Questions about urinary care diet and allergies

[vsw874]

Some background for reference:

Aspen is a 4 year old English Golden Retriever. Approx. 2 years ago she began developing bladder stones (first treated as a recurring UTI, eventually found out it was crystals in her urine and bladder stones forming) and was put on the Hill's Science Diet c/d formula. We tried switching her off after dissolving the first stone but the problem came right back-so she's been on the c/d ever since to control the issue.

Being a golden, allergies/skin issues aren't surprising and she last week was diagnosed with a yeast infection in her left ear. Given a one time treatment and allergy medication (apoquel) to take 2x/day for 2 weeks, then 1x day following. Her left ear has had ongoing problems for probably a little over a year, but usually a few days of an antiseptic wipe would take care of it. She also chews at her paws and rubs her face on the ground to itch, so I know there are some underlying allergy issues, but she isn't biting/scratching so bad that she is losing hair or anything.

I've long suspected that she may be allergic to something in her food, but feel like we can't do anything to switch that due to it being prescribed for her urinary care issues. Has anyone had luck with diets that support urinary care that AREN'T Hills c/d formula? The itching and ear are better since taking the apoquel, but I'd like to avoid a daily allergy pill for her remaining life if this can be addressed other ways. Also, I know that the food isn't the best quality and I want her to have a long and happy, healthy life. We're already paying quite a bit for the food so cost isn't a huge issue, especially if a daily allergy pill could be eliminated.

 

[mattbr]

@vsw874 Not only does royal canin make a urinary diet(Urinary SO), they now make Urinary SO + hydrolyzed protein, which is an allergy diet! Ask your vet about it. The hydrolyzed protein diet is a great food for allergy dogs

 

[vsw874]

@mattbr Thank you! I will definitely ask them about it!

 

[carriedaway1]

@vsw874 Royal Canin makes an Rx urinary diet. My schnauzer mix has been on the Hills and the RC, and does better on the RC. If you don’t know what your dog is allergic too, then it may give you the same problems, but it’s worth talking to your vet about it.

 

[vsw874]

@carriedaway1 Thank you! I will take a look at the ingredients. It sucks that we really can't do the process of elimination to figure out where the allergy is coming from, as we don't want the urinary issues to flare up.

 

[carriedaway1]

@vsw874 Yep I hear you on that! Might be worth a switch to try it. We actually switched because the c/d wasn’t helping much with our guy’s crystals, and the RC ended up working a lot better. Overall I’ve been really happy with RC as a brand (both Rx and non), but obviously depending on your pup’s allergies it may not be any better. Good luck!

 

[kie]

@vsw874 With Royal Canin, look for a food with S/O index. They have a hydrolyzed protein (HP) diet that has S/O but not all of them do so make sure you get the right one. It's expensive because they can only manufacture the food on one machine and it can't be used for anything else. But I'm sure it's cheaper than constant vet visits for allergy issues.
I'll also tell you that food allergies and environmental allergies typically present in different ways. If it's food, switching to the Royal Canin HP with S/O will help. Your pup can get nothing else by mouth. If it's environmental, look into cytopoint.

Obviously, don't take what I say as right. You should talk to your vet about switching food and any medical suggestions that anyone makes here.

 

[vsw874]

@kie Thank you! I appreciate your input. We do plan to talk to them, I wanted to have some ideas before bringing it up. We'll give the allergy meds a go (especially since we're still treating the ear) but once that bottle is getting to the end we'll discuss with them.