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Dog food to lower pH of urine?
I posted on Pets about this, but I figured I'd ask here too since I have better luck with the local board.
Chloe did have a UTI, she's finished up with her medication and the test of her urine today showed the w/r blood cells & bacteria (??) has cleared up, but that the pH (8) of her urine is still higher than they want it to be. They said now she has some small crystals (her urine at the start of her UTI didn't have crystals) in her urine.
They want us to put her on Hills c/d Rx food. I don't want to do that - because if I didn't feel well, I certainly wouldn't want to put myself on a diet of McD's. Does anyone know another food that might work to lower her urine pH?
I have an appt with the Lake Harriet Vet for Jenson - he's got some goofy hairloss issues that they are going to check out, and we are going to talk food a bit. We have been switched over to the Costco Nature's Domain Salmon Grain Free, which seems to be fine, but I've heard that Salmon can be more reactive as far as protein goes, so we may have to switch him to something else, and we certainly need to find something to feed Chloe.
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
Re: Dog food to lower pH of urine?
Good for you to saying no to Hill's! I've only heard good things about Lake Harriet - I want Rusty to go there next, but I really like the vet that he sees now so we shall this fall. I've heard they are great about food too.
I searched through the Dogster forums - it looks like cranberry juice and Innova Evo Red Meat were the big things to help with lowering pH.
Good luck!
I 99% of the time love our vet.. I just hate their nutrition advice.
Our vet is otherwise caring, knowledgeable, proactive and so helpful. I just hate that they are so old school with food and nutrition.
Thanks for the food suggestion. I am going to chat with the people at Lake Harriet Vet tomorrow - but since the appt is for something unrelated, I don't know how much time they'll have to really chat food & Chloe isn't even the dog being treated tomorrow!
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
I hope you like Lake Harriet. I'm sure they'll have suggestions about food - and they seem pretty patient so maybe they'll even be willing to get a little into it tomorrow.
I know I've said before how much I love them for food advice but I will say it again. They are fantastic. My dog has a condition where her nails get brittle and pull away from the quick. This is the first winter in 8 years that it hasn't happened and the only change has been in her food and the supplements.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
A raw diet will help keep the urine more acidic. Also, using only distilled water in their bowls. I would definitely not do the Hill's diet. You can alter the diet too much sometimes with the prescription diets and end up on the other end of the spectrum and have issues with oxalate stones or crystals. I also would be leary about adding things to the diet to adjust ph like cranberry, etc. They can be used short term. When Sofie had issues with struvite stones I had lengthy discussions with Solid Gold about their Berry Balance (basically cranberry and vitamin c) and it isn't recommended for long term use. We used Tinkle Tonic by Animal Apawthecary for Sofie for about a 1+ year after her bladder stone surgery.
http://www.ehow.com/way_5188428_raw-prevent-crystals-dogs-urine.html
This is a good website for natural dog health information.
http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/bladder-stones-crystals/
We had test strips similar to this for Sofie to track how things were looking. (We didn't use it as a substitute for vet care but could tell if she had the start of a UTI from the strips so we could catch things early and also check ph). Best time to get an accurate read is first thing in the morning.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cole-Taylor-10-SG-Urine-Test-Strips-100-Bx-Exp-03-2012-/360355059466?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e6d5d70a
Good luck!
Photo taken at 16 months old
So helpful!!
Thank you
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
I do not have an answer to your question, but I just wanted to say that Costco also has a Turkey and Sweet Potato food that we use. (We actually switch between the Salmon and Turkey)
We do this too.
I hope your pup feels a-ok soon and you find something that works well!
Talking with the people at Chuck & Don's in Bloomington, they were explaining that some protein is hot, cold etc. That some protein can be more likely to cause issues than others. I thought they said turkey and salmon are both high on list, that duck and lamb were lower/less reactive. Generally speaking of course.
Odd thing is - Chloe is acting fine. I'm wondering if maybe we contaminated her sample, since we had her pee at home (into a pie pan... I chased her around the yard until she went!) and we brought it to the vet. I'm thinking I'll bring her in (did that this week, she just wouldn't go for them) and have them get a fresh, super sterile sample and go from there...
You are all so helpful. Thanks a million!!
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart