Saturday, April 13, 2024

Non Prescription Dog Food For Bladder Stones

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Firstmate Australian Lamb Dog Food

Hill’s Prescription Diet Urinary Care Dog Food | Chewy

Top 5 Ingredients: 1. Lamb Meal, 2. Burbank Potato, 3. Norkotah Potato, 4. Chicken Fat, 5. Tomato Pomace

If you dont want to go for a prescription diet, FirstMates Australian Lamb recipe is a great option to keep a check on your babys urinary health. It is a hypo-allergenic formula that is free of grains, gluten, and other ingredients that can disrupt digestion. It contains novel proteins and a handful of ingredients that offer a nutritious blend while minimizing the risk of urinary infections.

FirstMate Australian Lamb formula is suitable for all life stages, including seniors. What makes it even better for urinary health is superfoods such as cranberry, which is often cited as beneficial to urinary health. Plus, there is enough digestible fiber to ensure the natural absorption of minerals. You do not need a prescription or authorization for this product.

Best Dog Food For Senior Dogs With Urinary Health Issues

Senior dogs are more prone to urinary health problems. Weve selected one dog food thats specifically formulated to support your dogs urinary tract.

10. Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Urinary SO Aging 7+ Canned Dog Food

Our Rating: 4.5Top Ingredients: Water, Chicken, Chicken LiverType: Wet

For senior dogs, this dog food by Royal Canin is the best for urinary problems.

It is highly palatable and comes with water as the first ingredient to increase hydration. The included ingredients are also relatively high-quality.

Pros:

Are Eggs Good For Dogs With Bladder Stones

Eggs are good for dogs, including those with bladder stones, as they possess a wealth of nutritional value.

For dogs predisposed to struvite stones, one of the best dog food to eat is an egg. An egg has a high protein content, which helps acidify the environment needed to break these crystals.

Besides the high protein content, an egg is rich in vitamins and fatty acids, crucial in supporting your dogs urinary tract health.

An egg is suitable for dogs with urate stones . The egg is low in purines which are precursors in forming these bladder stones.

When giving your dog an egg, ensure its well prepared. You can decide to boil or scramble it.

When giving your dog scrambled eggs, make sure there are no seasonings like garlic or salt as they can cause other health problems.

Also, avoid giving your dog with urinary issues raw eggs. Raw eggs may contain Salmonella, which can cause salmonellosis.

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Calcium Oxalate Urolith Risk Factors

  • Dietary: low protein, low fat, low minerals, low moisture and higher carbohydrate food
  • Breed: Miniature Schnauzer, Lhasa Apso, Yorkshire Terrier, Bichon Frise, Pomeranian, Shih Tzu, Cairn Terrier, Maltese, Miniature Poodle, and Chihuahua.
  • Age: The mean age in dogs is 7-8.5 years.
  • Sex: Males more likely to have oxalate stones than females
  • Other Risk Factors: Cushings disease, obesity

Best For Senior Dogs: Royal Canin Urinary Aging 7+ Wet Food

Hill

Royal Canins Urinary Care Aging formula is a good solution for senior dogs who suffer from incontinence and other urinary problems. Its soft on aging gums and teeth, and its perfect for senior dogs who need extra encouragement to finish dinner. This saucy loaf is appealing to most dogs and will get even the most stubborn canines to eat regularly.

Features we love:

  • Formulated to promote kidney health
  • Supports vitality and cognition in aging dogs
  • Palatable texture and taste stimulate appetites
  • Formulated specifically for senior dogs who struggle with incontinence and urinary issues
  • Soft on aging gums and teeth
  • Appealing flavor and texture to encourage reluctant eaters
  • Formula promotes kidney health

Read Also: Is It Normal To Lose Bladder Control When You Faint

Purina Pro Plan Kidney Function Formula

This dry dog food made by Purina pro plan is formulated in ensuring your dogs healthy kidney function.

It contains a restricted percentage of high-quality protein and minerals which is made as a precautionary measure.

It is also formulated with healthy antioxidants and a reduced amount of sodium.

The antioxidants act as a support system in filtering out urinary crystals and prevent them from reoccurring again.

The Purina Pro Plan veterinary kidney function formula is crafted by the best nutritionists, researchers, and veterinarians.

