My dog has crystals in her urine

**mist of heaven** · 07-12-2008, 06:13 PM

Ok, Delilah has another Bladder infection. Why I ask myself, The vet tells me It's because she has crystals in her urine. So now she is on meds again and the vet has changed her dog food to Hills C/D.The vet said dont give her to much of this food because it will make her gain weight. So, is there something else I can do for her besides the dog food. They have so many different things in the pet store that say will help with bladder infections,do they help. I don't know why she has crystals in her urine she drinks like a ton of water and she can go outside and pee any time she likes so I don't know what I'm doing wrong and if I'm doing anything wrong.

**Michele** · 07-12-2008, 06:18 PM

Have your vet do an x-ray to be sure there is no stone. Please read this thread:

http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthread.php?t=10796

**Cynthia** · 07-12-2008, 06:43 PM

Michele just went throught this. Cyrstal's form when the ph in the urine is off. Did the vet tell you what type of crystals they found struvite or oxalate crystals. C/D is fatty but you can feed accordingly. My Vet feeds her dogs the min amount minus 20%. You always feed what they should weigh not what they currently weigh.

**mist of heaven** · 07-12-2008, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by CynthiaATL

Michele just went throught this. Cyrstal's form when the ph in the urine is off. Did the vet tell you what type of crystals they found struvite or oxalate crystals. C/D is fatty but you can feed accordingly. My Vet feeds her dogs the min amount minus 20%. You always feed what they should weigh not what they currently weigh.

She said oxalate I think?

**pitty66** · 07-12-2008, 10:51 PM

If they are oxalate stones it is more than likely that your dog has a low ph ( In the 5-6 range) and a diet such as C/d will help with that. I do strongly recommend that she be xrayed for stones as they are more common then most people think. Calcium oxalate stones have a high composition of calcium. IF you are feeding any veggies such as broccolli watch out as these are high in calcium. If the stones are Stuvite the dog likely has a high ph (8-9) range. Encourage Water intake and again stay away from a lot of the plant based Veggies. If you have been feeding a Vegitarian diet or a hollistic diet which are high in plant based material they can be the cause of the crystals. # 1 Recommendation besides diet change is encourage water intake. The more water the less concentrated the urine and the less likely crystals will have the chance to form.

**mist of heaven** · 07-12-2008, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by pitty66

If they are oxalate stones it is more than likely that your dog has a low ph ( In the 5-6 range) and a diet such as C/d will help with that. I do strongly recommend that she be xrayed for stones as they are more common then most people think. Calcium oxalate stones have a high composition of calcium. IF you are feeding any veggies such as broccolli watch out as these are high in calcium. If the stones are Stuvite the dog likely has a high ph (8-9) range. Encourage Water intake and again stay away from a lot of the plant based Veggies. If you have been feeding a Vegitarian diet or a hollistic diet which are high in plant based material they can be the cause of the crystals. # 1 Recommendation besides diet change is encourage water intake. The more water the less concentrated the urine and the less likely crystals will have the chance to form.

I've been feeding her Candiae could that be the cause? :confused:

**pitty66** · 07-13-2008, 11:11 AM

Im not fimilar with this brand as we don't carry it in the clinic. the best way to determine whats in the food is to call the company and ask them to send you a list of ingrediants. the list on the bag can sometimes be inaccurate. If the ingrediant list is primarily plant based it could be the cause. It's worth looking into.

**Michele** · 07-13-2008, 11:32 AM

-Please have your vet x-ray the dog to make sure there are no stones. :)

As far as the water, I have to give my dog purified water now. No more tap water.

**MyGirl** · 10-17-2008, 02:24 PM

About 5 months after I rescued my puppy she was having severe problems with her bladder. They found that she has crystals also and did x-ray her to make sure she had no stones. Luckily she had no stones but was put on medicine and the s/d diet for two and half months straight. Now she has to be on that same diet one week out of every month. When she is on her normal food by the time it gets close to that week things are bad. She is licking her self a lot, her urine is really dark, and now she has started to pee on my bed. She is on her diet this week and this is when the peeing on the bed started. She is 1 1/2 now. I don't know if the normal food I am feeding her is causing it to be bad but I don't know what to do. With the urine test, medicines, and a case a week for one week is getting expensive. I just wish there was a food that I could feed her that was better for her and would reduce the crystals. I have looked into a raw food diet but they are outrageous. Any suggestions??? I just love her so much and I hate that she is probably in pain.

**Mollie's Nana** · 10-17-2008, 02:40 PM

Has she been back to the vet?

**mist of heaven** · 10-17-2008, 04:09 PM

Delilah has been on a special Diet, she eats Hills C/D food and she also takes Proin twice a day. She is doing really good these days. If I mess with her food or forget her pills the problems start over again, so I never forget. Her food is about $60.00 for a 40 lb bag and the pills are $14.00 a month but I love her so she is well worth it.:)

**Michele** · 10-17-2008, 04:16 PM

I'm glad everything is working out for you:)

**MyGirl** · 10-21-2008, 01:49 PM

She actually goes back this friday but since all of that she was back for a check up and her PH levels went down (for the time being) but they always go back up I can tell. She gets iritated and her urine gets gritty. So then we go on the diet for a week and she gets good again. I wish I could just find a food that we could stay on that wouldn't cause her PH levels to go up.
I am so stressed because I don't want her to be in pain and uncomfortable but she cant be on the S/D diet all the time and I can't find a food that is helpful. Not only are we struggling with this but she also has severe dry skin and itches a lot. When she gets a bath we use an oatmeal based shampoo but it doesn't help. I am so stress!

**MyGirl** · 10-21-2008, 01:50 PM

So she is on the dry c/d diet all the time? Are the Pronin pills for the crystals in her urine?

**Michele** · 10-21-2008, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by MyGirl

She actually goes back this friday but since all of that she was back for a check up and her PH levels went down (for the time being) but they always go back up I can tell. She gets iritated and her urine gets gritty. So then we go on the diet for a week and she gets good again. I wish I could just find a food that we could stay on that wouldn't cause her PH levels to go up.
I am so stressed because I don't want her to be in pain and uncomfortable but she cant be on the S/D diet all the time and I can't find a food that is helpful. Not only are we struggling with this but she also has severe dry skin and itches a lot. When she gets a bath we use an oatmeal based shampoo but it doesn't help. I am so stress!

Have your vet take an x-ray to see if she has a stone. JC used to eat Innova and that's what gave him the stone. There was too much protein in that particular food for him. He now eats Royal Canin Urinary and he's doing great. He also drinks only purified water now too.