[j w]

My dog had urinary crystals, vet put him on Royal Canin Urinary S/O. Like many other people, I am worried about this not being nutritious enough despite resolving the crystal issue. Now that six months have passed with the crystals being gone, my vet said it is okay for him to go on a different diet and be rechecked in a month for possible reappearing crystals.

There seems to be a decent chance my dog originally developed these crystals from not drinking enough water. The 12 months prior to forming the crystals, he was hardly drinking any water. Now, I pour water in with his kibble, and he happily sips it all up before eating.

I desperately do not want to the crystals to return. But, a raw diet does not seem affordable, and would only be a last resort. I would like to try mostly kibble mixed with canned food and water. From what I am reading when choosing a kibble, it should be a high protein – low-carb – grain free / potato free kibble.

I am leaning towards trying this brand, EVO, which seems to be very low carb yet high quality / high rated food. /dog-food-reviews/evo-dog-food-dry/

Would anyone recommend against this?

[anonymous]

I have never tried Evo, therefore I am not familiar with it.
I have had good luck with Zignature whitefish and Nutrisca salmon.
Both are grain free and potato free.
Pro Plan Focus for sensitive stomach and skin is potato free, not grain free.
Three or four small meals per day instead of two.

The most important thing, as you have learned is, add water, presoak kibble too, if need be. Also, make sure to offer frequent bathroom breaks, opportunities to urinate.
Stagnant conditions in the bladder contribute to stone formation.
Some dogs just don’t drink enough, if at all. Combine that with a genetic predisposition and you have trouble.

copied from one of my previous posts regarding a similar topic:
“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

[anonymous]

Just looked at Evo on the Chewy site, 42% protein for a kibble doesn’t make any sense to me? It may be too rich and high calorie for the dog.
Avoiding obesity and adequate exercise (walks) also help to decrease the risk of bladder stones.

I would run that by your vet before purchasing (just leave a message for him to call you back when he has a minute)

[haleycookie]

Evo is being discontinued unfortunately so I wouldn’t start using it. I think water is the most important thing. I’ve met people who had cats with constant uti and crystals and simply an all wet diet cured thier problem. So I would feed as much wet as possible and always add water to kibble.

[j w]

Thanks for the replies, too bad I will avoid the EVO then. What about trying him on this dog food?

/dog-food-reviews/natures-variety-instinct-dog-food-dry/

It seems like a healthy option and pretty low on carbs.

[anonymous]

Looks like they have had a few recalls. I told you the ones I like.

[haleycookie]

I’ve used natures variety in the past and have always been pleased with their foods and customer service. It’s always been a favorite of mine

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by haleycookie.

[Gary W]

you have alternatives to feeding Hill’s Prescription Diet C/d to your dog. First, if you are feeding C/d for struvite crystals and stones, you might just confirm that they are gone with a urinalysis, xrays, and/or ultrasound of the kidneys and urinary bladder.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by Gary W.

[Sherry S]

My schnauzer had bladder stones. After surgery, I started thinking about causes. I gave her tap water. We had hard water. So I switched to filtered water or spring water. Bought by 1/2 gallon in store for $1. She never had issues again. Neither did my male schnauzer. My friend has a Shar Pei. He had crystallized urine. I told her to try the drinking water in the jugs. She did and he hasn’t tested positive ever since.

[Hannah S]

I realize I am a little late to this conversation. I hope you have found a good food for your dog by now that helps prevent urinary stones. I just wanted to add that you can buy a potassium citrate and cranberry supplement called K-Plus that is a chewable tablet given twice a day. I buy it from Chewy, and it’s less than $20 for 100 tablets. We have 2 Maltese (had 3, but one passed a few months ago) that are prone to stones. The one that passed was a male, which made it that much worse. He had 4-5 surgeries over the last 7 years for stones. The vet eventually did a urethostomy to allow stones to pass more freely. She prescribed potassium citrate to help dissolve kidney stones. We were buying it from the pharmacy with a prescription at first, which was very expensive. Then I found these cranberry/potassium citrate tablets on chewy. They are a LOT less expensive and do seem to help prevent stones. This might be something you want to look into. Our dogs are small, so they only take half of a tablet twice a day. They eat it with no problem. I guess the cranberry gives it enough flavor for them to like it. They were also on the Royal Canin SO for a long time, and it seem to work well. However, one of the girls now has an enlarged heart. The SO works by encouraging them to drink more water by increasing sodium content. It’s not enough to harm most dogs, but bc of her heart condition, they changed her to Hill’s c/d. Apparently it helps to dissolve stones without the added sodium. Now we are making another change. The oldest of the two (she’s the mom to the other) has had bloody stool lately, so we are trying the Royal Canin gastro diet. I’m worried about the possibility of the forming stones after taking them off of the urinary care food, but I guess in her older age (she’s 12), she needs something more palatable. If any of you have any suggestions as far as any other foods that might be better, I’m all ears! Thanks so much! Hope your fur babies are all doing well!

[Hannah S]

Just wanted to add to Sherry S’s comment about water… our vet told us years ago to only give ours distilled water. Even a lot of “purified” water has “minerals added for taste”. These minerals found in tap and bottled water can cause problems with stones (and tear stains, if you have Maltese or similar breeds).

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