# Best Diet / Dog Food To Prevent Bladder Stones??



## jennwask

Hi there, I have a Maltese who just turned 16 the end of Feb, has had 2 bladder stone surgeries within his life and then placed on Prescription Diet WD to prevent future stones. He has had NO add'l issues w/ stones BUT has decided after all these years he NO LONGER likes that food!!! He pushes the bowl away w/ his nose.

Also, he has very bad gum disease (and had 8 teeth removed last year so not too many left) so I have to moisten the food w/ warm water...I need to consider a new food that will be easy for him to eat as well!!!

I've done some research & found a home cooked recipe as well as Royal Canin has two specific foods for bladder stones but was wondering if anyone else has a Maltese w/ bladder stone history and what food they are on that they LIKE. 

I have an appt with my vet tomorrow nigth & would like to discuss changing his food & am trying to be prepared w/ what I want him on instead of what she promotes, lol

Thanks for your help!!


----------



## Nikki's Mom

Don't feed any form of sugar or grains except for perhaps rice. Most health issues begin with sugars and wheat/oats/barley


*"Bladder stones and kidney stones are completely a nutritional problem. We have never seen a recurrence once the animal is put on a natural diet. Never." ~Richard J Kearns DVM, Norman C Ralston DVM*


----------



## jmm

If you want to home cook, I would have a nutrition service (typically at a vet school) formulate a diet appropriate to the type of stones your dog has and maintaining a proper urine pH. No over the counter diet is going to be appropriate for that. 
I've used a number of Royal Canin Rx diets and as far as Rx diets go, they tend to be more palatable than Hill's. If you don't want to cook, I'd try a different Rx diet.


----------



## EmmasMommy

jennwask said:


> Hi there, I have a Maltese who just turned 16 the end of Feb, has had 2 bladder stone surgeries within his life and then placed on Prescription Diet WD to prevent future stones. He has had NO add'l issues w/ stones BUT has decided after all these years he NO LONGER likes that food!!! He pushes the bowl away w/ his nose.





jennwask said:


> Also, he has very bad gum disease (and had 8 teeth removed last year so not too many left) so I have to moisten the food w/ warm water...I need to consider a new food that will be easy for him to eat as well!!!
> 
> I've done some research & found a home cooked recipe as well as Royal Canin has two specific foods for bladder stones but was wondering if anyone else has a Maltese w/ bladder stone history and what food they are on that they LIKE.
> 
> I have an appt with my vet tomorrow nigth & would like to discuss changing his food & am trying to be prepared w/ what I want him on instead of what she promotes, lol
> 
> Thanks for your help!!





Make sure that your dogs ALWAYS has access to lots of fresh water. *The best prevention for kidney stones is adequate hydration*.
Did the vet get the stones analyzed? Do you still have a stone? If you do mineral analysis may really help narrow down the cause.
There are various types of kidney stones. Because treatment for each differs, it is important for the vet to determine the stone's mineral content and to identify any medical conditions that may have contributed to stone formation. 
About *80% of all kidney stones* (renal calculi)*are composed of calcium and other minerals, usually a combination of calcium and oxalate.* In some cases dietary adjustments help to prevent the recurrence of these types of stones.
You must know what foods contain *high calcium ( dairy foods)* less commonly known are *oxylate sources*. here is a list 
Note that *green beans and sweet potatoes* are on the list and these are common healthy Malt treats
Beans
string, wax
Legume types (including baked beans 
canned in tomato sauce)
Beets
Blackberries
Carob powder
Celery
Chocolate/cocoa other chocolate drink mixes
Dark leafy greens
Spinach
Swiss chard
Beet greens
Endive, escarole
Parsley
Fruit cake
Eggplant Gooseberries
Grits (white corn)
Leeks
Nuts, nut butter
Okra
Peel: lemon, lime, orange
Rasberries (black)
Red currants
Rhubarb
Soy products (tofu)
Spinach
Strawberries
Summer squash
Sweet potatoes
Tea
Wheat bran
Wheat germ

I hope this helps somewhat. And good luck with being able to provide optimal nutrition for your senior Fluffbutt.

