What human foods are safe for my dog on a Royal Canin SO diet?

Honestly, this is tricky. Royal Canin's SO diet (which is excellent BTW) works because it neutralizes the urine pH, making it almost impossible for crystals to form, and it also encourages more drinking, which has the same effect. If you feed other foods, you increase the chances of the food not working, and having crystals or stones. I tend to encourage owners to use the kibble as treats, or take the canned food and shape in into "cookies," and bake at a low temperature until hardened. I know it sounds like a bit of work, but dogs like it, and you'll be making sure Ted is getting exactly what he needs to stay healthy.

I believe you're referring to Royal Canines brand of urinary diet SO. In conjunction with appropriate medication SO is a great food to help prevent urinary tract infections. Lulu will likely need to be on this food for the rest of her life. Any changes to a non-urinary diet may trigger a recurrence of crystals or stones. If she does not resolve after a month of anabiotic's and diet, further diagnostic testing such as ultrasound or scoping of the bladder may be necessary to determine the cause of the urinary tract issues. My own dog is on Royal Canin SO and he does great, until my kids feed him the wrong food and then he has a flare up again. So please be sure to feed her only the prescribed diet. Good luck I hope she's feeling better soon, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. You do want to keep to this diet for the majority of his calories. Acceptable treats should make up less than 10% of his overall calories per day & include low fat yogurt ( 2-3 tbsp. 2-3 x weekly ), 1/4 of an apple, white rice, rye bread, 2-3 non-salted saltine crackers, 2-3 baby carrots per day, & small amounts of cooked beef, chicken & eggs. Avoid lots of meats & any high protein treats & no vitamin or mineral supplements. The daily Dasaquin is fine to use. Try to keep to the prescribed diet as much as possible. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Ideally, a high-quality commercially-prepared diet should make up 90% of a dog’s diet, with nutritious treats making up no more than that last 10%. Commercially-prepared foods are formulated to provide proper balances of vitamins and minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Nutritional deficiencies or imbalances can lead to a host of health conditions. There are some dogs or pet parents who prefer home cooked diets over the commercially available options. In these cases, the recipe for the home cooked food must be carefully balanced to account for any lacking nutrients, and are best formulated by specialists in veterinary nutrition. Examples of such recipes can be found at www.balanceit.com. However, occasional treats of people foods, such as boiled white meat chicken, cooked sweet potatoes, turkey, green beans, or carrots are perfectly fine!

Great question! I'm glad to hear that Ideal Balance is the basis of Cassie's diet, so adding on home cooked treats in moderation is perfectly fine. Commonly used protein sources for dogs include: chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, salmon, pork, lentils, or eggs (all cooked, of course). Some examples of commonly used vegetable and grain sources include: Black beans, pinto beans, green peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and white or brown rice. Use fruits more sparingly due to the sugar content and greater likelihood of gastrointestinal upset, but apples, bananas, and canned pure pumpkin. For a more comprehensive list of safe ingredients, you can look at www.balanceit.com, which is a website from the veterinary nutritionists at the UC-Davis veterinary. I hope this helps!

I think this is a very good food for treating crystalluria, and there are some differences between this food and urinary foods by other companies like Hill's. One difference that comes to mind is the calorie content - Royal Canin SO tends to be lower in calories than Hill's c/d. You may want to ask your veterinarian about the Royal Canin SO Olfactory attraction food which is supposed to be more palatable for cats, or if Bean really seems to dislike it you could ask about switching to another therapeutic diet. There are no over the counter alternatives that are proven to prevent urinary crystals in cats.

Hello, sorry to hear about Penny. I looked up the feeding recommendations for the royal canine urinary SO formula dry dog food and it says roughly about 2 cups for 28 lbs given the fact that it recommends 1 1/4 for 22 lbs and the next size is 2 3/8 for 33 lbs. I would discontinue to green beans for now as the minerals and salt could contribute to the pH changes which may predispose Penny to struvites. Dog food is balanced and made to meet the essential nutrients required by dogs and the diet is made to comply the regulations of AAFCO. Hope this helps and best of luck.