Bella is pleased to announce that her stitches are out and the lovely Dr. Nancy says she looks great! She is finally back to 100% of her old kibble, so if she continues on the "firm poo path" then we can begin a slow transition to the new food in hopes of THAT clearing up her struvite issue. Once she is 100% on the new food for a week, we'll do a urine re-check. I will say that during her chicken and rice spell - we saw no evidence of crystals on her lady bits...but unfortunately, now on her old kibble today....crystals So frustrating.... What a journey little miss has been on.... :-\
Re: Sutures out! Glad she has had no problems recovering from the operation! Now to get this struvite issue cleared up...
Re: Sutures out! That's great news Heidi. If there were no crystals when Bella was on rice and chicken but now there is now she's back on kibble, would a raw diet be better for Bella and maybe sort this awful issue out? xx
Re: Sutures out! There is a lot of evidence that a wet diet as opposed to kibble helps these pups. As you want as much water added as possible it is probably easier to do this with tinned meats. I do know someone who did it with raw food though - it involved mixing raw minced meat with water to form a somewhat revolting slurry which the dog slurped up with glee.
Re: Sutures out! Quite possibly a raw diet would help her....but honestly at this point....I've not got the time to research it all, nor a reliable and affordable place to get the variety of meats for her, nor the time to prep and plan for all of her meals. I work full time, plus my hubby and I own a business, plus we have a small farm.....time is a precious commodity. I have been making very sloppy meals for her, and using a combination of kibble and canned food for her in hopes that both a new kibble, and the combo of canned and kibble fixed sloppy will do the trick. Question for Lochan (if you don't mind).... if this struvite issue is related to her old kibble - and we can get it resolved with this new kibble/wet combo - is this potentially a life long issue with her that we will need to monitor? Or is this possibly just a "one thing led to another in her puppyhood, and she'll grow out of it" type issue? I guess roughly translated - is this a food issue, or a biological issue - knowing you haven't seen her or her UA results.... Thanks for any feedback/input!
Re: Sutures out! It appears to be an issue with super-saturated urine in pups, hence the particular formulation of the kibble is not so important as almost any kibble designed for growth may do it. On chicken and rice she seems OK, so you have a very good chance of sorting this with a very sloppy diet. In some breeds (cockers spring to mind) this is familial and lifelong. In other dogs getting the water intake high causes resolution and over a prolonged period (months) it may be possible to reintroduce kibble as long as the water intake remains high and the urine consequently very dilute. Hope this helps.
Re: Sutures out! It does...IMMENSLEY!!! Thank you Lochan! ;D Our local store has a fabulous sale going on for the brand of canned food that she loves...in some cases 75% off...so I've stocked up on more canned, and will again after payday.... Hoping this, and the new brand of soaked kibble....and sloppy messy meals will get my girl sorted out!
Re: Sutures out! Please don't beat me up for this, but many, many years ago our dog wouldn't drink water unless he had milk added to it. Would Bella maybe drink more water if a couple of times a day a wee bit of milk was added to her water. I suffer from recurring cystitis and I know how important water is in flushing things out. Unfortunately dogs don't and we're left trying to find ways to deal with it. Yogurt is another way to get fluid. I buy the greek stuff for mine, it's nice and thick and sticks like a melting ice cream cone to the kong. poor Bella is having a time of it, but oh I feel for you ,as having a pup is a worry when they're healthy, but when they're sick it's like having a sick member of the family. Sending virtual hugs.
Re: Sutures out! Thanks Cupcase...you're right...they are a worry. I've done a lot of looking at "recommended amounts of water daily" for dogs....and of course recommendations vary....but generally I think a decent "rule of thumb" is about 12 ounces for every 10 pounds of weight. For Bella that means that at a minimum...she needs 48 ounces of water a day. She has access to water pretty much all day...plus I'm adding it to her meals. I need to measure and see how much I am adding to her meals...but I do watch the color of her urine, and encourage her to drink frequently. I might dig out my ice cube trays this weekend and make her some ice cubes...maybe with a nugget of tasty treat in there too.... ??? ??? ??? Mmm doggy popsicles....and if I put salty things in them...she will be more thirsty....mmm...good weekend project! ;D ;D ;D
Re: Sutures out! Tuna flakes sink in water. He has to drink the water to get the tuna. I started with 1/4 of a tin per 100ml, and now just need a few flakes per 200ml (if I need him to drink when he doesn't want to). I now have "get yer water" on cue. : This was a godsend when he chewed batteries and was reluctant to drink. :
Re: Sutures out! When Penny was getting all of her urine infections because of her inverted vulva I added water to her food. She's a great water, but I've always fed her on dry kibble. I added enough water to the food that the biscuits were swimming and she slurped all of it up quite happily and this really seemed to help.
Re: Sutures out! tuna flakes in water...that's a good one, thanks Julie. Laughing at the "get ur water" cue...but then again, I laugh at Charlie a lot! ;D ;D ;D Yes, Bella gets water in her kibble all 3 meals...and it's sloppy...I'm just looking to figure out MORE ways to get her to drink. I've been internet cruising looking for ideas on things to put into ice cubes for her...think I have some good options that will agree with her tummy...so will be messing with that this weekend a bit I think. The things I do for my dog...that I wouldn't consider doing for my family : Spoiled much???? : :