Feed Foods That Help Prevent Bladder Stones

Whatever your dogs condition, feeding a fresh, whole food diet is the healthiest strategy. Avoid highly processed, starchy kibble diets, especially if your dog has struvite stones.

And this includes prescription diets your vet might try to persuade you to feed. These diets might help short term but they offer very poor nutrition for your dog.

Instead, here are some dietary recommendations for the different types of stones. Homeopath and Certified Canine Nutritionlist Brenda Tobin DiHom, DVetHom, Cert CN offers the advice below on diets for struvite and calcium oxalate stones.

Food To Manage Struvite Stones

Dogs develop struvite stones when their urine is alkaline and saturated with magnesium and phosphate. Struvite stones usually stem from bacterial infections. Dogs who produce a high concentration of urea may be more susceptible to struvite stones. Thats because bacterial urease converts urea to ammonia, a component of struvite.

Animal proteins are acidifying. So, to manage struvite stones, feed your dog a raw meat based diet with other acidic foods.

INCLUDE Acidic Foods For Struvite Stones

  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Veggies collard, mustard greens, sweet potatoes, okra

Food For Urate Stones

Dogs like Dalmatians who are prone to urate stones need to eat low purine diets. Feed a fresh, whole food diet focusing on low and medium purine foods from the list below. Avoid high purine foods.

FEED Low and Medium Purine Foods

AVOID High Purine Foods

  • Legumes

Also Check: What Doctor To See For Bladder Infection

Struvite Urinary Stones In Dogs

Struvite stones are the second most common type of bladder stone in dogs in the United States. Also called magnesium ammonium phosphate stones, these uroliths are composed of magnesium and phosphate minerals. Struvite stones occur almost exclusively as a result of bladder infection but can rarely occur without a bladder infection. Staphylococcus is the most common bacteria found in cases of struvite stones with infection.

An interesting thing about struvite stones is that they can be dissolved by feeding a special diet. These stones occur in urine with a higher pH than normal. It is very important to also treat any bacterial infection thats present before relying on food to dissolve the stone.

Antibiotics For Bladder Stones

Homemade Dog Food for Struvite Bladder Stones

Bladder infections are a common cause of struvite bladder stones. If your dog is suffering from struvite stones, your vet may prescribe antibiotics to treat his or her bladder infection. In the case of struvite stones, its essential to treat the underlying issue that caused them, as well as the stones themselves. If the condition at fault is left untreated, your dog could develop struvite stones again.

Recommended Reading: Are Bladder Tumors Always Cancerous

Can Dogs Pass Bladder Stones

Female dogs may pass some smaller stones when they pee. But its difficult in males. Females have a shorter urethra with a wider diameter.

If you see your dog straining and then suddenly peeing a lot, he or she may have just passed a stone. If you can find it, take it to your vet for analysis.

But in males, the stones can pass into the urethra and can get stuck on their way through the penis. Your dogs pee will be reduced to a dribble if this happens. Or it could cause a total blockage. While this is unusual, its a potentially fatal emergency, so get your dog to the vet fast if he cant pee.

How Do I Recognise High

Puppy food sold in UK must be labelled with certain mandatory information. These kinds of include:

Treat and name of the manufacturer Date of make or best-before day of the dog food Brand of the meals Net weight Moisture content for canned food

With regard to the ingredients of the feed, various statements are permitted: A closed declaration only indicates ingredient teams. These are, for example , statements such as with cereals and vegetable by-products. A semi-open declaration data the individual natural materials, but not their percentage. The open declaration provides structure in pct and the respective sources of raw materials. When reading the food label, dog owners should also note the following:

1. Many manufacturers split the term feed into individual groupings. The reason for this is that the large total quantity appears smaller. For example, maize becomes maize starch, maize feed food, maize flour, maize gluten or source. The cereal components provide carbohydrates and saturate well, but should not be included in too large amounts.

2. The substances in the supply are listed in descending order relating to their volume. The further forward an ingredient is listed on the label, the greater its proportion. On the other hand, what this means is: Only a little proportion of an ingredient that is listed far down the list is within the feed.

