My Dog had Bladder Stone removal surgery in oct 2022(struvite stones). She currently has struvite crystals developing. They recommend Royal Canin S/o or Hills c/d. Both products look very low quality. Is there alternatives?

[JonahH]

The title pretty much says it all. My dog is a female yellow lab, 8.5 years old. She had her bladder surgery in oct 2022 and has been doing great since. I've had to leave her alone this week for about 8 hours at a time which never happens. She developed a uti. I took her to the vet to get a urinalysis and X-rays. Thankfully there are no new stones, but there are crystals forming which caused the uti and can turn into stones if left untreated. Both vets I've been to recommend Royal Canin s/o or Hills c/d. Hills c/d looks slightly better but dang... talk about GMO ingredients, poor quality ingredients, etc. My dog has fatty tumors and is starting to get old. She has been thriving on honest kitchen grain free beef recipe. It's saddening to be stuck feeding her lower quality food. But with the crystals returning, I want to do due diligence and be sure her bladder is cared for.

Is there any alternatives to these prescription urinary diets? Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[Dr. Christina]

Definitely there are alternatives and good for you to recognize these are not good diets.

Most high protein diets, especially a fresh food diet like the honest kitchen, will even help dissolve struvite crystals, so do read the 101 holistic health course, especially the nutrition lesson. You may want to try making your own food, or at least rotating diets as every food has different nutritional profiles. Second, put together your holistic health care team (lesson 5 links you to how to select a holistic vet) so you can build vitality and balance, which is the best prevention for any future problems, including bladder problems and "aging" and maybe even the fatty tumors (listen to the webinar on acupressure by Amy Snow as they talk about lipomas in their own dog.

As I used to do before I learned of the holistic approach, conventional thinking is to focus on the disease, not the whole animal.

I know that @Dr. Jean Hofve will chime in as she co-authored the book, PaleoDog and if you want more specific nutritional help, @Dr. Sue Howell (thrivepetvet.com) does remote testing for diet and supplements.

Dr. Christina