BTW I am an RN for humans


----------



## MaryH

My 11 yr. old had bladder stones at 5 yrs. old, had them removed, and has been on a prescription food since then with no more bladder stones. You really need to speak with your vet first about switching foods. There are at least three different types of bladder stones that I know of and while there are several prescription food and home cooked options available, each of these diets is formulated to treat the specific stones you are trying to prevent a reoccurrence of. Hopefully you are still using the same vet who removed the stones or have access to those medical records and the lab analysis of what type of stones your dog had. With that information your vet should be able to make some recommendations for a change in prescription food or for an appropriate home cooked diet.

MaryH


----------



## Nikki's Mom

EmmasMommy said:


> Make sure that your dogs ALWAYS has access to lots of fresh water. *The best prevention for kidney stones is adequate hydration*.
> Did the vet get the stones analyzed? Do you still have a stone? If you do mineral analysis may really help narrow down the cause.
> There are various types of kidney stones. Because treatment for each differs, it is important for the vet to determine the stone's mineral content and to identify any medical conditions that may have contributed to stone formation.
> About *80% of all kidney stones* (renal calculi)*are composed of calcium and other minerals, usually a combination of calcium and oxalate.* In some cases dietary adjustments help to prevent the recurrence of these types of stones.
> You must know what foods contain *high calcium ( dairy foods)* less commonly known are *oxylate sources*. here is a list
> Note that *green beans and sweet potatoes* are on the list and these are common healthy Malt treats
> Beans
> string, wax
> Legume types (including baked beans
> canned in tomato sauce)
> Beets
> Blackberries
> Carob powder
> Celery
> Chocolate/cocoa other chocolate drink mixes
> Dark leafy greens
> Spinach
> Swiss chard
> Beet greens
> Endive, escarole
> Parsley
> Fruit cake
> Eggplant Gooseberries
> Grits (white corn)
> Leeks
> Nuts, nut butter
> Okra
> Peel: lemon, lime, orange
> Rasberries (black)
> Red currants
> Rhubarb
> Soy products (tofu)
> Spinach
> Strawberries
> Summer squash
> Sweet potatoes
> Tea
> Wheat bran
> Wheat germ
> 
> I hope this helps somewhat. And good luck with being able to provide optimal nutrition for your senior Fluffbutt.
> 
> BTW I am an RN for humans


Thanks for that list. It's for people, right? (Because it has chocolate and fruitcake on it, lol) 

And this list is for kidney stones, right? I think the OP said her dog had bladder stones. My bichon had bladder stones and it was from the dog food I'd been feeding her, which didn't contain any of those ingredients in that list. I suspect it was the vitamin mix in the food that was messed up. Some vitamin mixes in commercial dog food are horrible quality and most are from China. Nobody ever mentions that the vitamins in the food might be the trouble. 

When I switched my bichon to a holistic food, she didn't have them anymore.

Why do some dogs/people get stones and others don't who might eat the same things? Is it a structural defect, or an acid/alkaline imbalance? Would be nice to know.


----------



## PreciousPrince

I agree about consulting with a holistic vet/nutritionist to come up with other options or supplements that could be effective without having to be on the low quality rx foods. Maybe you wouldn't have to homecook, and the right combo of good commerical food and supps would do the trick. I don't know if this would help with stones, but I read that a higher protein diet makes the urine more acidic (a lower pH) - something to look into. I hope you can find a good vet who will help with his diet.


----------



## silverhaven

My bichon Sophie had 7 large bladder stones. They were so big the vet was amazed she could hold her bladder at all as there was no room. She was put on the Royal Canin SO at the time called Walthams SO. 6years later she had an xray for something else but they checked for stones and zero. So that was great.


----------

