causing the current stones.
We also have a different patient who is on the Hills Science SD specifically to help her break up some of her stones so she can pass them. After two weeks she has successfully broken up and passed several of the stones.
Diet can make a HUGE difference, in people and animals, so it’s definitely something to think about. There is nothing wrong with getting a second opinion on something though, we would if it was ourselves so we should do the same for our pets.

[Terry K]

My dog had surgery 2 years ago for SILICA bladder stones to, it is very important to make sure they are getting a lot of water to help with the Specific Gravity and get the PH to 7
Water to be given is DISTILLED only and when you fee them put in atleast a cup of water and let it it for about 15-20 minuets to absorb just to make sure they are getting tht water intake. My dog loves to drink out of a hose so I bought a BIG DOG fountain and it encouraged him to drink more.
I feed NULO and we have had PERFECT check ups ever since. I feed NULO Sr. Trout but he also will get NULO Large dog chicken or Turkey. Make sure you do not feed any supplement that contains SILICON DIOXIDE- I feed COSEQUIN CAPSULS and pull them apart and sprinkle that on his food. Any chewable or soft chew will have silicon dioxide. This dog food save my dog because when they did not have results back I was feeding him chicken and rice which RICE was the worst thing- NO RICE
I HOPE THIS HELPS.

[anonymous]

Often there is a genetic component, so age doesn’t matter. It maybe best to ask your vet for a referral to a specialist (internal medicine) if you have not had positive results from treatment so far.
At 18 months your dog is a mature adult.

PS: It may be that your dog is “reluctant to pee” because it is painful to urinate.
Were x-rays/ultrasounds done? Bladder stones ruled out? Talk to your vet.

[anonymous]

@ Laura R
Have you checked the search engine? This topic comes up at least once a week.
Example: /forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166
PS: PH levels fluctuate, the home testing kits are not accurate. Best to have it done at the vet’s office every 3 months. It takes that long for diet changes to make a significant impact.
That is what the emergency vet told me when I brought my dog in and he had emergency surgery for a blocked urethra.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by anonymous.

[Lori H]

You might want to look at the following website. I have a dog that has had so many medical issues including calcium oxalate bladder stones which he had surgery for to remove. He was so unhealthy at the time. He also was in liver failure almost two years ago and my vet was preparing me for his death.

Rick helped me and Buddy is now healthier than he has ever been. If anything, read what Rick has to say on his website. It sounds like you are open to something that might not be traditional medicine through your vet. The change in Buddy’s food as well as the supplements, changed his life.

http://www.doglivershunt.com/bladder-stones.html

Good luck on your search for information and I hope you find a solution. Buddy is 11, but has a new lease on life. I can’t imagine being just under two as a dog and dealing with this.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Lori

[Acroyali]

Did the vet specify what type of bladder stones, specifically, she is having, as if I recall correctly there are a few different types that require (in some circumstances) different therapies.
If you’re unsure, ask your vet for more specifics!

[Jen T]

Hi, our Westie has been battling TCC (bladder cancer) for almost a year now. Our holistic vet switched her diet to dehydrated raw (Stella & Chewy’s and Primal) which she was doing well on. Recently, she is not interested in any dehydrated food/treats but will eat homemade foods (http://westierescueoc.com/the_westie_diet). We’re not looking to feed her this for long but since she’s been diagnosed with TCC, she’s had issues with crystals and bladder stones as well. Up until last year, she has been the healthiest dog with no issues other than skin allergies.

Does anyone have suggestions on a wet/canned food that is low on carbs for a dog with cancer and who is prone to bladder stones? She doesn’t digest chicken or lamb very well, and has rather soft bowel movements when the protein is too high (from what we’ve seen). It’s been hard trying to get the right food for her due to her soft bowel movements, cancer, and bladder stones. Thank you so much!

[Lori H]

Read this specifically on Rick’s website regarding bladder stones: http://www.doglivershunt.com/bladder-stones.html

Good luck!

Lori

[Lori H]

Hi Linda,

My dog Buddy has been through a lot, much like your dog. He is now 11 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes and I was told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over two years and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. I just had him into the vet for blood work and his numbers are almost perfect (350 is perfect, he is sitting at 351)! It has been an amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but he is healthy and that is all that matters!

