Hills RX dog reviews; Phos should be below .60 ;

Question
QUESTION: My 9 year, spayed female min pin has had recurring urinary tract infections.  I immediately take her to the vet, where she is put on an antibiotic and NSAID.  Now that this one is finally clearing up, the vet has suggested that she goes on Hill's urinary tract formula.  I know that Hill's doesn't have the best of ingredients.  I was also shocked to find that there's no special "medicine" in any of their prescription formulas.  She is currently on Innova Senior Formula.  This is her 3 UTI within the last year.  With her last one, they told me she had crystals present that were indicative of a blockage at the opening of her bladder.  Basically, she was dying.  I was sent to a specialist who did an ultra-sound and could find no blockage anywhere.  The antibiotics and NSAID's cleared it right up and she was back to her old self in days.  Now, three months later, she's got another UTI.  Besides adding UTI-free to her food, is there a better food for her?  Should I go ahead and switch her to the Hill's U/D?  She is a little overweight too.  Thank you for your help!

ANSWER: Alternatives to the Hill's RX dog food;

Hello Charity,  Yes, you are correct that your min pin needs a special diet.  The Hill's RX stuff is awful smelling and poor ingredients.  So, you are correct about that, too.
Home-cooking for your little girl is the best thing you can do.
Here are some recipes and supplements.
This will work, we have great success with the following:
( show your vet ) - he / she may be UP for a "Nutrition" Lesson.
_________________________________________________________________________________

SoJo's home-cooking with help:   
( commercial mix - you add the cooked meats)

Commercial dog foods with high grains are one of the main causes of crystals and UTIs....
A Holistic grain free food will make a big difference in your life.
The SoJO is fun because it is Holistic and Almost all home-made with a little help from the SoJO Folks...

Make sure you get this one:

The grain-free alternative to kibble, Sojos Grain-Free Dog Food Mix (formerly known as Sojos Europa) is a wholesome pre-mix that you combine with meat and water to create a fresh, homemade dog food. Sojos Grain-Free works great for dogs with sensitivities to grains, and also as a great fruit and vegetable supplement to our other mixes.
SEE  here-
http://www.sojos.com/index.aspx?affiliate=petnurse


NEXT -

let's get some Cranberry Plus into this kid:
*( you may be able to find this in some pet stores...call around)
Just follow the dosage, on the jar, for her weight.

This is from Revival Animal health - mixed into the dog food each day...

http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/1995-Doc-Roy-s-Potassium-Citrate-Cranberry..



RECIPES


For a recipe :  not too many options - a lower fat meat - Low Phos - plenty of water in the mix:

Here are a few recipes for dogs with chronic urinary:


Beef and Rice Diet

1/4 pound very lean beef (raw weight), **cooked
**   OR ....( DO Lamb )
1 egg, large, hard-boiled  *
1 1/2 cups brown rice, long-grain, cooked
1/4 ounce brewer's yeast
3 bonemeal tablets (10-grain or equivalent)
1/8 teaspoon salt substitute (potassium chloride)

**** (1/2 to 1 - NuVET Waffer ) see below: ( JUST ONE per day for your sized dog) ( SEE NuVET ordering link below) Under 10 pounds - 1/2 wafer....or 1/2 teaspoon of the powder:
YOUR dog needs 1/2 cup in the am and 1/4 to 1/2 cup in the pm of food.
Make sure you get the grain-free treats.....
( SoJo ( link above) has some wonderful low pro - grain free treats)

Add 1/8 cup of peas or 1/8 cup of green beans per day:  ( Optional)
For snack - 1/8 or 1/4 cup of yogurt ( ACTIVIA is a good brand)


( RECIPE)

Tuna and Rice Diet

4 ounces tuna, canned in water, without added salt
1 egg, large, hard-boiled
1 1/2 cups brown rice, long-grain, cooked
1 teaspoons vegetable (canola) oil OR your fish oil
1/4 ounce brewer's yeast
3 bonemeal tables (10-grain or equivalent)
1/8 teaspoon salt substitute (potassium chloride)
1 multiple vitamin-mineral table OR ( NuVET 1) Wafer  ....

