Which Dry Dog Food to Prevent Kidney Stones? (as cheap as possible, erk!)

Lizbetty

Hi everyone!

Our dog has just had a bladder op (well two actually as the first one went wrong and they had to open her up and restitch her..) to remove a heap of kidney stones.

My husband spoke to the vet today about a couple of other issues (ie her weeing everywhere since she came home) and we were told she needs to be on special food. My husband said it was for the most common cause of kidney stones - he wasn't listening properly as he will be going in 30 December anyway, but I gather this is stones caused by struvite crystals? The vet said they can source the food for £60 for 12kg, but we could probably get it cheaper online.

I'm not sure where to start. The cheaper the better really - she's only springer sized (she's a mini labradoodle) and so doesn't eat a huge amount - well, we don't let her or she gets fat!). We're on a tight budget but want to make sure she stays healthy, no doubt the insurance won't pay out for kidney related issues if she gets ill again and she was really poorly this time around

Does anyone else have their dog on this kind of food? Is there any thing I should watch out for at all, please?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer,

Lucy

mrs_sparrow

I have 2 dogs, both had skin conditions on the expensive foods and one had auto-immune disease which was made worse by the expensive foods. Now they are both on dried Chappie. I serve it with some warm water sprinkled on it.

Now their coats are shiny and bright, the auto-immune condition is under control and their skin conditions have both cleared up and we have had no re-occurrences while they have been on it. It costs £19 for 15kgs.

Did they tell you what kind of food it was, Chappie is a Hypo-Allergenic food I believe.

Gold_Dust_2

'Allo 'allo!

I'm not sure what the best food is for dogs as I'm a cat owner, but I will say that you can usually get the special prescription foods for a heck of a lot cheaper online. Sites like zooplus, chemist direct and animed are quite good. I use viovet.co.uk myself. My vet was charging me triple what it cost online :-/

rising_from_the_ashes

So sorry to hear this - like Gold Dust I've only experience of this in cats and Smudge used to suffer terribly from this

He was on a prescribed diet which was very expensive, however, I know there are now other manufacturers who do similar foods (often available without prescription) so it may be worth looking into

I'm sure Burns do one (most of their foods can be used as an alternative to prescription diets - each one different naturally) and also came across Purina http://www.medicanimal.com/product/~purina-veterinary-diet-canine-ur-urinary/~product_id=10261/~category_id=MACTGR-DOGS_VET_FOOD_PURINA_VETERINARY_DIETS;jsessionid=519849C6B33FFA26BD407A39326213E5.jvm1

There's bound to be others with a bit of searching around - good luck with her

Oh - if you have a "for life" insurance policy, they should pay out for future claims as long as the policy is renewed

teddysmum

My son's cat and an internet friends dog have both had kidney stones. My son was told that the cat must not have dried food and my friend was advised not to feed it to her dog.


I think this may be because wet food makes sure the animal takes in fluids.

Paradigm

From a quick google search.....

From Merck’s Veterinary Manual:
“Struvite crystals are commonly observed in canine and feline urine. Struvite crystalluria in dogs is not a problem unless there is a concurrent bacterial urinary tract infection with a urease-producing microbe. Without an infection, struvite crystals in dogs will not be associated with struvite urolith formation.”

An article on Struvites written by CJ Puotinen and Mary Straus published in Whole Dog Journal states:
“Struvite crystals do not require a change in diet. Because struvite crystals do not pose a problem unless the dog has a urinary tract infection, there is no required treatment for crystals, including dietary changes. If the dog does have a urinary tract infection, a prescription dog food will not cure it.”
“If your veterinarian finds struvite crystals in the urine and suggests a diet change, you’d be well advised to find a new vet.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/forums/topic/struvite-crystals/

Worth asking the question at your vet.

ETA: Which food are they recommending? It's not Hills by any chance?

janeys

I second the dried Chappie, I find it an excellent food. We moisten ours with a little meat paste in hot water, If you buy it from pets at home they do a buy one get one half price deal occassionally.

antw23uk

I dont think you should be listening to your vets advise reference what diet the dog should be on (trust me they are trying to make a profit either selling it direct or selling you the prescription to buy it online)

The best diet you can provide is a RAW/ BARF diet and all these issues will pretty much go away for good. Best of luck.

teddysmum

antw23uk wrote: »

The best diet you can provide is a RAW/ BARF diet and all these issues will pretty much go away for good. Best of luck.

Others will disagree.


I'm wary of bones, as domestic animals are years away from wild counterparts, who eat the fur and feathers, which protect bones. A vet I once knew said she was really against raw, as she had had to deal with cases of intestines damaged by bone and infections from raw meat.

Paradigm

teddysmum wrote: »

Others will disagree.


I'm wary of bones, as domestic animals are years away from wild counterparts, who eat the fur and feathers, which protect bones. A vet I once knew said she was really against raw, as she had had to deal with cases of intestines damaged by bone and infections from raw meat.

Only because of what we feed them. A dog should be fed meat/offal/bones, instead we feed processed stuff high in grains...

I'd love to feed my two a raw diet but don't have the storage space to make it economical or practical. I do the next best thing & feed a high meat content, no grain food....

teddysmum

Paradigm wrote: »

Only because of what we feed them.

But dogs have been domesticated for so many centuries that they are greatly altered from the wild stock (ie wolves). This can't be due to relatively recent processed food; not common, even in the sixties.