I adopted this female dog about 6 months ago and at that time her urine Ph was high and they did a culture etc but no infection. She just had a checkup and again urine was 8 and also a few triple phosphate crystals. There is no sign of infection or problems. My holistic vet recommended eliminating some of the fruits and veggies I feed her and giving mostly meat (she does not believe in grains). Also adding some Vit C daily. I am currently cooking the meat as I wasn't sure if this dog had a good immune system and I also feed mostly chicken which I prefer to cook for safety but any advice on best way to feed for this problem is welcome, thanks
anne

Hi Ann,

I have a cat who just went through the same thing...it's not fun! From all my reading, and in the absence of infection, changing the diet to fresh food can be really helpful in preventing this.

I'm not the nutrition expert but I do know that when you home-cook food you need to pay attention to the calcium/phosphorus ratio.

You're not giving your dogs cooked bones, right? Are you supplementing with calcium?

If not, then your dog probably isn't getting a balanced diet. They need a certain amount of calcium to make up for the absence of bones in their diet. Connie is the nutrition pro and I'm sure she'll be able to address all of this better than I can.

Another point that's important is that when you cook the food, you're cooking the moisture right out of it. Your dog will need more water to flush those remaining crystals away and to help prevent them from reoccuring in the future.

Have you considered a raw diet? Fresh food will boost your dog's overall health, it is naturally balanced, and it contains a lot of needed moisture. My dog is raw fed and I'm switching my cat over to raw just as soon as he's clear of crystals.

How do you provide calcium? (I'm sure you're not feeding cooked bones, right?) And in what amounts per pound of food? (EDIT: Sorry, Sarah; I hadn't seen your post yet. )

When you say that there was "no sign of infection" does that mean though a 'scope? I ask because bacteria not seen should STILL be cultured for (IMO) because struvites are usually found with bacteria. It's the bacteria that creates the high alkaline pH.

Here is something I've learned: THe advice often given to adjust the acidity of the urine is usually askew (IMO, and I'm not a health professional). The urine will probably be fine when there is no infection.

Lew Olson says very succinctly what I have learned painfully slowly over the years. I agree with every word of this, because I have seen it with adopted dogs. It's NOT 100%, and there are certainly struvite-forming dogs who do not have infection, but in my experience, at least, it's more often true than not:

QUOTE: Because bladder infections lead to high alkaline urinary pH and struvite crystals, many people, including many vets, make the mistake of treating the problem by acidifying the diet. But that is confusing cause and effect. Alkaline pH and struvite crystals are not caused by a diet of alkaline foods; they are usually caused by bladder infections. Therefore, trying to make the urine more acidic will not get rid of the infection. Alkaline pH can also be normal, as pH can vary a great deal even in the same dog at different times of the day, and also by the way the urine was captured and handled before testing. END from http://www.b-naturals.com/Dec2002.php

I would bring this up in a non-confrontational way, because IME, many MANY vets have this take on the cause and effect. Also, other animals (such as cats) often do form struvites with no infection. (Merck 2006.)

I have a lot of material on struvites, and I'll be back later today, so let me know if you want some. And please post about the dietary calcium in the cooked diet.

thanks to all for responses. Yes I am supplementing with Animal Essentials calcium or crushed eggshells I was reluctant to put her on raw because I was not sure of her immune system when I got her and frankly chicken is the least expensive for me to feed so was leary of feeding her raw chicken but can certainly do so. I have another dog who has allergies and he is on raw rabbit which is very expensive. Thanks for any info on the crystals.

Sarah I completely agree about raw being better and thanks for pointing out about the moisture. Just curious, why are you waiting until no crystals before switching your cat to raw? anne

My cat was completely blocked and unable to urinate. Male cats have an extremely narrow urethra so it doesn't take many crystals to cause a serious, life-threatening problem.

I want to avoid another 3-day stressful hospitalization for him and another $1700 vet bill for myself and be sure all the crystals are gone before I switch him.