# Best Diet for Urinary Health and Chronic UTIs



## cpizzul

Hello - I am a new member and at the recommendation of a few of you, I decided to post in the health issues section...

We just rescued a Basset Hound Mix approx 3-5 yrs old (55-60 lbs). She has been with us for one week and will be seeing our vet for the first time on Tuesday. The shelter paid for surgery to remove 6 bladder stones and she is just finishing a course of antibiotics. She is presently on the awful Royal Canin Urinary SO food.

My plan is to get her urine pH healthy and start her on better food as soon as possible. Also planning to supplement with probiotics/cranberry/Vit C.

Looking for recommendations for the best dry foods for prevention of struvite stones/crystals/UTIs.

FYI - We also have a 3 year old Newfie who is doing extremely well with Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Venison formula. He was alergic to all other animal proteins. We have never tried a raw diet with him.
I am not opposed to using raw but it will be difficult to have two separate diets for the pups.


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## Kat

I have two cats that have suffered from struvite crystals in the past. The best food for preventing stones and crystals is a diet high is moisture. Dry food is best to avoid when there are urinary issues in an animal. Their body uses their own water storage to digest the kibble, so there is always some dehydration in a kibble fed pet. If you still want to stick with kibble, you should mix the kibble with some canned food and extra water. The brands I use for my cats which are urinary safe and have the proper pH are Natural Balance, Holistic Select, and Nature's Variety. I suggest trying to avoid fish ingredients, because it can make urinary issues worse.


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## brandypup

Yep-the best diet is one with allot of water/moisture to keep the bladder, kidneys flushed. Kibble will do the oppistie. 

If you were intrested in raw you probably wouldn't have to seperate their diets, they could both be on raw. Raw is natural moisture. 

Good luck!


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## cpizzul

Great advice - I usually soak my pups' dry with water and add canned food too so maybe I could still do both...I am not ruling out raw...I'm hearing that the raw animal proteins might not cause the same allergies in Oscar that the kibble caused...


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## Kat

cpizzul said:


> Great advice - I usually soak my pups' dry with water and add canned food too so maybe I could still do both...I am not ruling out raw...I'm hearing that the raw animal proteins might not cause the same allergies in Oscar that the kibble caused...


That turned out to be true for my pug. She was having allergic reactions to any dog food I tried. First I tried home cooked and her allergies went down a bit, but as soon as I switched to raw, she wasnt having any reactions to the food.


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## LilasMom

Cooked proteins and raw proteins are have different protein structures. Adding the heat has some reaction to the meat that makes the body recognize it differently than its raw counter part. Cooking is almost like a chemical reaction.


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## PDXdogmom

cpizzul said:


> Hello - I am a new member and at the recommendation of a few of you, I decided to post in the health issues section...
> 
> We just rescued a Basset Hound Mix approx 3-5 yrs old (55-60 lbs). She has been with us for one week and will be seeing our vet for the first time on Tuesday. The shelter paid for surgery to remove 6 bladder stones and she is just finishing a course of antibiotics. She is presently on the awful Royal Canin Urinary SO food.
> 
> My plan is to get her urine pH healthy and start her on better food as soon as possible. Also planning to supplement with* probiotics/*cranberry/Vit C.
> 
> *Looking for recommendations for the best dry foods for prevention of struvite stones/crystals/UTIs.*
> 
> FYI - We also have a 3 year old Newfie who is doing extremely well with Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Venison formula. He was alergic to all other animal proteins. We have never tried a raw diet with him.
> I am not opposed to using raw but it will be difficult to have two separate diets for the pups.
> View attachment 6989
> View attachment 6990


If you plan on feeding kibble (while still considering raw or home-cooking as possibilites), I'd look at a very simple rice-based formula. Then add lots of warm water to provide moisture - or an equally simple canned food.

I think the California Natural Chicken Meal & Rice Puppy formula falls in that category. Their puppy formulas have 26% protein and 16% fat and contain only about 4-5 ingredients plus the vitamins/minerals and are considered "all life stages" foods. They're very digestible. Natural Dog Food, Cat Food and Puppy Food for Pets With Food Sensitivity ? California Natural

You might also want to take a look at Jarrow Pet Dophilus for a good probiotic Pet Dophilus


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## LilasMom

PDXdogmom said:


> If you plan on feeding kibble (while still considering raw or home-cooking as possibilites), I'd look at a very simple rice-based formula. Then add lots of warm water to provide moisture - or an equally simple canned food.
> 
> I think the California Natural Chicken Meal & Rice Puppy formula falls in that category. Their puppy formulas have 26% protein and 16% fat and contain only about 4-5 ingredients plus the vitamins/minerals and are considered "all life stages" foods. They're very digestible. Natural Dog Food, Cat Food and Puppy Food for Pets With Food Sensitivity ? California Natural
> 
> You might also want to take a look at Jarrow Pet Dophilus for a good probiotic Pet Dophilus


Why are you suggesting a grain-based food?


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## cpizzul

LilasMom said:


> Why are you suggesting a grain-based food?


Actually I was just about to ask the same question...Most of my research has told me to use grain-free foods...I was actually leaning towards the Natural Balance line since I really like it for my Newfie...


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## DaViking

cpizzul said:


> Actually I was just about to ask the same question...Most of my research has told me to use grain-free foods...I was actually leaning towards the Natural Balance line since I really like it for my Newfie...


