The x-rays of Benny's bladder and
kidneys don't show any signs of stones, so my veterinary team is
working under the assumption that his nighttime "sprinkler system"
is being triggered by a sub-clinical infection or other bladder
irritation caused by the struvite crystals forming in his
highly-alkaline urine.
Apparently, a pH balance of 5.5 to 7.0 is considered normal for a
dog's urine, whereas Benny's urine is registering at 8.5. Struvite
crystals almost always indicate an infection of some kind, and
although they couldn't find any evidence of that in his urine
sample, we decided to start him on a course of amoxicillin
anyway.
The veterinary team also wanted to put Benny on a more acidic diet,
in order to dissolve the crystals before they become stones.
However, the foods they wanted to provide were all highly-processed
kibbles, and I wasn't comfortable with that. So, I did a bit of
research for BARF-diet alternatives, and found that Wysong sells a
freeze-dried raw
prescription diet called
Struvitrol which is
intended to lower his pH balance to between 6.0 and 6.2, as well as
a supplement called
Biotic pH- which can be added to other non-prescription foods.
Both are high in DL-Methionine, which increases acidity. I'm also
planning to add
Solid Gold Berry Balance, which is high in hippicuric acid from
cranberries and blueberries, to his morning meals if the Struvitrol
isn't enough on its own. We'll have to monitor his urine pH closely
on this new diet, though, to make sure that we aren't making him
acidotic in the process.
It also turns out that the Dentatreat has alkaline properties which
may be counter-indicated for Benny. While it's good for his teeth,
since his body chemistry is out of whack, I will not be giving it
to him anymore. It's a good product, and I think it does a good job
with the other dogs, but I think I'll trust to the raw diet to keep
his teeth clean, if the alternative is bladder stones.
So, a couple of weeks of antibiotics and a minor change in diet may
be all that's necessary to stave off bigger problems. By
mid-summer, I should know if this is going to be a lifelong problem
for Benny, or just a transient problem caused by the poor diet he
received from his previous owners.
Let's hope for the latter.