YOU can buy NuVET in a POWDER rather than the wafer...




NuVET vitamins:

NuVET Plus supplements : Great for your little one:

Helps the kidneys, too......

Use each day 1 wafer per day /
**** Our clinic does great with the NuVET .....
We have seen great results and the taste is good, too...

Please tell them Marie Peppers sent you - ASK the PET NURSE Site:
39.00 for the 60 count bottle of Wafer treats
55.00 for the 90 count bottle of Wafer treats
http://www.nuvet.com/81098

When you call in - 1-800-474-7044  (* BEST TO CALL IN and talk to the gals)
ASK HOW you can get the 15% OFF every order.  *order code 81098

************************************************************
Write down my name and e-mail : so we can stay in touch:
Marie Peppers / Ask the Pet Nurse
mtnmom@gci.net


Marie Peppers LPN MA

Keep my private e-mail ~~~

mtnmom@gci.net








---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Sasha   QUESTION: It seems (from their site) that the Sojo's is a supplemental feed.  I did some research today and found Wellness core.  It's a grain-free food and had the lowest Phosphorous level that I could find.  The homecooked food is not really an option for me, although I could handle the Sojo's (water isn't really cooking).  I'm active duty Navy and work 12 hour shifts (6 pm to 6 am and then 6 am to 6 pm).  Would feeding the Wellness core and alternating with the Sojo's monthly or so be acceptable?  I did order the Cranberry Plus.  I also ordered some UTI-Free from Petalive.  My mother's dog has Cushing's and has been using the Cushex drops.  Her first rottie lived 5 months after diagnosis, but was not on cushex.  Trixi, her lab, has lived 13 months and has been on cushex since day one.  So, it seems their products work pretty well.  That's how I found the UTI-free.  I'm hoping that the cranberry plus, uti-free, diet change and addition of an indoor doggy potty will prevent this from happening.  Oh, and no, they're not crated for the entire 12 hours.  I hire a dog sitter to come let them out half-way through and play with them for an hour.  That would be just mean...12 hours with no potty!  Thank you very very much for your help so far!!  Hopefully Sasha will be with me for quite a while with your help!

Answer
Dog food as an alternative to Hill's RX diets;
SEE this List - LOADS of help for you...  
Remember - low protein, too
Phos should be .60 % or lower.... Protein, under 24 if possible
http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html#non-prescription


Well, glad you have done some research!  Grain-free with low phos is very much needed But you need low protein, too.  Wellness is too high in protein for your gal.
The SoJo is a mix and you add your own meat.

Sojo's Original and Grain-Free (formerly European Style and Europa) -- Sojo's is 0.44% (Original) and 0.33% (Grain-Free) phosphorus on a dry matter basis, with 117 and 96 mg phosphorus respectively per 100 kcals. These foods are designed to be fed with added meat, eggs and dairy at about a 1:1 ratio of meat and other foods to dry Sojo's mix (measure before rehydrating the mix with water). The amount of phosphorus in Sojo's mixes is in line with prescription kidney diets, but you must average in the amount of phosphorus in the foods you add as well to determine the overall amount of phosphorus in the diet. For example, if you fed half Sojo's Grain-Free (96 mg phosphorus per 100 kcals) with 20% fat ground beef (62 mg phosphorus per 100 kcals), you would average 79 mg phosphorus per 100 kcals (96 + 62 / 2). Of course, this example is simplified; you would need to feed a variety of different foods, not just ground beef.


Here are some commercial foods you can use with low phos and low protein.

SEE this List - LOADS of help for you...  Remember - low protein, too
Phos should be .60 % or lower.... Protein, under 24 if possible
http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html#non-prescription

Good luck with all!

Marie Peppers
Ask the Pet Nurse