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which has complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 10+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

I worked with a man named Rick Scheyer. He has an amazing website http://www.doglivershunt.com He has helped many dogs with liver shunt, kidney disease, bladder stone problems and much, much more become healthy dogs again. I would suggest reaching out to him for a free consultation. It might be the answer you need.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise.

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy!

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Good luck on your search and reach out if you have further questions or concerns. It was hard to take the jump and trust someone other than my vet with my dogs nutritional health, but I am so glad that I did.

Lori

[anonymous]

Your dog has a serious condition. I would go exactly by what the examining veterinarian advises.
Prescription/therapeutic diet and all. Nothing else, for now. She will eat when she is hungry enough. Offer meals at the same time every day. Pick up and store in the fridg till the next mealtime if not consumed within 15 minutes. I would not be concerned as long as she is drinking water, if she goes 72 hours without eating solid food call the vet and see what he suggests.
Per the search engine: /forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166

[anonymous]

There are several types of bladder stones. The dietary restrictions for your dog will depend on the type of stones your dog tends to make.

If I were you, I would go back to the vet and ask for clarification regarding the type of stones that your dog had that required surgery. Discuss diet options.
It may be best to go by the recommendations of the vet that is treating your dog…..

PS: I assume that the stones removed were sent out to be analyzed.

[anonymous]

Lot’s of information per the search engine here
Example: /forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166

[Graciela G]

Hi,

Any advice on how to make homemade dog food that follows the “SO” diet? My vet has just advised me that my dog should be eating an “SO” diet to help prevent bladder stones. She just had four removed. My vet also said that the “SO” diet might help with my dogs kidney stones as well. When I asked her she insisted that it can only be store bought which I found a little weird. I’m also searching online for alternatives but I thought I would leave a message here as well. Thanks!

[Chloe B]

Just looking for some more opinions on dog food. I’ve found one called Canagan which I think is pretty good, but I’d like to hear what you guys think of it. I’ve heard that sweet potato can lead to bladder stones in dogs, but I’m not sure if there’s any truth to it? It’s just really hard to find a decent dog food over here.

Ingredients:

Freshly Prepared Deboned Duck (16%), Dried Duck (12.5%), Sweet Potato, Dried Herring (8.5%), Freshly Prepared Deboned Venison (7.5%), Peas, Potato, Turkey Fat (5%), Dried Rabbit (4%), Dried Venison (4%), Dried Egg (3.75%), Alfalfa, Pea Protein, Salmon Oil (2.25%), Chicken Gravy (1.5%), Potato Protein, Minerals, Vitamins, Apple, Carrot, Spinach, Seaweed, Fructooligosaccharides, Psyllium, Camomile, Peppermint, Marigold, Cranberry, Aniseed & Fenugreek.

This is also their website: https://www.canagan.co.uk/dog-food/dry-dog-food.html
Thank you so much everyone.

[Lori H]

Hi Marjorie,

My dog Buddy has been through a lot, much like your dog. He just turned 10 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes and I was told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over a year ago and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. I just had him into the vet for blood work Friday and his numbers are almost perfect! It has been am amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but it does not matter, he is healthy and that is all that matters!

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which has complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 10+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

I worked with a man named Rick Scheyer. He has an amazing website http://www.doglivershunt.com He has helped many dogs with liver shunt, kidney disease, bladder stone problems and much, much more become healthy dogs again. I would suggest reaching out to him for a free consultation. It might be the answer you need.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise.

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy!

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Good luck on your search and reach out if you have further questions or concerns. It was hard to take the jump and trust someone other than my vet with my dogs nutritional health, but I am so glad that I did.

Lori

[anonymous]

That’s a bargain! If it works………

First of all, an x-ray/ultra sound and other diagnostic tests are important to determine what type of bladder stones are present,
Dogs can have more than 1 kind, and some don’t dissolve
Surgery may be necessary. Diet is just a part of the treatment.
I would work very closely with your vet, prescription diet and all, for the best results

Please see my posts, example: /forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113167
/forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166

Check the search engine for more

[Lori H]

Hi Jenny,

My dog Buddy has been through a lot, much like your dog. He just turned 10 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes and I was told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over a year ago and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. I just had him into the vet for blood work Friday and his numbers are almost perfect! It has been am amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but it does not matter, he is healthy and that is all that matters!

