cystals in dogs urine

Question
Hi,
I recently took my 2yr old Mini schnauzer princess(12lbs) to he vet because I noticed she was very lethargic, not normal for her since she spends more than 8hrs a day chasing squirrels and birds.
The vet took some test blood and urine, the blood came back ok but the urine came back bad, very high acids levels.  The vet explained to me that this was common in Mini schanuzers and that she had to be placed on a prescription diet.  He placed her on Hills prescription diet c/d canned and dried.
I read the label on this product and it has alot of by products on it.  I was feeding her purina one natural(dry) and cooking various forms of lean turkey, chicken and ground beef and adding it to the dry.  The vet said that I probably caused her stones by giving her the cooked food.
She hates the canned food and it smells terrible.  i asked about feeding her a raw diet, but he didn't seem to keen on that.
I also placed my 1yr old mini schnauzer " Sugar" (15lbs) on this diet as a preventive.

Any suggestions on a better dry food and maybe something that i can cook for her? Not real happy with given this food.

Thank You,

Monique Reyes

Answer
Hi Monique, I understand your concern about this.  No, don't feed raw at this point.  How about you feed the Hill's C/D dry and bring back the canned ...I know it smells bad.
Go to the pet store and buy one of the following canned foods:
See if you can find this :

Sweet Potato and Venison
and
Duck and Potato
This Brand:
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/UPDCanned.html#V

YOU do need the Hill's dry and mix with a fairly small amount of the Natural Balance canned food.  The Hill's is one of the best for this situation... Give about 3/4 the amount of Hills and 1/4 the amount of canned Natural Balance  ( feed 2x per day)
When I say 3/4 amount I do NOT mean 3/4 cup...JUST to make that clear...Don't want you to over feed your kids.


The Schnauzer breed does have this problem very often.  I have some pet parents that do a little cooking along with Royal Canine or Hill's Brand for the crystal problem.

Also, many of my clients take NuVET Plus immune system booster/ Vitamin each day/ I recommend your kids to get on NuVET as soon as possible.
Here is the ordering info:
EXCELLENT and will help to offset the food ( Hills brand) that they need to take.


NuVET ordering INFO -

You can order here:  or call the 1-800-474-7044   M to F-  ( 8-4)
**don't forget the referral order code 81098 /
( they can't sell to the public without a VET code or Breeder code)  

give my Name : Marie Peppers of the Doggie Chalet Hotel

It will cost you .60 cents per day per dog...BUT - ask them About the 15% off discount which you will need with 3 dogs..

You can get wafers or powder form... If they are easy to please I bet they will like the wafer treats.


ALWAYS best to call in the first order
REMEMBER 60 day MONEY back guaranteed.....
http://www.apluspetcare.com/untitled4.html



I sure hope you can find the Natural Balance canned dog food.  I know you will feel better about offering the Dry Hills and the wet canned Natural Balance...SMELLS much better, too!


Good Luck

Marie Peppers LPN MA
mtnmom@gci.net