changing diet

[corgimom]

Thank you Deb,

I have to make a trip to Walgreens today, so I will be getting some Vitamin C
for Cody

My vet had told me to give my senior Corgi 250mg of Vitamin E every day. He had said it was good for her immune system. Have you ever given that to your dogs or heard more of the benefits of vitamin E?

[Dillydoodle]

Debbie, do you use just human vitamin C ( ester C?) or do they sell it specifically for dogs? I want to get the right thing, and what is safe for a 10wk old puppy to consume? still 500mg a day?

Emilie

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Jane Austen

Duchess has another urinary tract infection. I was told that in addition to the antibiotics to fight off the infection she should have a change in her diet to add acidity. The vet recommends vitamin C tablets or special diet food. I would not want to change her diet to expensive food unless it was needed.
I am not a great researcher for this condition ( or any other). Has anyone got any other tips? I have started giving her cranberry juice but she will not drink much at one time.

You can add cranberry capsules to her food. I use Vit. C powder and just add a pinch to my dogs food. It's easy and works well.

Peggy

[glencorgi]

[quote=Dillydoodle]Debbie, do you use just human vitamin C ( ester C?) or do they sell it specifically for dogs? I want to get the right thing, and what is safe for a 10wk old puppy to consume? still 500mg a day?

I use human vitamin C and for teething puppies even at 10 weeks with the ears trying to come up, I'll up it to 1,000 mg. You can use ester C and there are formulations marketed specifically for dogs (a little more expensive though).

Debbie

[Fluffypants]

Thanks for the tip Debbie - and I agree with the "Virtual Mentor" title. Maybe we should get you a cape and some snazzy tights!

Guess that's one more thing to add to the grocery list this weekend . . . (the Vitamin C, not the cape & tights)

[Jespah]

That's 'cause you already have the cape and tights!

Good to have you back Fluffer-P!!!

[corgimom]

I got Cody his Ester C today at Walgreens. Tried to just see if he would take the pill by itself, but he spit it out, so I put it in his bowl with a Tbls. of pumpkin and no problem.

[darci]

Originally Posted by Jane Austen

Don't think I am a simpleton, but is low ash important? I will look into those foods you suggested. For now I am feeding her kibble with water and a small amount of can food to taste.
Getting this kind of feed-back is why I started this thread.

Yes low ash is important for a dog that forms crystals easily. Ideally ash content for UTI prone should be no higher than 6.5

The canned food is great because of the moisture content.

What kibble are you feeding ?

[Jane Austen]

Duchess has been getting Chicken Soup For the Dog Lovers Soul, Adult Light Formula. The first ingredient is whole grain brown rice. There is cranberry powder in there too. Protien is 20% I didn't see any ash % listed. She gets about three quarters of a cup a day, divided in two meals.
thank you Cindy for answering that question about low ash.

[elliebear]

I have found all of this information to be very helpful - thank you.

Our corgi, Ellie, just turned one in January and we switched her food from Solid Gold Puppy lamb formula to the Solid Gold Adult lamb formula. About a week later, Ellie had a urinary tract infection, which we figured had to be part of the diet change - nothing else had changed. She tested for the crystals as well. She was on antibiotics and pain medicine as well, but we also gave here cranberry concentrate tablets and vitamin C tablets. The cranberry was not specific to pets but the vitamin C was - by Azmira Holistic animal care "Super C 2000." We happen to have a natural pet store down the road - so out of convenience we just purchased it there.

We also ordered Berry Balance by Solid Gold, which is a nutritional supplement for cats and dogs - it has natural cranberry and blueberry extract with marshmallow and vitamin C to help support the urinary tract. It is supposed to help balance the urinary tract pH and dissolve struvite crystals. This was a little pricey, but since her problem cleared up, we did not try it.

She has since felt much better and her pH is back to normal. We transitioned her to Innova EVO food (which is pricey) and have added some wet dog food (so far we like Merrick) to the mix to adjust the moisture content, but a natural diet was mentioned, which we have not tried yet.

[Cheyenne60041]

I love fresh tomatoes and Lola eats some of them everyday. She had never had UTI I wonder if this is because tomatoes have a high acidic content?

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Jane Austen

Duchess has another urinary tract infection. I was told that in addition to the antibiotics to fight off the infection she should have a change in her diet to add acidity. The vet recommends vitamin C tablets or special diet food. I would not want to change her diet to expensive food unless it was needed.
I am not a great researcher for this condition ( or any other). Has anyone got any other tips? I have started giving her cranberry juice but she will not drink much at one time.

Try adding cranberry capsules to her food. Also, you can get vitamin c crystals and just put a pinch on her food. Or use children's chewable vitamin c.

Adding tomato juice to her food might help too.

Be aware that too much vitamin c will cause soft stools or diarrhea. If that happens just cut back on the vitamin c. Tomato juice and vitamin c might be too much together. Try one or the other alone. But you should be able to add the cranberry capsules with either of those.

Peggy

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Jane Austen

r like you said get the wet Merrick food.

Canned food isn't going to be any more accidic than kibble. It's the forumla that makes a differece not the brand.

Peggy

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by corgimom

My vet had told me to give my senior Corgi 250mg of Vitamin E every day. He had said it was good for her immune system. Have you ever given that to your dogs or heard more of the benefits of vitamin E?

All my dogs get vitamin c and E. I give a 200 IU gel cap. Vit. E comes in IU's (international units) not mg's usually

Peggy

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Dillydoodle

Debbie, do you use just human vitamin C ( ester C?) or do they sell it specifically for dogs? I want to get the right thing, and what is safe for a 10wk old puppy to consume? still 500mg a day?

Not Debbie, but will answer anyway. Yes, they make vitamin C for dogs. But it's the same thing, so don't go to the extra expense, just buy the stuff for humans.

A ten week old puppy can take 500 mg, but I'd start lower. Start by breaking a chewable tablet in 4ths if you can and gradually work her up to what she can tolerate. If her stools start getting soft it's time to back off and level out. Soft stools are and indication of too much vitamin c.

Peggy