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which has complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 10+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

I worked with a man named Rick Scheyer. He has an amazing website http://www.doglivershunt.com He has helped many dogs with liver shunt, kidney disease, bladder stone problems and much, much more become healthy dogs again. I would suggest reaching out to him for a free consultation. It might be the answer you need.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise.

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy!

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Good luck on your search and reach out if you have further questions or concerns. It was hard to take the jump and trust someone other than my vet with my dogs nutritional health, but I am so glad that I did.

Lori

[Jeff F]

I need some advice about what to feed my 9 yr old Miniature Schnauzer. Five years ago he had two surgeries to remove medium – large calcium oxalate stones. At that time his vet prescribed Royal Canin Urinary S.O. dry dog food. Now, four years later, his triglyceride level is 4X what it is supposed to be. The vet was very concerned, and had us change to Royal Canin Low-fat Canned food. (The most disgusting smelling stuff ever, but the dog loves it.). His x-rays show that he again has some tiny stones that are the size of a grain of sand. Can anyone suggest a food (preferably dry) that is low fat/carb and will help with the stones. Also, he is allergic to beef. So we also have that to deal with. Thanks for any help provided.

[anonymous]

Any dietary restrictions will depend on the type of bladder stones that were removed, there are several types.
Usually when they remove bladder stones the vet sends them to a lab to be analyzed and then shares the results with you.
So I would give him a call.
For now I would just use a bit of the prescription food as a treat.

This subject has been discussed here at length.

Example. /forums/topic/bladder-stones-in-6-year-old-female-pug/#post-113166

[Justina C]

My dog had surgery to remove bladder stones an was put on hill prescription cd food. He misses having a treat once a day. Does anyone have any ideas what kind of treat she can have.?

[Raelynn G]

In regards to using Royal Canin S/O it lead to the death of our beloved Doberman. He had gone in for bladder stones, struvite in composition and had 40 of them. The vet missed 2 that were logged in his urethra and after closing they x-rayed and saw the stones. They flushed back into the bladder and gave us the option of opening him up again, or we could; once he healed, use this very benign food from Royal Canin. What they don’t tell you is that you must give your dog a fiber additive or stool softners. The Royal Canin backed him up to the point that his colon was impacted on x-ray. He was straining to move his bowels and either herniated a disc or tore some tissue causing so much pain that he refused to eat. He never refused any food in his life and we tried for 8 months to get him to eat. Each time he would he would them go 2-3 days without eating. The vet was stumped and since he was not eating, we could not give him an anti-inflammatory. He started to lose a lot of weight and he went into hepatic lipodosis and eventually liver failure. He was barely 10 and in perfect health before the stones and feeding of that aweful food from Royal Canin. To those who say it is a good food brand, read the ingredients, they are terrible. The reps should inform people and we could have decided to do lithotripsy instead and my boy would still be with us. So yes, I hate that company and their crappy food.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Raelynn G.

[Lori H]

Hi Simone,

My dog Buddy has been through a lot, much like your dog. He just turned 10 and during his life he has had surgery on his spleen, surgery for bladder stones, been diagnosed with Diabetes and I was told by my vet that he was suffering from liver failure and was preparing me for the fact that Buddy was going to die. The liver failure diagnosis was over a year ago and today, he is healthy, happy, looks amazing and has so much energy. I just had him into the vet for blood work Friday and his numbers are almost perfect! It has been am amazing turnaround so I know how you feel. I basically had to get him healthy myself. My vet did not support my decision to do what I did, but it does not matter, he is healthy and that is all that matters!

I now believe wholeheartedly that most vets know nothing about nutrition. They are told to carry a line of food in their offices by one of the large pharma/dog food companies because most of these companies go out and recruit at the vet universities across the United States when vets are in school and provide them with a kickback when the sell either Science Diet or Royal Canin in their clinics, up to 40%. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my vet, I just don’t believe he knows much of anything about nutrition. He has been great to me, my dog Buddy and my three cats. He is good at what he does, diagnose and perform much needed surgeries and procedures. He did Buddy’s bladder stone surgery which has complications.

