Experiences with prescription food

[kjs000]

I have a 2 year old Aussie who has been on Hill’s C/D for about a week to dissolve her struvite crystals. We’re about a week away from her follow up appointment with the vet, and at the initial visit our vet wasn’t able to say for certain yet if she’ll need the prescription food the rest of her life.

Has anyone whose dog has had struvite crystals been able to take them off the prescription food after they have dissolved? And if so, what were you able to feed them?

I’ve been doing a lot of online research trying to figure out what to expect and I feel like some articles are giving different advice. One article said the prescription food is not for long term use, and one said they’ll need a therapeutic diet for the rest of their lives.

I’m just having a bit of a hard time coming to terms with how much prescription food costs and the financial strain we’ll feel from that. Luckily she’s enjoying the food, and if we need to keep her on it then that’s what we’ll do.

Just wanted to clarify I’m not seeking medical advice on how to treat my dog, we’ll follow the advice of our vet. I’m just curious what other’s experiences have been when it comes to the prevention of struvite crystals in their dogs.

Thanks!

 

[janehenry]

@kjs000 Sorry, it's not a dog.

But it's very common in male cats. Mine has been on it for 3 years now and our vet said he should continue for life. (Also hill's c/d)

 

[kjs000]

@janehenry Thanks! I know it’s a long shot but do you know if Hills puts out coupons/discounts or if the food will occasionally go on sale?

 

[janehenry]

@kjs000 I haven't found any coupons/sales but it may be worth checking their website every so often. I order on autoship through chewy (Amazon has it too) and if you set up autoship you save 5%. It's not much but it helps!

 

[twerne]

@kjs000 My dog has been on Royal Canin SO for about 4 years now. She had surgery for her struvite stones about 6 months after I adopted her and she’s maintained well on this food.

I feed her a mix of the dry and canned chunks in gravy and it’s ridiculously expensive. A case of 24 cans is $126 from Chewy. The cost has increased about 25% in the time I’ve been feeding this food and the quality has declined. The “gravy” looks like yellow snot, and there is way more of it than the chunks.

My dog hates it. I do what I can to jazz it up without messing with the nutritional balance she needs, but it can be a challenge to get her to eat this food.

I’m going to research how to meet those nutritional requirements using real food. I don’t know if it’s possible but feeding time is a sad affair and I hate handing that money over to the Mars family. Yep, the candy people. One of, if not the largest privately held companies in the world.

 

[kjs000]

@twerne That sounds so rough! I’m sorry your pup is struggling with the food.
My dog is relatively picky, she doesn’t like chicken and will get tired of lamb, but she goes crazy over the Hills C/D so they must really make it taste good. Other than the ridiculous cost, my concern is the ingredient list and that it’s so low in meat protein.
I’m really hoping my vet doesn’t think she’ll need it long term.

 

[twerne]

@kjs000 I'm going to look at the Hills brand and I'm also going to look for a vet nutritionist to get guidance on feeding. I know what I can give her and what I have to avoid, but I just don't want to end up making her situation worse!

 

[iamjoannaa]

@kjs000 Owner/breeder with 9 Bichons. Have had a couple of cases of stones with surgery.

I fed the stuff from the vet til it was gone.

Learned much over the years. Add some organic apple cider vinegar

(with mother) to their water. I also supplement with cranberry d-mannose

chews.

My dogs all eat regular kibble and nothing from the vet.

 

[kjs000]

@iamjoannaa Thanks! Is there a specific ratio you use with the Apple cider vinegar to water?

 

[iamjoannaa]

@kjs000 i just kind of dump some in. if you google it you will get some suggestions,

but i have never measured it.

 

[myjesus777]

@kjs000 It could depend on the animal and the situation as to whether it should stay on the prescription diet. But if your pet has crystals only the prescription food will fix that. There are urinary care preventative foods that are non prescription you could try afterwards but keep an eye out for early symptoms so you can get your pet back to the vet ASAP for treatment. Pro plan and Royal Canin have urinary care formulas.

 

[kjs000]

@myjesus777 Thanks! At her most recent vet visit the crystals were gone, but he blood cell count (I think) was still off so we’re doing more antibiotics and I ordered another big bag of the prescription food. So once she finishes that and all her stats are looking good I’ll try to get her back on a normal kibble and monitor her closely. Do you think adding a daily probiotic and cranberry supplement to her food would help?

 

[myjesus777]

@kjs000 It probably wouldn’t hurt but the preventative food likely has that already. I’m not as clued in to dogs with crystals but cats are now thought to get it from stress so maybe look into that aspect too. One of my cats would get blocked whenever I went out of town for work for a few days but once those trips stopped he was ok.