Special Diet Dog Food - Do You Make Your Own?

JRS & B wrote:
But she really does not like this stuff. I took my eye off her for one minute today and she was into our other dog's food.

You can try other kinds. As Dr. Doug said, Purina, Hill's Science Diet and Royal Canin all make prescription foods. I'm guessing your vet carries at least two out of the three. When one of my cats was having urinary issues, my vet suggested bringing home a few cans each of Hill's Science Diet and Royal Canin urinary foods and letting the cat choose which one he liked best. He preferred Royal Canin, so I went back to the vet and stocked up on that.

Doug - Given that the surgery is over $1,000, the cost of the dog food is not that staggering.

It's just that this dog was never a picky eater. She would eat any dog food and any kind of dog treat.

But she really does not like this stuff. I took my eye off her for one minute today and she was into our other dog's food.

But I understand, no substitutions means no substitutions. Shoot!

JRS & B wrote:
The thing I cannot figure out is why we cannot also make our own special diet food, especially since she can no longer have any dog treats of any kind, and she really does not like the special diet dog food.

You can, but the thing is making a diet that works on this type of problem is NOT easy. It's not just putting the proper ingredients together. It's very careful measurements of items and proportions. No substitutions or mistakes or it defeats the whole purpose.

Even dogs I put on a special diet are retested periodically to make sure the diet it working in that individual. This usually consists of a UA, checking for specific gravity, crystals, pH and bacteria. Sometimes we do follow up radiographs or ultrasound to check for stones.

Even with the costs, most of my clients elect to use one of the special diets made by purina, Hill's or Royal Canin.

Doug, DVM

Did your vet do a culture of her urine to see which antibiotic should be used?

Some vets don't automatically order this test, sometimes because it's an added cost. I think it should be done so you don't have to go thru several antibiotics to see which one works while the pet is still uncomfortable. Actually comes out cheaper because you avoid paying for several antibiotics before finally getting to the one that works.

fyi: be sure to 'read' all the side affects of all the antibiotics she's given. Some of the new ones vets like to dispense cause more problems and then it gets all entangled of, is it the diagnosed problem getting worse or is it the antibiotics causing the problems. And it's been my experience that almost all of them affect their appetite so that throws another monkey wrench into them getting better.

Hope your pet is feeling better soon.

All 7 of our Border Collies are fed in their own crates. This way we can feed personalized diets, supplements, meds, and portions (as needed) and monitor when any of them is not eating their portions.


Good info on bladder stones
Merck Vet Manual: Urolithiasis in Small Animals

We know that they are the struvite type stones.

She has been on the current special diet to dissolve the stones for over two weeks.

She was also on one antibiotic for 10 days but it did not seem to stop the concentration of visible blood in her urine. She is on a different antibiotic now and her urine at least looks more normal.

She does not always make it outside in time and has actually passed three or four stones in succession in a single episode. So the present treatment is working, but the cherry tomato sized stone would take several months to dissolve, and that would be senseless to do. Plus, if it moved downstream, it would require surgery anyway.

I see these dog food recipes for this condition that are brown rice, cottage cheese, boiled egg, brewers yeast, potassium chloride, and canola oil. I may have left something out, but that is my off-hand recollection at this time.

So if these are acceptable, why can't we make some up to augment the canned stuff.

It is extra tough since we have two dogs and both dogs previously ate the same diet of Purina One - Lamb and Rice, plus greenies, pup-peronni and various other treats. Now one dog eats anything she wants, and the other one can't. We have to put the schnauzer outside and then feed the Wheaten Terrier.

I figured if each dog received a little human like food in the form of cottage cheese and boiled egg, etc. along with their dog food, that the one might not carethat she is getting something different.

JRS & B wrote:
Our three-year old, 20 pound mini Schnauzer goes in for surgery to remove kidney/bladder stones tomorrow. She has passed dozens and dozens of these in past 2 weeks, with one almost as big as a pencil eraser. A recent X-Ray showed many more to go, with one stone about the size of a cherry tomato, and thus the surgery.

Now the vet says she will have to be on a special diet dog food forever. These are the type stones that grow out of infections.

I understand and believe what he says.

The thing I cannot figure out is why we cannot also make our own special diet food, especially since she can no longer have any dog treats of any kind, and she really does not like the special diet dog food.

Anybody make their own dog food for a dog that requires a restricted diet as a result of kidney/bladder stones?

First I think you need to ask your vet to be more explicit on what type of stones and why not treating the infections also. IMHO< JMHO< IMHO just putting them on the 'special' diet food sold in the vets clinic is not an end all be all. Some vets just tell the client buy this and nothing more.

Here is a VERY thorough explanation of kidney/bladder stones. Read thru it and then ask your vet WHICH type of stones your dog has. The Vet CAN determine this when they are extracted. If you have a vet that you have a good re pore with he will sit down with you and go over the article and explain which problem you pet is presenting with.
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_6/features/Kidney-Stones-Bladder-Stones_16231-1.html

THEN you can make a better decision on what type of diet to make and/or buy for your pet. Hope this helps! :C

Our Gyp had bladder surgery at least 5 years ago; she had struvite and oxalate stones. Our vet frequently will provide homemade diet recipes for dogs that have had bladder stones of one type. He was not confident that a homemade diet would prevent reoccurrence in Gyp's case because she had 2 types of stones. Gyp's diet needs to control multiple things (urine pH, calcium, phosphate, magnesium, and ammonium) to prevent formation of stones. Since surgery she only gets Royal Canin Urinary SO for food and treats with the occasional chew hooves. Gyp having to deal with her new diet (and us with the cost) is a small price to pay to prevent additional surgeries.

For a special needs dog I would want to get guidance from a qualified veterinary nutritionist to formulate a healthy eating plan. I'd consider using the following service. Dr. Remillard is a Tufts-trained veterinary nutritionist --

Veterinary Nutritional Consultations, Dr. Rebecca L. Remillard