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Old April 18th, 2010, 08:36 AM
vhast vhast is offline
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struvite crystals- is there a nonprescription food?

My 8 year old shih-tzu mix dog has struvite crystals. The prescription dog food he is on is very expensive. Is there anything out there that is non prescription we can get him? He is on Hills prescription diet s/d canned food. Since being on this food, he seems more tired. Like he is not getting enough to eat or maybe not enough nutrients from the food? It sure looks terrible and the vet said it wont taste good either. We need some help!
We are paying almost $2.50 a can and he is supposed to eat 1 to 1/2 cans a day.
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Old April 18th, 2010, 01:29 PM
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Here are the ingredients for S/d Canned:
Water, Corn Starch, Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, and citric acid), Pork Liver, Sucrose, Powdered Cellulose, Iodized Salt, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Beta-Carotenie, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic acid, Sodium Selenite.

Pretty gross, IMO.
S/d works three ways.
1. First is it contains DL-Methionine, DL-Methionine is the synthetic version of l-methionine which is an amino acid commonly found in meat. Methionine is an acidifier. Struvite crystals form in urine that is too alkaline, so its important to make urine more acidic. There are considerably better ways to acidify urine then feeding this food. You can purchase l-methionine from most health food stores and even Wysong has a supplemental methionine (I believe its called Biotic pH-). Its also important to consider that meat is naturally high in methioine. Diets very high in meat tend to lead to naturally acidic urine. In most cases raw diets and homemade diets tend to be great for animals with struvite issues. But if you prefer commercial foods, some brands with high meat content might be good , ie. InnovaEvo, Orijen, Go!, etc...

2. Being a canned food is a good thing, although the ingredients are horrible. Dry food can be difficult since it only has 10% moisture. By feeding canned your ensuring that your dog receives more moisture, moisture keeps urine more dilute preventing from crystals from forming. Another option is raw or homecooked since it also contains its moisture.

3. S/d also uses iodized salt rather high up on its ingredient lists, this is added to encourage your dog to drink and once again to maintain dilute urine.

Besides the fact the ingredients are pretty horrible in my opinion, I've had bad experiences with Hill's S/d. Its results are what pushed me to try alternative routes to cure my cat of struvite crystals. I eventually found raw and have had no struvite (or any health issues with my crew) since. But regardless, there are many other options to help your dog and NOT feed Hill's. The sad this is most vets don't know this. Just remember that high meat diets with a high moisture content are the most important thing when picking a diet for a struvite prone pet.

I hope this helps,

L
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Old April 18th, 2010, 03:54 PM
vhast vhast is offline
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Thanks that did help. Now my next problem is that he now seems constipated. He walked out in the yard screaming and trying to push to no avail. He has been pretty listless since starting the food 3 days ago.
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Old April 18th, 2010, 09:26 PM
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Pure canned pumpkin can be used for constipation. I couple of large tablespoons should help.
Or even some raw liver can help loosen things up.
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Old April 21st, 2010, 08:10 PM
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My shih-tzu x bichon had struvite crystals two years ago. My vet suggested Royal Canin Urinary SO but I refused since it has no meat. Then she suggested Hill's c/d (I feed raw which she considered unnatural because the meat in the raw is not the same meat my dog would be hunting down in the wild so she told me if I wanted to feed natural, I should feed canned...hmmmm.. I have yet to see a can run from a dog in the wild) and I stopped because of the mounds of poop that resulted. Then I researched Wysong - which is a brand by a vet by the same name. His foods are ostensibly natural - he has some good formulas and some bad ones. Anyway, there are two options you can try: one is his food made for struvite crystals - I can't remember the name but go to his website and you'll find it. It has natural ingredients and wait for it....meat! You have to order it over the phone or on the website. The other option is to get his Biotic ph- (make sure it's the ph minus not the ph plus) which is a supplement to add to the food. This makes your dog's urine more acidic. This is not something you would feed regularly; just until his urine is clear of crystals (you don't want his urine to be too acidic or calcium oxylate crystals may form - these are more difficult to treat). If you go the Biotic ph- route, I would suggest buying a high quality canned food as opposed to dry - mainly because of the moisture content. Even so, add some water or some low sodium chicken or beef broth to encourage your dog to drink water. Kiri hasn't had crystals since and I still add water to her food -about 1/4 cup to her raw food. And keep your dog active as this contributes to the formation of crystals.
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