Grain is fine. The real issue is high carbs vs low carbs. GF is a fad masking the real issues. Many new grain free foods does not have their ash levels in check. Meaning they are high with "funky" mineral levels and can cause issues paired with the wrong dog (most dogs doesn't have problems with it though) Formulas with rice as suggested by PDXdogmom is a good alternative. Look for old school (but good quality) type of formulas with rice. Stay away from fish. As for moisture; Kibble is supposed to be fed wet contrary to popular belief. People have mostly stopped feeding it wet since it is more cumbersome and you might have to throw away food if it's not eaten. Training a puppy to eat kibble wet is something I always recommend new owners. Less taxing and if one day they decide to start with some kind of energy draining activity taking the food wet will be a huge huge advantage.

Since there is no history for this dog (per your other thread) she might simply have been fed a horrendous diet and now suffers from that. Her issues might be reversed by a proper diet.


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## LilasMom

I don't really care if it has rice, but rice BASED? That means it is mostly grains, not an appropriate diet for dogs.


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## PDXdogmom

LilasMom said:


> I don't really care if it has rice, but rice BASED? That means it is mostly grains, not an appropriate diet for dogs.


Sorry for the confusion. I should have said a kibble with rice as its only carbohydrate source; but one is which still meat-based for its protein. The California Natural Chicken Meal & Rice Puppy fits those parameters. The 26% protein does come from the chicken meal; because white rice doesn't have much protein.

Rice is very easily digested as we know since rice and boiled meat is the default mode for digestive upsets with dogs. If you're familiar with diets for humans that have similar problems, rice is listed as a very good starch but potatoes are not. Most grain-free foods use potatoes as a binder.


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## cpizzul

PDXdogmom said:


> Sorry for the confusion. I should have said a kibble with rice as its only carbohydrate source; but one is which still meat-based for its protein. The California Natural Chicken Meal & Rice Puppy fits those parameters. The 26% protein does come from the chicken meal; because white rice doesn't have much protein.
> 
> Rice is very easily digested as we know since rice and boiled meat is the default mode for digestive upsets with dogs. If you're familiar with diets for humans that have similar problems, rice is listed as a very good starch but potatoes are not. Most grain-free foods use potatoes as a binder.


Ahhh...I think I get it...Grain free uses too much potatoes - So look for WHOLE GRAINS like brown rice right? OK - 

Now - I have been hearing that California Natural brand is not as good as it used to be...It was recently taken off the 'recommended' lists...Am I wrong?


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## cpizzul

So I've followed all of your advice and I've narrowed things down a bit. Let me run some issues past you...
Cal Natural Grain-Free sounds great EXCEPT it has a large source of protein from PEAS which I hear is not a good for urinary issues.
Fromm Four-Star Nutritionals GF also uses peas - But may be an option. Their regular version is also good but contains some white rice.
Artemis Fresh Mix Maximal looks very good to me - But high in good animal proteins at 47% - That may be too high?
Dr. Tim's is a low-ash protein based food so even though it is high in protein (33%) I like it.
All of the above add probiotics which is great.

I always add water to kibble - I also prefer to add wet food to it as well...

What do you all think? I'll post in the kibble section too...


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## PDXdogmom

cpizzul said:


> Ahhh...I think I get it...Grain free uses too much potatoes - So look for WHOLE GRAINS like brown rice right? OK -
> 
> Now - I have been hearing that California Natural brand is not as good as it used to be...It was recently taken off the 'recommended' lists...Am I wrong?


Certain starches (be they grain or vegetable) are better than others for the problem you say the dog has. White rice seems to be considered the best.; followed by brown rice.

As for California Natural, I don't know whose list you're talking about. There are dozens of internet lists which rate foods using different parameters. It would be somewhat like rating cars. While one person may want the car with the sportiest handling; another may want the car with the cushiest ride. Plus keep in mind that a kibble, no matter how highly rated, may work great for some dogs but not for others. Fortunately, there are many to choose from. The CN Puppy formulas seem to be considered as good now as they were two years ago.


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## PDXdogmom

cpizzul said:


> So I've followed all of your advice and I've narrowed things down a bit. Let me run some issues past you...
> Cal Natural Grain-Free sounds great EXCEPT it has a large source of protein from PEAS which I hear is not a good for urinary issues.
> Fromm Four-Star Nutritionals GF also uses peas - But may be an option. Their regular version is also good but contains some white rice.
> Artemis Fresh Mix Maximal looks very good to me - But high in good animal proteins at 47% - That may be too high?
> Dr. Tim's is a low-ash protein based food so even though it is high in protein (33%) I like it.
> All of the above add probiotics which is great.
> 
> I always add water to kibble - I also prefer to add wet food to it as well...
> 
> What do you all think? I'll post in the kibble section too...


All of the above don't add probiotics. California Natural does not; because they realize that not all dogs do well with specific probiotics. Adding your own is fresher and you can customize it for your dog.
Dr. Tim's has a 6% ash; but California Natural Chicken Meal & Rice Puppy has 5.9%
I'm not sure why you're focusing on grain free for this particular dog. I'd start off with trying a very simple formula using a single type of carb that is known not to cause problems with dogs - like the rice in CN.


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## xellil

I would think probiotics in cooked dog food would be worthless as they are, well, cooked.


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