I was at my wits end as well and thought that I was going to lose Buddy, but I was not willing to give up so I did a Google search and found an amazing person who brought Buddy back to the healthy dog he is.

Buddy is on a very special diet and he has made huge strides in the last 10+ months. He is a very healthy dog to what he was 6 months ago.

I worked with a man named Rick Scheyer. He has an amazing website http://www.doglivershunt.com He has helped many dogs with liver shunt, kidney disease, bladder stone problems and much, much more become healthy dogs again. I would suggest reaching out to him for a free consultation. It might be the answer you need.

If you choose to go with his program, it is not cheap, but I believe that over time, I will save money by not taking Buddy to the vet time and time again because I don’t know what is wrong and having a battery of tests run and racking up bills in the thousands, I have been there!

He was slowly weened off of his processed food Science Diet U/D and placed on a diet of fresh veggies and meat based on a very slow transition to follow with Rick’s help.

Buddy’s diet is a balance of ¾ veggies to ¼ meats. Dogs with liver issues do not need as much protein as you would expect. He gets lots of yellow veggies (squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, snap peas, etc.) along with hemp oil and nori blended with goat yogurt into almost a smoothie consistency. I then add meats, liver is great as it helps to detoxify the liver (funny that you feed liver to a dog with liver issuesJ) and then he gets a variety of supplements. He receives three gut supplements in the morning (Acidophilus, Bifudus and a Spectrabiotic) along with an Enzyme and something called Whole Body. In the evenings he gets the Enzyme, Whole Body and a Mushroom supplement. The process to make his food is not that time consuming and if you are at your wits end like I was, I was ready to do anything.

He also gets to have as much goat yogurt as he wants with coconut oil. He also gets sweet potato chews and coconut slices.

He is also allowed to eat fruits, not during his morning and evening meals since they digest differently than veggies, but he has not yet warmed up to them yet. I don’t know if he ever will.

He is doing great! He has so much energy and the numbers don’t lie! I got a glucose meter and I am going to start checking his levels daily. I would really like to get him off the insulin if I can. I believe the medicine is what causes the blindness, not the actual diabetes, my vet believes otherwise.

My vet has not said much of anything. I explained I was taking him off the prescription food and putting him on this program and he never responded. When I took him in the last time for blood work, I think he was surprised Buddy was doing so well, but did not ask me further about what I was doing. He is a pretty straight and narrow vet and I don’t think he looks outside the box. If Buddy’s glucose numbers continue to decline, I will take him back and back off on the number of units he is given. Now it is just maintenance and keeping a spreadsheet and monitoring how he is doing.

I suggest reaching out. I think Rick saved Buddy’s life. I took him to the vet in October to have blood work done and he is perfectly healthy!

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Good luck on your search and reach out if you have further questions or concerns. It was hard to take the jump and trust someone other than my vet with my dogs nutritional health, but I am so glad that I did.

Lori

[Bonnie A]

Don’t believe all the internet hype about tumeric. There is no clinical proof that it works for anything. It is also high in oxalates, which can be disastrous for any dog with kidney issues. Oxalates are the main problems that cause oxalate stones in small breed dogs and any dog with s compromised bladder or kidney issues. Yes, Rimadyl does have some dangerous side effects, as does any medication. I am personally trying a new class of nsaid, Galliprant. You have to decide which you want, quality of life or quantity. My German Shepherd was on tramadol and gabapentin. I don’t like the way it makes him feel. No appetite, restless, depressed, anxious and acts drugged up. I refuse to let him live his life that way. That is no life at all. As with any med, Galliprant has side effects as well, but at least it won’t destroy his liver and kidneys.

