# struvite crystals



## Evangeline (Aug 23, 2011)

I have a 5 year old 76Ib hound mix named Jordi. Since he was a puppy up till know he gets urinary tract infections and has struvite crystals. He usually only gets it maybe once a year. He is currentlly eating Acana grain free pacifica and wild prarie. The vet keeps telling me I have to put him on vet food. I tried him on that crap and only gave him like 5 pieces mixed with his normal food and he was diarhea for two days. He has a very sensitive stomach and gets sick very easy. He has been doing well for the last year but I suspect he may have struvite crystals again. He is waking me up at night to pee which is defenetlly not like him. I am always so perinoid he has a problem do to the past. He is very active and seems normal otherwise. I thought of buying ph test strips but I know his ph will be high because it always has been even when hese healthy. Should I do the $100.00 urine test or leave it. Also are there any brands of kibble besides vet food that are good for dogs prone to struvite crystals.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

If he's asking to go outside a lot he may have a bladder infection and may need some antibiotics.

It is my understanding that you want the urine to be acidic to help with struvite crystals/stones. So him having acidic urine is a good thing. I can't see why the food he's eating now wouldn't be great for him. One thing you may want to do is to increase his water intake. This will help to keep his bladder flushed out, and help to keep any crystals from forming into stones. I would add some warm water to his kibble and you could add some canned for even more moisture.


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## Porphyria (Jul 13, 2011)

I was also going to suggest trying to increase the moisture in his diet by adding water to his kibble and/or supplementing with water inclusive foods (canned, cooked, or raw).


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## Evangeline (Aug 23, 2011)

I just took Jordi into the vet and had a urinalisis run. His Ph is good, no crystals. But he has high Bilirubin count. The vet said this could be a problem with his kidneys or liver disease. So I had a blood test run. They will call me tomorrow at work and give me the results. I wont be sleeping tonight I am so worried. Please keep Jordi in your prayers.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

Evangeline said:


> I have a 5 year old 76Ib hound mix named Jordi. Since he was a puppy up till know he gets urinary tract infections and has struvite crystals. He usually only gets it maybe once a year. He is currentlly eating Acana grain free pacifica and wild prarie. The vet keeps telling me I have to put him on vet food. I tried him on that crap and only gave him like 5 pieces mixed with his normal food and he was diarhea for two days. He has a very sensitive stomach and gets sick very easy. He has been doing well for the last year but I suspect he may have struvite crystals again. He is waking me up at night to pee which is defenetlly not like him. I am always so perinoid he has a problem do to the past. He is very active and seems normal otherwise. I thought of buying ph test strips but I know his ph will be high because it always has been even when hese healthy. Should I do the $100.00 urine test or leave it. Also are there any brands of kibble besides vet food that are good for dogs prone to struvite crystals.


 Is he neutered? Bililrubin is COMMON in unneutered male dogs urine. My sisters intact standard poodle always has it in his urine, yet bloodtests are normal.. I hope that's the case for your dog. If he had kidney issues they normally show up in the urine as either dilute urine or nitrites in there.


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## Evangeline (Aug 23, 2011)

No he is neutered. He is five years old and was neutered at 6 months. He is extremely active. He lost 7 Ib since he was last weighed about 3 months ago. He is solid muscle and slim. He is acting perfectlly normal except he is drinking tons of water and waking me up at night to go pee. The vet asked me what I was feeding him and I told her acana grain free. She said the high protein levels could be part of the problem. I am starting to think I should be looking fo a new food which is going to be hard considering he has such a sensitive stomach.


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