# Urinary track infection on a raw diet



## gsantiago14 (Aug 13, 2015)

Hello Everyone
Lola is a American Pitbull Terrier (Blue nose). Today, Lola was diagnosed with Urinary track infection and in the test results showed that there are some crystals forming. She has been on a raw diet since she was 6 months old. She is now a year and a few months old.

Everything started whenever I picked her up from Playcare and a non-stop licking on her private part. I gave her a bath after noticing her itchiness. The bath, neither Benadryl, zyrtec helped her. It was a long night and I was able to take her to the vet the next morning. The vet prescribed antibiotics and an ointment for her.

I've been reading on UTI but I have not seen anything that covers my situation. Has anyone experienced something similar to this. I do not have a holistic vet where I live, so I rely on reading online and figuring it out. I want to know if an ingredient is causing this.

Her diet consist of protein, meaty bones, veggies, supplements from Dr. Dobias, and the occasional fruits and rawhides. She will have a check up in a month, the vet mentioned if the crystals are still in the body, Lola will have to be on a special dry food...

Things I have noticed is that she does not like to drink from the water I put on her bowl, she prefers the rain outside, (putting a new water filter to see if this helps). I had a hair test done to check on minerals and metals, but I have to wait a few months for the results (this was done prior of this). She has skin allergies.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

well, id skip the dr.'s food.

does she have an inverted vulva? perhaps this is the case, and i don't know if she had a first heat but sometimes it clears up after that.

i'd research lots before i feed that food recommended by the vet, but that's me.

and i'd stop the drinking of rainwater.


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## Uzies Pal (Nov 7, 2013)

what kind of crystals? there are struvite, calcium oxalate, uric acid, and crystine crystals all with different origins/reason....my oldest had struvite and I went wild researching the reason. I went to raw rather then the 'expensive corn as the first ingredient food' I was suppose to waste money on.....He had quality time of life for his last 4 months of life and I felt good about knowing what to do....so look into the type of crystal and be prepared to ask the DVM why he/she recommends the food....all about the type of protein and how the dog's body metabolizes it.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

gsantiago14 said:


> Hello Everyone
> Lola is a American Pitbull Terrier (Blue nose). Today, Lola was diagnosed with Urinary track infection and in the test results showed that there are some crystals forming. She has been on a raw diet since she was 6 months old. She is now a year and a few months old.
> 
> Everything started whenever I picked her up from Playcare and a non-stop licking on her private part. I gave her a bath after noticing her itchiness. The bath, neither Benadryl, zyrtec helped her. It was a long night and I was able to take her to the vet the next morning. The vet prescribed antibiotics and an ointment for her.
> ...


Nothing will clear up an UTI except antibiotics. There is no external or holistic remedy.


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## gsantiago14 (Aug 13, 2015)

bett said:


> well, id skip the dr.'s food.
> 
> does she have an inverted vulva? perhaps this is the case, and i don't know if she had a first heat but sometimes it clears up after that.
> 
> ...


I won't buy dry food for her, I don't believe in it. She does not have an inverted vulva, she was fixed before she had her heat.


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## gsantiago14 (Aug 13, 2015)

They did not specified, they said abnormal crystals. I'll call and ask. I refuse to buy dry kibble, I do not believe in it since I switched to raw long time ago. I just want to figure out if one on the ingredients in her diet caused this. But you gVe me a good starting point. Thank you.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I'd start off by encouraging her to drink as much as she possibly can. Add blood or unsalted broth to her water and see if that helps. The vet will want to prescribe SD, which, contains a lot of salt which will encourage drinking, but in my mind, will, in time, compromise the kidneys. My cat gets struvite crystals, I find that swimming her food in bloody water and making sure she drinks as much as possible really does help.


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## gsantiago14 (Aug 13, 2015)

I've been adding water to her food, it's helping her to have water in the system. It's really hard to make her drink water since been on raw diet contains water (moisture). I also read adding a little bit of orange juice or something citrus, so yesterday and today I gave her a splash of orange juice and water in her food, I noticed yesterday she peed for 40 seconds!!( wohoo l that is good) after I gave her the juice and water in the morning with her food. She is making progress.


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## gsantiago14 (Aug 13, 2015)

Have you heard about an ingredient in raw feeding that might increase the ph balance in the urine? I still have not found something that will create this.


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## Uzies Pal (Nov 7, 2013)

I mentioned before that my older male had the sturvite crystals and the food recommendation was SD with corn as the main protein to change the ph....well, here is a link that you may have found via google. When I started the raw diet, my boy's ph balanced to acid. So, maybe with a change in your protein, like turkey or fish, or rabbit.....with a combo of antibiotics from the vet (see the article in the link....) your pup may just turn a round....Signs of Bladder Stones in Dogs | VCA Animal Hospitals keep us posted!


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

RateSeminar.HTM

an interesting read.

i would never say not to feed raw.
maybe switch to foul rather than meat.

never heard of orange juice, but have used cran caps.
also, test the first urine of the day, and ask what kind of crystals.

i asked about inverted vulva because those females often have issues with utis. also, most breeders recommend waiting till after first heat to spay but too late for that.

unscented , baby wipes for sensitive skin, might be needed every time she urinates.

somewhere i did a longer version of this post and it seems to have been eaten by the internet so if a double appears, sorry.

good luck with your pooch, and keep us posted. and also, if she does go on antibiotic , no cran caps until it's cleared up.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

With allergy's and antibiotics I would be giving a probiotic. I have found this one out the hard way. Blew my bassets ears and now I can't get them cleared up at all. I now if she has to go on them give her 2 different kinds. I know over kill.


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