[Anita A]

Anon101,
Thank you for all your input and suggestions. I do feed her twice a day and will now start with water mixed in. She did have a stone that blocked her urethra and she was scheduled for surgery but her blood work was out of whack, she was in emergency 24 hour care for days. The procedures were varied and intense. She is on Pulse food and she does have allergic reaction to wheat. I will check out the Royal Canin Urinary SO. Pugs are prone to bladder stones I found out….after the fact. So we will need to be very observant of her urination and water intake.
We have had 4 x-rays in the past few months. One stubborn stone is still there but we have opted to not go the surgery route because of her complications when they tried to anesthetize her.
Anita

[Sue G]

Hi there
My little Maltese/Shih-Tzu was diagnosed with bladder stones in 2015 and was operated on and I was told she would have to be on a prescription diet for the rest of her life.
She was put on Hills Urinary care and it didn’t agree with her at all…I suggest you do some reading about it before you decide.
I changed her to Royal Canin Urinary SD and she hasn’t had a problem since.
I always add a little water to her meals
Hers were Struvite Crystal’s and I was told this diet dilutes the urine and helps prevent the growth of the crystals.
All good so far thank goodness…
Best of luck 🙂

[anonymous]

Per the search engine: /forums/search/bladder+stones/
See my posts
Also regarding prescription food:

More Nonsense from Holistic Vets about Commercial Therapeutic Diets

I have used Royal Canin SO for a dog for a dog with bladder stones with good results.
Zignature is a quality food, copy the ingredient list from Chewy and show your vet, maybe the dog could have that? Or, 1/2 and 1/2 with the prescription food? Check with your vet.
Whatever you feed, add water and maybe soft food, presoak kibble and add water.
Dogs that get bladder stones often have a genetic predisposition (struvite and calcium oxalate are the most common), not enough water is another contributing factor.
Has she had an x-ray/ultrasound to rule out bladder stones? Because, they can have more than one type of stones. This also. can result in recurrent urinary tract infections.
Add water to the kibble, and you can also presoak the kibble in water overnight in the fridge prior to serving.
Offer frequent bathroom breaks/opportunities to urinate, keep the bladder flushed. Stagnant conditions in the bladder are conductive to stone formation.
Don’t free feed, 2 or 3 small meals a day is better and always have fresh water available. Maybe add a little plain chicken broth (no onion) to the kibble.
A blocked urethra is a medical emergency and can result in surgery to save the dog’s life.
Did the vet talk to you about prescription meds for stubborn cases? Don’t confuse supplements with medication.
Work with your vet, prescription food and all, when the dog has been stable for 6 months to 1 year you can discuss diet changes.
Use the search engine here to see more threads on this topic.
This is not veterinary advice; consult your veterinarian.
Ps: You may find some helpful information here http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=urinary+tract+infection

[anonymous]

Copied from a previous post:
Also, if the dog is overweight, get the extra weight off, increase walks/exercise/activity.
Work closely with your vet, when the dog has been stable 6 months to 1 year then you can talk about diet changes.
“Dogs that get urinary tract infections and bladder stones tend to have a genetic predisposition, combine that with not enough water intake, not enough opportunities to urinate and you have a problem”.
“Whatever you decide to feed, add water to the kibble or canned food, even presoak and add water. Take out to urinate at least every 4 hours (every 2 hours is ideal) stagnant conditions in the bladder are conducive to bladder stone formation”.
“Always have fresh water available for the dog 24/7”.
“Supplements are crap, don’t waste your money unless your vet recommends something specific for your dog”.
Ps: You think the prescription food is expensive. Try emergency surgery for a blocked urethra.
Been there, done that.
Regarding cranberry: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=cranberry
Also there are prescription meds for stubborn cases, talk to your vet.
Was an ultrasound done? Dogs can have more than one type of stone, such as calcium oxalate and struvite…that was the case with my dog that had reoccurring UTIs.
This is not veterinary advice; consult your veterinarian.
PS: Note recent question on struvite in comments: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2016/09/science-based-veterinary-nutrition-success-stories/comment-page-1/#comment-121266
Good luck

[Mary G]

Hello! I have a three year old rescued beagle with bladder stones as well. She is doing well but wondering that myself.

[Anita A]

We have had our girl Daisy on what we thought was good quality food. She developed a number of bladder stones. The smaller ones dissolved after medications and she was put on a veterinarian brand of dog food. An x-ray showed the smaller stones dissolved, however, the large on is still rolling around in her bladder and she is scheduled for surgery. Any suggestions on what to feed her to keep this from reoccurring?