Crystals in Dogs Urine? Misc. Others

Question
Hi Susan,
My name is Debbie and I have a 6 month old female dachshund who has been having crystals in her urine. She has been on antibiotics for it and now is on another round of them but this time Cephalaxin liquid and for 3 weeks. She goes to the vet almost every 2 weeks for a urinalyasis and still seems to have crystals in her urine. She was spayed last month, microchipped and they examined her bladder while they did her surgery and found nothing. She recently went in for a ultrasound and it came back negative, but the vet can't seems to find out why she has the crystals. If I remember correctly in the beginning she also had a problem with the white cell count either was to high or low, I just can't remember, but that has cleared up. She drinks plenty of water and eats twice a day. I feed her Science Hills puppy bites and mix in about 2 tablespoons of IAM's or ALPO with the dry. What could be causing the crystals? I am disabled and live on a small social security check each month and this puppy is costing me a fortune and I am just not sure where to go from here. I love the vets and prefer not to switch to another one but I thought I would see what the internet said about crystals in dog's urine. I'd appreciate all the help you could give me on this because I don't want anything to happen to my little girl. I lost my other dog last year in June 2007 and two others the previous Oct.2006 within 3 days of one another and I can't deal with the loss still and don't want to go through it with this one. That was one reason why I got a puppy thinking she wouldn't have major health issues.
She gets excited very easily when she is greeted by another person and wets all over the ground or if I have her in my arms then it is usually down the side of my shirt. The vet says she is young and will outgrow that part for me not to worry. I haven't been successful in getting her to go to the bathroom outdoors yet, but she does quite well on using newspapers in the house. No matter how long I spend outside with her as soon as we walk inside within 5 minutes she has tinkled on the newspapers. Any suggestions there? The vet says not to worry there also.

Answer
Debbie,
I am flattered that you would seek my advice for your beloved dog and I am impressed that you love him so much. You are doing everything you know to do for this pup, I can see that. I am going to do my best to help you but keep in mind that I am NOT a vet and am not responding out of any ego or super knowledge I have. I am only responding to you because I adore dogs and have much experience with them in many areas and just may be able to say something to you that will make perfect sense for your dog. I do want to recommend a site for you to go to--it will cost you $75 for a consultation but this credentialled nutritionist (you can already see where I am going regarding those recurring cyrstals, can't you?)is WORTH EVERY PENNY. She is good, on target and I know she can advice you in the professional way that I cannot. I have two friends who have called and consulted with her and both are ecstatic. And by the way, I am next--I'm going to set up a consultation with her for my little Shih-tzu rescue who has had chronic diarrhea if the internist I am seeing cannot help me with him. He just turned 1 y.o.

Now, I believe with all of my heart that you can correct this situation with DIET. I also believe that your vet is doing all the right things, but vets are NOT notorious for knowing about diets and dogs. Here is some food for thought (pardon the pun).

"I feed her Science Hills puppy bites and mix in about 2 tablespoons of IAM's or ALPO with the dry. What could be causing the crystals?"


Science Diet is never a good alternative for a dog with recurring crystals. Try a good grain free premium quality dog food, I like Flint River, Wellness Natural Balance, Oriijen. I lean toward Wellness since they also have single protein varieties--always a good choice for dogs with problems of almost any kind. Try staying away from high protein foods but you want good protein sources. How are her bowels? If there is any impaction or problems with straining in that area, you can actually give your dog fiber capsules, just like humans, or add powdered fiber to her food.
Make sure she gets plenty of exercise and lots of liquids. Add some veggies to her diet. carrots. green beans,. broccoli,canned pumpkin for added fiber, sweet potatoes,spinach, kale. But before you do any of this, I would love to see you consult with not only your vet (after all he/she has to realize that the diet she is on now is way too high in grains and this is not helping the situation) but also with a certified nutritionist. Do not play doc and nutritionist yourself on this one. There is help available and after you see your vet to discuss diet, a really grain free diet with good protein, get his opinion on what you want to check out etc., then I would love to see you consult with Susan Davis of AskAriel.com. Here is her link:

www.AskAriel.com

Please let me know how things are moving along. I believe that your pup's crystals will lessen and disappear as you IMPROVE HIS DIET AND STOP GIVING HIM CRYSTAL PRODUCING INGREDIENTS...ok?? Let me hear from you at my private email address if you like. Please ID yourself in the subject line and I will know who you are. Keep me posted. Susan

DazzlinDaawg@aol.com