Crystals in the urine sample
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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.
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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 :D -
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!
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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".
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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.
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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.