Other aspects by which dog owners recognise the quality of the food are:

Recommended Reading: Can Candida Cause Bladder Infection

Formation Of Stones And Crystals In The Bladder

Occasionally, stones and crystals can form in the bladder. These rock-like formations are made of minerals that have settled in the dogs bladder.

There can be a single, large stone or several smaller stones. Usually, a mixture of stones is present.

The clinical signs of stones include blood in the urine and straining while urinating. The condition is assumed to be painful, as people with bladder stones report pain.

Sometimes, these stones can cause an obstruction. This obstruction can be partial and will cause the dog to urinate more frequently.

Complete obstructions will eventually lead to the rupture of the bladder and are considered life-threatening.

No one knows exactly how bladder stones form, but there are many theories. Most of them are related to diet, so a change in your dogs diet is often recommended.

There are several minerals that dogs prone to kidney stones should keep at a minimum.

Usually, bladder stones can not be diagnosed based on clinical signs alone. Sometimes, bladder stones can be palpated with the fingers.

An x-ray is required to see the stones inside the bladder, though. One or more tests may be necessary to see the stones properly.

There are a few treatment options for bladder stones. One is surgical removal, which involves surgery to remove the stones.

The other option does not involve surgery. In addition, the stones can sometimes be dissolved using dietary changes alone.

These Nutrients Make A Good Dog Food

Hill

The dogs organism does not have trouble digesting good dog food. Indications of this are almost odourless faeces, high vitality and a shiny coat. The proportion of nutrition in a dog food is outlined under the term analytical ingredients. We have summarised these in the table:

Component

Ensure healthy skin and shiny coat

High-quality products include salmon oil, linseed oil, cod oil, pumpkin seed oil and hemp oil.

The other possible ingredients in dog food are explained below:

1. The value for meat and canine by-products indicates the meat content in the dog food. Companies often do not declare precisely what is engaged. It could be high-quality muscle meat or offal as well as low-quality offal. The latter includes, among other things, dried meats, rumen or chaps. Animal by-products include, for example , hair, bones, hooves, blood or beaks.

2. Seafood as well as its by-products include fish fillets, our bones and fish minds.

3. Plant by-products include, for example, vegetables, cereals and pulses and essential oil fruits. They are partially health- and digestion-promoting food components.

4. Technological additives are preservatives, separating and binding agents, stabilisers, thickening and gelling agents and level of acidity regulators. Many of these are important. These include, for instance , emulsifiers and natural antioxidants. Emulsifiers ensure an uniform consistency of oil and water. Natural anti-oxidants are to prevent rancid fat.

Also Check: Is Bladder Cancer Fast Or Slow Growing

Feed Your Companion A Therapeutic Diet

Commercial therapeutic diets are the best option for reducing the development of most types of stones, says Heinze, who is board-certified in veterinary nutrition.

Home-cooked diets are usually a second choice for dogs that cant eat a commercial diet, rather than the first choice for stone prevention, because they cant undergo the kinds of testing that commercial therapeutic diets do to ensure that the urine produced has the greatest chance of reducing stone risk, she says.

Therapeutic diets work by providing less of the substances that form the stones, Su says. Some of these diets are designed for prevention of stones, and some for dissolution of stones , so make sure the pet is monitored by a veterinarian while on these diets.

The type of diet your vet prescribes will depend on the stone. For example, for dogs with urate and cysteine bladder stones, your vet will recommend specific lower protein therapeutic diets that promote alkaline pH and reduce intake of stone precursors, says Larsen, who is board-certified in veterinary nutrition.

To prevent calcium oxalate stones, the prescribed diet will likely have moderate levels of protein, calcium, and phosphorous. And it may have increased sodium chloride or higher fiber, explains Dr. Joe Bartges, professor of medicine and nutrition at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Symptoms Of Bladder Stones In Dogs

Stones often dont cause a problem until theyrelarger or there are enough of them to affect urination. Your dog might have bladder stones if you see some of these symptoms:

  • Difficulty peeing straining, frequent attempts*
  • Pain when peeing
  • Blood or pus in urine
  • Lethargy
  • Abdominal pain
  • Recurring UTIs

*Important: Complete urinary obstruction is a life-threatening emergency. So if your dog cant pee at all, get to your vet quickly. He may show signs of pain when trying to urinate too. Urinary obstruction can be fatal in 24-48 hours.

