Best dog food - stones in the bladder

by Susan Pino
(Agawam, Massachussetts USA)

Dear Dr. Schonbeck: First of all let me thank you for creating this unbelievable website. And the fact that you do this only for the love of animals really touches my heart. You are truly an animal lover beyond measure such as myself.

We just found out our little black toy poodle has stones in his bladder. (we keep him trimmed so that he looks like a little black bear). I am looking for the best food for him. I have been researching this and have found out some info such as it should be low in protein, but I really rather hear from you what I should be feeding him. I am one of the unfortunate ones (or should I say poor Mikey is unfortunate) that has been feeding him Hill's Prescription Diet RD. I never used any of Hill's food up until maybe 5 or 6 years ago (maybe longer) when my vet suggested he start on RD to lose weight (he was quite overweight, and after what I know now, how convenient for the vet to prescribe that brand! I have read all about Hill's food just recently and I must say I am appalled) He is now his normal weight of 15 pounds and has been for a long time. But even though he returned to his normal weight a long time ago, the vet never took him off the RD. I have always trusted my vet and just assumed everything was ok. I just recently noticed on the label of the RD that it is for intermittent use only and as I mentioned, he has been on it for several years. Also I have recently researched Hill's food and I just cannot believe how inadequate the food is and that they have "agreements" with the vets, etc. so there is certainly a conflict of interest there. Also Mikey is always looking for more food even after just finishing his RD. I am afraid he hasn't been getting the right nutrients, protein, etc. all of this time which really makes me feel terrible.

I have read online (other websites) that with his condition of bladder stones,low protein food is best for him and that excess minerals can actually cause bladder stones. I'm even wondering if the RD caused his stones in the first place. It seems to me when I brought him to the emergency room of the hospital I take him to (the same one where my vet has his practice) years ago, someone there started to mention that the Hill's food he was on could cause stones - even though he was not there for stones. This was years before we found he had stones. Is it possible that being on the RD for so long could have caused his bladder stones? I wasn't quite sure that I heard the person at the emergency right and again I had total faith in my vet so didn't question it.

I have read your list of the 10 best dog foods and want to feed Mikey the very best. Could you please tell me what ingredients I need to avoid and which are good for his bladder stone condition? (I also read that food that is too acidic is not good for him and that the RD is very acidic). I would like to start him on one of the ten best that you listed. Is there an Orijen for him? This is your number one and if there is one that would be good for Mikey, I would like to feed him that. I would so very much appreciate your opinion as I am very impressed with you as a DVM and as a person! Thank you in advance for anything you can do to help me find the proper food for Mikey because he is like a baby to me and I have always treated him as one. I treat him as though he is human because that is the care that our animals deserve (how can anyone think otherwise?!). I feel terrible that I have been feeding him Hill's Prescription Science Diet at all and then the RD for so long. It really bothers me. So if you can recommend which food I should buy, I would be so happy and so relieved. Also, if there are any supplements I can give him, please let me know. I almost forgot to mention that he also has Cushings Disease. He was on prednisone and then Lysodren for probably two years (I went every 3 months for an ACHStim test), but eventually his numbers pre and post were normal several times and he is now off all medication and has none of the symptoms. It seems it is in remission if that is the correct term for this. I hope he continues like this.

Sorry this is so long. I hope you find the time to answer. God Bless You for being such a wonderful human being. Feel free to quote me anywhere. By the way, Mikey just turned 14 in July. Before him I had a female toy poodle named Josie and she lived to be 16. I sure wish they could live our entire lifetime! Thank you so much Dr. Schonbeck!

Susan Pino
Agawam, Massachusetts
USA

My Comment:

Hi Susan

Thank you so much for your kind words! They are very warming.

Secondly – don't be too hard in your judgment of your regular old veterinarian.

Most vets are probably like I was before stating this Webb site. Knowing next to nothing about the dog food I recommended. I just had faith in the product because this was the normal to recommend assuming it was OK.
Well, and the truth is really – nobody knows the truth!
So, it is really down to having opinions.
And check labels. Important to judge the ingredients.

You are right the Prescription Diet dog foods list of ingredients is nothing really to be proud of.

And I personal get the feeling, that you might not get value which equals the price comparing to other dog foods (Orijen for example).

This is bothering me and make me wondering if you pay too much because of the name.

About your question about r/d diet.

No I don't think this food alone could have made him getting the stones.

Urinary calculi depends on many factors and one of them is breed. Some breeds having lot of problems with urinary stones while others have none.

Other general factors is: Water consumption, urinary tract infections, use of drugs, individual metabolic differences (having Chushings disease for example) and sex.

It is quite complex and almost impossible to pin point just one of them as the most important.

I don't know which type you have found but, the two most common ones is:

Struvite is made of magnesium ammonium phosphate and is the most common found in general.

Calcium oxalate - this one can actually become a problem in dogs having Chushings disease and is made of calcium and oxalate.

Struvite can well be treated and dissolved by a suitable diet.

But, calcium oxalate is more difficult to treat in this way.

If there is any pain or other problems associated with the presence of the calculi, often surgical removal is needed when it comes to this type.
I suspect that you have calcium oxalate problems as you wrote that acidic urine was a no good (this is a problem in calcium oxalate patients).

Is this correct?

I will chance so the following is based on the assumption it is calcium oxalate stones and the Chushings is controlled and there is no signs of to high levels of calcium in the blood.

Calcium oxalate is a bit complex. Protein is controversial. Low protein in the diet was long regarded being beneficial. Now, other studies can't confirm this.

Some studies even showed that higher protein levels reduced the risk of stone formation!

This might have to do with the level of calcium and phosphorus. Low levels can increase the risks of calculi, because the body increase the absorption of them. High levels decreases the risks.

More protein often increase the levels of calcium and phosphorus. This might be the reason behind the positive effect of high protein level in reducing calculi risk.

Dry dog food are by some regarded as increasing the stone formation.

So, it is very complexed.

I would might regard some canned food – Royal Canin is a possibility, for example “Urinary”

About Orijen – I don't know if this is a good idea. Even if it is high I protein, I would be careful to recommend this food.

I would probably the former, but this is just to be on the safe side.

Most kindly

Per Schonbeck