Lowering urine pH in canines

[hazelrunpack]

Does anyone know if you can lower a dog's urine pH through diet alone and how you'd go about doing it? Does anyone know the long-term effects of urine that basic on the kidneys?

A friend's lab, Max...I think he's about 7 now...is showing a significant amount of blood in his urine. The pH, according to the owner, is about 9.3 and the worry is that the blood is from a recurrence of a problem with bladder stones that he had a short time ago.

A little medical history: Max has had a rough couple of years. First he developed Addison's disease and has been on prednisone for quite a while (he started at 10 mg, twice daily). He had his pelvis broken a year or two ago when he fell asleep under the family truck and got backed over. It took multiple surgeries to fix that problem, since a sponge was left in during the first surgery (yes, this was at the specialist's! ) He then developed the stones in his bladder which blocked his urethra and eventually required a rerouting of his 'plumbing'. Then came the bout with hemolytic anemia. The pred was bumped up to 80 mg a day and the anemia has begun to respond. This week, his pred dose was reduced to 60 mg a day, but now he's peeing blood again. :sad: The urine pH is way too high and the fear is that the stones are forming again.

He eats a mixture of kibble and home-cooked, but his owner is wondering if a switch to all meat, home-cooked would be better for him--and my thought would be that maybe raw would be best The vet, of course, has his own suggestions for prescription food, but they're pretty grainy.

Any thoughts, suggestions on the problem?