Many of the above symptoms are signs of a urinary tract infection as well. And sometimes UTIs can lead to bladder stones. So if you treat your dog for a UTI that doesnt resolve, consult your vet.

Some dogs may not even show symptoms of bladder stones. In that case you may find out about them at a routine vet visit, or if they show up on x-rays done for another reason.

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Important Features To Consider

Generally, its strongly recommended to feed your dog a well-balanced diet that is made from organic ingredients. Invest in a urinary pet food formula with natural flavors and that contains a fairly low number of whole food ingredients such as whole grains , real animal protein, or vegetable and fatty acids.

In addition to this general tip, there are some important things you should watch out for when looking for the best dog food urinary care option to help manage your dogs urinary tract infection or any other urinary health problem.

Here are a few things to keep an eye out for in the best dog food for urinary tract health:

Health Extension Chicken Grain

Royal Canin Prescription Urinary SO Dog Food
  • First 5 Ingredients: Chicken, Water Sufficient for Processing, Guar Gum, Agar-Agar, Natural Flavor
  • Guaranteed Analysis: 11% Crude Protein, 9% Crude Fat,1% Crude Fiber, 78% Moisture
  • Caloric Content: 545 kcal per 13.2-oz can
  • Key Feature: Gluten-free, with no rendered animal fats or by-products, no added sugar, no carrageenan, and no corn, wheat, or soy.
  • Average Price: 31.08 per 12 × 12.5-oz = $2.59-can

Health Extension Grain-Free Dog Food removes the extra ingredients and gives you 95% pure chicken in a can and natural preservatives. This food is for puppies, and it eliminates the guesswork of finding out which ingredients are giving your puppy a problem. The higher moisture content of canned food makes it a good option for dogs with urinary tract issues. Once any urinary tract problems pass, it makes a great occasional snack.

Prescription dog foods that are only available if prescribed by veterinarians, not reviewed here, include:

Also Check: How To Fix Bladder Issues

The Best Dog Food For Dogs With Bladder Stones

If your dog is experiencing bladder or urinary stones, they may be in a lot of pain. Bladder stones are a collection of minerals and other materials that frequently form due to infection but can also form because of abnormal mineral metabolism. The two most common stone types are struvites and calcium oxalates.

Signs of bladder stones in dogs include: urinary accidents, frequent attempts to urinate without producing much urine, straining to urinate, discolored urine, and licking around the urinary opening.

Depending on the severity of the condition, a few different treatment approaches may be taken. If stones are large, surgical removal may be warranted. If stones are small, nonsurgical removal may be possible by flushing the stones out with a special catheter. Newer techniques include using a laser to break apart the stones in the bladder. If stones are of a certain kind and size , a special diet may be able to help dissolve them in combination with antibiotics. Calcium oxalate stones, on the other, hand dont dissolve.

At Nom Nom, our recipes are all cooked fresh and made with high-quality ingredients and no artificial ingredients or fillers. They are portion-controlled and carefully balanced with the right amount of protein to help maintain muscle mass, strength, and support all the essential functions of the body.

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Best For Weight Management: Blue Buffalo Natural Veterinary Diet: Weight Management And Urinary Care

For dogs looking to drop a few pounds, Blue Buffalo is a top choice. Designed by veterinarians, food scientists, and nutrition experts, Blue Buffalo WU offers healthy levels of fat and calories to keep your pup trim. The increased fiber content makes him full longer, which also prevents excessive weight gain.

To manage your dogs urinary health issues, Blue Buffalo boasts controlled levels of phosphorous and sodium.

Just a heads up: the folks at Blue Buffalo advise pet owners to make the switch to prescription dog food gradually, to avoid an upset stomach. Talk to your vet about appropriate portion sizes for your dog.

Features we love:

  • First ingredient is real chicken
  • No corn, wheat, or soy
  • No artificial flavors or preservatives
  • Available in both dry and wet recipes
  • Available in both wet and dry formulas
  • Formulated by vets, food scientists and nutrition experts
  • Increased amounts of fiber keep your dog fuller for longer
  • Low levels of phosphorous and sodium help with urinary health
  • Nothing artificial

Also Check: What To Do If You Have A Bladder Infection

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