Calcium Oxalate Stone

Question
Hi,
My 4-year old chihuahua just had a bladder stone surgery about one week ago. The stone was sent to the lab and result came back indicating it's calcium oxalate stone.
Before the surgery he was on Hill's r/d science diet for about 7 months. After the surgery I switched the food to Orijen adult dog dry food which is high in protein (42%), low in carbs and 0 grains. My dog seems to love it.
However, my vet urged to put my dog on Hill's u/d diet but I really don't want my dog to eat any of the science food anymore but also don't want him to have stone either.
I have two jobs and I also don't have time to cook home made food for him....
My questions is, is Orijen dog food a good choice for my dog? Will high protein dog food cause calcium oxalate stoen forming again? I read the ingredients and also researched online, it seems to be a real good brand that has good quality of meat protein.
Please help...
Thanks,
Derrick

Answer
Well I just read the entire Orijen web site and no where on that whole site does it tell me that this food is ever trial fed and tested to assure that it does meet the standards of AAFCO or that it supports life stages of any kind. Plus, and this is a big thing, it is WAY too high in protein for even a puppy.

So not only will your dog most likely get stones again on this diet, he will also have kidney problems later on since this is way too much protein.

I know the ingredients sound so wonderful etc, but there is no proof in the pudding with this food. Like so many other 'boutique' foods, they make this stuff on the wake of all the bad rap that (deservedly so) pet food manufacturers are getting, but their own 'white paper' on the reason behind their way of making food is not even on the website! It gave me a 404 error which means the page doesn't exist.
The fact that they do not trial feed bothers me the most. Formulating a food to meet the requirements means nothing. You can formulate for the proper requirements with old leather shoes, some oil and some dried veggies. And on top of that, they use eggs and beef, two of the biggest allergens dogs have.
So that worries me.

Hills has over 60 yrs of veterinary research behind their foods. All of their foods. They were the first to ever create 'wellness' foods and continue to be a leader in creating new foods for our pets to keep them healthy.

The prescription diet line, such as this U/D is a completely balanced line of food that is made specifically for dogs and cats with certain conditions. They are made so that the pet can be on them for life if needed. I have my dog on W/D since she was a year old and she is now 11 and full of vim and vigor. She ruins and plays like a 5 yr old dog. Why is she on W/D instead of Science Diet Senior? Because she has an allergy to beef digest- the fat that most ALL companies spray on the food to flavor it.

I would put your dog on the U/D for a while and see how it goes. You can always switch back later on after he looks like he will stop making stones. If he makes more on this food then he can always have another surgery, right?

The point is, he has this condition now- why not prevent it for life?
Orijen will not do that and can possibly make things worse with this high, high protein content. They tell you it has 42% as fed, but that means that with all the water taken out, this food could have as much as 50% protein in it. Much too HIGH!!!! I looked at the analysis of this food and I can tell you that even the senior is not balanced properly. For one thing, as dogs age, they don't need more protein but they do need fat for energy. They have it backwards on this food.
It's not fat that makes them fat, it's the kind we need for energy and health, the good fats.

Ultimately this is your choice Derrick. But if it were my dog, I would feed the U/D and not risk my dog's kidneys and chance of him having another surgery.

If you want to know more, just ask.