urinary tract health for dogs (yorkies)

Question
QUESTION: what can i put my dog on that will promote good urinary tract health?  she's been on hills u/d brand for several years.

ANSWER: Could you expand this a bit for me? Has your dog had stones or crystals in past? Are you looking to upgrade to a premium food now? What I ecommend depends on whether your dog has had a urolith in past or not and what type it was.

All the best, Catherine

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QUESTION: she had a stone removed about 3 years ago.  she was having trouble at the time with not being able to control herself, that's when the stone was discovered and removed.  she's had no issues since then, but has been on hills u/d brand - but their prices have skyrocketed, so i was looking for something that was non-prescription i could switch her to.

ANSWER: And what type of stone was it, a struvite? An oxalate? I would need to know before making dietary suggestions.

Any food I will recommend will be at least the price of Hill's, although assuredly of better quality.

Catherine

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

QUESTION: i have no idea what kind it was - it was very small, and they did find some flakes too at the time.

Answer
That makes it hard to give useful information. The dietary management of stones varies according to the type. Most people are happy with the Hill's insofar as it controls the condition, but the ingredients are very poor quality, so over the long term you may be trading one set of problems for another. If you can contact your vet and have the check the records I will be able to help you somewhat more. I do recommend a home made diet if at all possible, but if you want to switch to a better kibble, I would at least need to know the type of stone.

Get back to me if you can locate this information, they should have it on record where the surgery was done.
Best wishes, Catherine