Cocker spaniel puppy has urine crystals. Could oak bark be the cause?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This should not make any significant difference in the diet in regards to urine crystals. I would recommend you consider a diet specific to try to prevent the formation of crystals into stones such as Royal Canin SO or Science Diet UD. Best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The urinary tract symptoms you describe could be due to a urinary tract infection, urinary stones, a tumor, among other possibilities. Keep in mind that this may be unrelated to the crystals and can even be something like urinary incontinence. I would continue monitoring for signs of painful urination or bloody urine. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Further diagnostics would include abdominal imaging and lab work. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a good night!

There are a number of different kidney problems, such as incontinence, bladder stones or crystals in the urine, UTIs, cancer, or obstruction to the urethra, and some of them can't be prevented, such as chronic kidney failure or cancer which may naturally occur in older dogs. UTIs in dogs are caused by bacteria entering the urethra. Crystals in the urine can by caused by supersaturated urine, which happens when a dog has to hold their bladder for a long time. For good kidney health, I recommend making sure Bruno is let out to urinate on a regular basis, not being left longer than eight hours between peeing, making sure he always has a source of fresh water available, keeping him at a healthy weight, and making sure he eats a high quality diet.

I believe Royal Canin now makes a hypoallergenic diet that is also appropriate for crystals that has hydrolyzed proteins so the immune system does not recognize them and they do not trigger allergies. Even though the ingredient list might contain some things Dylan is allergic to, he should not develop allergy symptoms. This diet is called Multifunction Urinary and Hydrolyzed Protein. Talk to your veterinarian and see if this might be a good option for Dylan with his specific crystals. Otherwise you could discuss having a nutritionist formulate a home cooked diet, but it is very important that a veterinary nutritionist is involved so that the diet is balanced and appropriate to prevent crystal formation.

Unfortunately, only these diets will be able to help Luca’s bladder problems. The diet will help acidity the urine and it also causes him to drink more. This helps to prevent crystal formation and also has a flushing action in the bladder. I recommend to try the Royal Canin first. Mix it in VERY slow (like 10% of the food initially). Then every few days increase the amount. You should purchase the canned food to see if he likes that. If he does, you can feed him that mixed in with the dry food. Try to keep him out of the other Doha’s food. The diet will not work if it falls below 90% of the total daily food intake. I hope you find this helpful and please feel free to post any further questions.

In dogs, recurrent urinary tract infections are often caused by persistent bacterial infections that can alter the pH of the urine. Sometimes the result of this can be the formation of urinary crystals, and ultimately larger urinary bladder stones. If Ashlynn hasn't had an x-ray ever, I would recommend getting at least one just to make sure nothing has formed or is in the process of forming. As to your question regarding prevention of future UTIs, it would depend upon what bacteria is the culprit in her previous infections (as this would likely be the culprit in future ones as well). There is some evidence both scientific and anecdotal that indicates that cranberry juice or cranberry supplements can help prevent certain strains of e. coli bacteria from sticking to the bladder's wall. There are many different supplements available, I do not have a preference as to one in particular. If the kidneys and bladder are producing / storing urine at an inappropriate pH, there are special diets that can be fed (both long term or short term) that chance the bladder's pH back to the appropriate level. To confirm if this is a problem, a urinalysis can be ran by your primary veterinarian. With regards to the HW and flea medications, it is unlikely that one of these predisposed her to a UTI. This is not a typical side effect of most medications in that class, and they are not known to lower the immune system enough to cause a secondary urinary tract infection. Hope this makes sense.

Urine crystals often (depending on the type of crystals) form when they have a bladder infection. This would normally be the cause of a young dog having incontinence issues, but it's also possible that he has a nerve issue, or hereditary problem like ectopic ureters. It's best to have Asher rechecked by your veterinarian sometime soon. They can give you more information about the cause of his current urine dribbling and offer additional testing if necessary. I hope that helps and Asher gets better soon.