They are most commonly found in the bladder and less often in the dog s upper urinary tract.
Crystals in dog urine diet.
If your dog is suffering from this urinary tract stones condtion this article explains in detail the basics of diet for dogs.
Avoid a diet that is vegetarian or cereal based and likely to cause alkaline urine which promotes struvite crystals.
Urine crystals and stones aren t always related.
Crystals in dog s urine may be caused by one of the following.
Some stones can be dissolved through diet change while others require surgical removal.
In general crystals are found when an abundance of certain compounds are excreted by the kidneys.
Test the urine regularly for crystals and once they disappear migrate the dog slowly back onto regular food.
For instance a sample taken after a meal may have higher concentrations than a sample taken during fasting.
A large part of therapy for struvite crystals in dogs is the diet.
Make homemade food for dogs with chronic bladder stones.
Stones and crystals form in supersaturated urine which can occur when dogs have to hold their urine for long periods.
Urinating often and fully voiding their bladder is incredibly helpful in flushing out those nasty crystals sooner rather than later.
Since urine ph is one of the factors in stone formation changing your dog s diet can help to prevent crystals and stones from reoccurring.
Types of urine crystals in dogs.
A diet of highly processed dog food and or foods high in grains and other fillers.
When changing the dog s diet mix small quantities of the new food with the dog s regular food gradually increasing until only the new food is given.
Canine urolithiasis is a condition in which crystals develop in the urine often leading to the formation of bladder stones.
If you must use processed foods use canned foods which contain large amounts of water rather than dry foods.
Urinary tract infections that cause struvite crystals to end up being uroliths can raise urinary ph to 8 0 or 8 5.
Proper identification and interpretation of dog urine crystals is important in determining a medical strategy for treating the condition.
Calcium oxalate crystals are found in acid urine of dogs ph lower than 6 5 with high levels of calcium in the blood.
Calcium oxalate crystals in dog urine can be the result of the dog s diet and or they may be manufactured by the body.
The cause of crystals in cats and dogs depend on the kind of crystal your veterinarian finds.
While your dog s diet should be helping prevent new crystals from forming it s vital to get the existing ones out.
Simply as essential is the chance to urinate numerous times a day.