I am going through a similiar problem with my one year old. She has calcium oxalate crystals and we noticed it because she would pee just about every two hours and out of no where have accidents. I had all the tests done, put her on antitiotics (no change after that), did a blood work found high white blood cell count and did an xray which showed no signs of stones (yet anyway). Since nothing seemed to be working we did a culture and sensistivity test (again showed nothing) so now I doing the food changing route. I had her on Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, a high protein low carb diet and now have her changed to a grain free lower protein diet, Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. I also do use 2/3 dry and 1/3 wet plus 2 tbsp of water to make sure she is getting enough water. We have been doing this for a month so I have to bring her urine back in for testing to see if there are any changes. I have noticed she has had less accidents but won't be happy until I see the crystals gone in her urine.
Long story short, I feel your pain!!
Thanks for your info! I'm sorry you are going through this. Buddy has had no accidents and pees only when we go out. He can hold his pee all day. So it hasn't elevated to that yet and we may have caught it early. I'm trying to be positive that there's no stones. Calcium oxalate stones do not dissolve and have to be removed surgically according to the vet. The Sturvite crystals can be dissolved which is the result of being too alkaline. Calcium oxalate is too acidic. The only reason I did the urine test was because of the BUN to creatine ratio being to high on his blood work. So this was caught by accident. My last 2 Basenjis always had the too alkaline and had bladder infections. This is frustrating!:mad:
Regarding your comment "He can hold his pee all day". I know that this can be a problem with humans (kidney stones). Just a thought - could holding pee all day lead to problems in dogs? How much water does Buddy drink? Is he intentionally holding his pee?
Regarding your comment "He can hold his pee all day". I know that this can be a problem with humans (kidney stones). Just a thought - could holding pee all day lead to problems in dogs? How much water does Buddy drink? Is he intentionally holding his pee?
He's not a water drinker unless it's warm and we're out on a walk or at the dog park. I have to put it in his meals. Holding it is a problem as water needs to cycle through and keep the bladder flushed. He is outside all day so he can go. Also you want to feed more wet than dry. Also there is a list of oxalate producing foods you'll want to avoid like:
Vegetables ~ beets, eggplant, leeks, sweet potatoes, okra, pepper
Greens ~ green beans or peppers, beets, celery, collards, eggplant, parsley, spinach, Swiss chard, chives, endive, kale, leeks, okra, rutagbega, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes
Legumes ~ beans, soy products including tofu
Grains ~ wheat germ
Nuts ~ all
Seeds ~ sesame and tahini
Fruit ~ berries, currants, concord grapes, figs, rhubarb, lemon, lime, plums, tangerines.
Hope everything goes ok for Buddy , Dan.
Hope everything goes ok for Buddy , Dan.
Thank you! I hope so too. Every time a vet mentions surgery :eek:
Just got back from the vet and the x-rays show no stones thank God. The funny part was they took him in the back with my leash and after they came out they handed it to me in 3 pieces. They left him tied up and being a Basenji, Buddy did what he does best…..try to escape. I have to get him to consume more water. His urine is too concentrated which is why the crystals were found. They wanted me to put him on Hill's c/d food which the first ingredient is beef by products and it also contains corn and soy which is not good for dogs. Now that I know which foods are oxalate producing I can figure out a diet for him.
I hope things turn a corner for you and Buddy. I'll keep both of you in my thoughts.
I hope things turn a corner for you and Buddy. I'll keep both of you in my thoughts.
Thank you!!:)
I'm so pleased Buddy has no stones, what a relief for you. Now all you have to do is figure out how to get him to drink more water 
I can just imagine the vets face when they found the lead in 3 bits 
Great news Dan that there are no stones…yea!!!!
Great news Dan that there are no stones…yea!!!!
Thanks Pat, that was a bad situation headed off. I will get another urinalysis in a month.
Sounds like good news for you and Buddy. No surgery, more water (chicken broth?), cook him soupy stuff, mine will slurp up vegetable soup , or any kind actually. Finding a disease process early and getting it under control before damage is done….priceless!
Sounds like good news for you and Buddy. No surgery, more water (chicken broth?), cook him soupy stuff, mine will slurp up vegetable soup , or any kind actually. Finding a disease process early and getting it under control before damage is done….priceless!
Some good ideas Anne! The vet asked me why I had his blood work done. I just said to see if everything was OK and it wasn't. I guess people don't do that until something's wrong which is what I used to do. Now with the internet you become more educated and people saying "hey, get you dog checked to make sure all is well, like the thyroid".
Thanks Pat, that was a bad situation headed off. I will get another urinalysis in a month.
Well worth the blood test and have the urine analysis done too! Kudos, Dan…
I'm presently the owner of 3 senior cats. Every year on their birthdays, they are in at the vet for a complete blood panel and urinalysis. I'm sure my cats have thanked me. We caught a thyroid tumour in one of the males and he had radioactive isotopes injected into the tumour area. He is now completely fine, doesn't even need thyroid meds. A thorough yearly checkup is a must for our animals, though if something crops up at any time you should be ready for some extra investigation.
Well worth the blood test and have the urine analysis done too! Kudos, Dan…
Thanks to you all for pushing to get testing done is invaluable.:)
OK so I adjusted Buddy's diet a bit lowering the protein, adding cooked brown rice and steamed asparagus and zucchini. I searched the internet to find the foods that were oxalate producing and which ones were not. Seemed to work as his urine sample was really clear and the lab test showed no crystals. I also greatly reduced the dry food and often no dry added only wet. I did not use the Science Diet s/d they recommended which is meat by products, corn and soy. Soy is said to be oxalate producing so why would they add that?
I recommend to anybody to get a blood work up done once per year to catch anything brewing.
Glad Buddys doing well, just shows you have to do research yourself and not accept everything you are told at face value.
Our breeder told us never to feed Malaika dry food, always to soak it, even though it says on the pack to serve dry.
I do stick to this but feed her the odd meal dry so she can experience the crunch.
Mine don't drink much either and this has always been very commonn with Basenjis as you know. To encourage mine (who're fed raw) I give them a watery drink after every meal -I do things like mix in a little vegetable water, the rinsings of tins which had contained food of any kind, the rinsings of yoghourt pots and all sorts of tastes and I find that they will drink all of what I give them . In fact when two of mine were staying with friends they were puzzled by the way they just stood waiting after they'd had their meal. They wanted their 'milk shakes' as my friend calls it!
I 'm glad to hear that Buddy is doing well and hope he continues to do so.
