[Lori J M]

My dog had a few UTIs, then had surgery for bladder stones. Even though he had no struvite crystals in his urine, the labs done on the stones came back as struvite.

So, after a struggle getting him to eat that nasty Royal Canin – he looked at me as if I were punishing him for no reason 🙁 and I refuse to feed him Science Diet, I went to another vet.

This one prescribed the new Blue Natural Veterinary Diet WU (a Blue Buffalo prescription) and both my dog LOVE it! It is protein based but low in the minerals that can cause stones. My little guy does get bored with one flavor, so when he begins to balk at his food again (he’s not very food motivated), with my vet’s blessing, I’ll give him some of my other dog’s Merrick which he goes bonkers for. He is also taking cranberry supplements and I have increased his water consumption dramatically. I also fill his bowl only with distilled water. He has had NO problem in almost 2 years now! With so many variables changing, it’s hard to know what is helping. Is it the food or the supplements or the water? Is it a combination of some or all?

So, my problem? We moved to another state and I’m trying to find a good vet who carries this product or one who will give me a prescription if I can find it sold somewhere. Blue Buffalo has no answered my email about how to find a distributor. I did find it on Amazon but the price is just STUPID. Almost $50 for a 6 lb. bag with Prime and over $50 for a case of canned (I feed both). While I was searching for this food, I came across some articles about the deceptive advertising in the past that Blue Buffalo was accused of. If it’s true that they use animal by-products but lie about it, I don’t want to use their food. However, if my dog is doing well on it now… maybe I should. I’m confused.

Since I’m not having luck finding a local vet who carries this, I’m considering keeping him on all Merrick again. Do I keep looking? Switch foods and keep him on supplements and maybe add vitamin C to be sure? Suck it up and pay the premium price on Amazon? Find a different food?

All opinions welcome.

[anonymous]

Did you check the search engine here for “bladder stones” Look at the information offered and come back if you have more questions.
/forums/search/bladder+stones/

[anonymous]

PS: I would stick with the food that is working, often bladder stones return and emergency surgery will be more expensive than buying the prescription food now

[Susan]

Hi, contact the makers of Blue Buffalo again, can you ring them? this way they will put you thru to the proper section, ask a vet where you live can they place an order & have the dry & wet Blue Buffalo sent to their practice, nothing is impossible, especially when the vet will be getting a new patient & a customer….
Can you make a cooked or raw diet this would be heaps better then feeding a dry kibble… here’s a Natural Home Made raw diet or it can be cooked minus any bones but it gives you an idea what your dog should be eating, look for those ingredients in a kibble, I feed 1 meal cooked & the other meals kibble or wet tin food….
http://naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/Shop/2016/03/15/acidifying-diet-urinary-crystals/

[Susan W]

I can’t imagine the misery involved in a dog w/bladder/kidney stones. My husband gets them frequently and he’s always miserable.
We haven’t ever had a dog that got UTIs/stones. My mom’s dog ended up with crystals last year and she had to improve the quality of her dog’s food (among other things). A great way to get some good advice and some free samples of a fantastic dog food is to contact VeRUS. The food is great – it’s 4 stars here, but they’ve never had a recall in almost 30 years – and when you contact them with questions, a live human will answer you with good info AND they’ll send you free samples. It won’t cost you anything to ask them for help. Depending on where you live, you might be able to get the food locally. If not, you can order (I use PetFlow.com). No prescription needed.

[Susan W]

P.S. I haven’t found the food on Amazon is any cheaper. PetFlow has a bunch of different brands, Chewy’s has a good variety. Comparison shopping on line is easy.

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