Age 8
Male
Nuterred
Shih-Poo
11lb
Diet: Currently on Royal Canin Urinary S/O and Gastro (See info below) Looking to switch to real food diet
Vax: Vaxinated and on flea tick, as I didn't know better at the time, has been on some rounds of antibiotics before
BEAM
Behavior
Since March: plays a little but stops after a few minutes, is more itchy, eyes are more watery, yaws more, licks lips, licks the bed sheets at night, bites paws, more unsettled (moves around more than usual, before getting comfortable,) snores, gags, coughs, makes a honking sound, makes small huffing/coughing sounds after running/playing and longer walks and makes little noises sighs/small moans, when going to lay down – recent vet said this is due to indigestion, would you agree?
Energy is good.
Appetite is good. He always wants to eat, some days less, but mostly he eats.
Mood, overall good, but sometimes he wants to be alone and goes under the bed (normally wants to be with us, all the time) He’s a trouper, but I know he’s off and sometimes doesn’t feel well.
Hello,
This is a little long, but please bear with me as the issue is twofold, and I am at a loss.
I am a member – I have searched the library and forum, watched most of the videos on the YT channel, and seen 4 different vets/integrative vets, but I am receiving conflicting information and still have questions/concerns.
For most of his life, he was on a better, cleaner kibble, no grains, with chicken being the first ingredient with minimal other ingredients. I stopped being able to get this food, so I switched him to another brand, which I cannot recall, but was similar.
About 6 months ago, a couple of months after being on the new food, he had an episode where he was urgently needing to pee, often, and with blood. The vet tested his urine and found that he had oxalate crystals. They gave him antibiotics to treat it and told me he had to be on the prescription Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet. I was not impressed with the ingredients, and the fact that salt is the “helping” factor, didn’t sit well with me. I asked for alternatives, and they told me there weren’t any. I asked about making food, or going raw, and they got irritated with me and told me not to.
I called a few vets, saw another, but I got the same info.
He went on the prescription Urinary SO food in June, with no new episodes happening until November. He had an episode where he started having bloody diarrhea, with mucus, and had to go every couple of hours for about 12 hours. He was very clingy and was not feeling well. I brought him to the vet and examined the poop and told me it was a “small intestine issue” there was a “bacterial imbalance,” They put him on antibiotics, some probiotics and told me to switch his food from the Royal Canin Urinary S/O to the Royal Canin Urinary S/O + Satiety as this could have more fiber and help the digestive tract.
At the beginning of March, he had a 2nd episode where he threw up 3 times over a couple days. Twice food and the third, blood - he did not want to eat that morning. He eats dry food with some wet food mixed in as he won’t eat just dry, alone. I had run out of wet food, so I steamed him some carrots and peas, which I thought would be okay, as they are in his canned food, but perhaps that upset his stomach? I went to get him his wet food, and he was fine after.
A few weeks later, at the beginning of April, his latest episode, he started having diarrhea with mucus. He went out every two hours for 12hrs each time with diarrhea, at first no blood, then after a while, blood. The next day, the diarrhea was less frequent, but he started throwing up bile with some blood. Since this was the 2nd episode in a month, I was concerned so I brought him in. They suspected Addison’s but it's not, they did blood - everything looked normal and they did an ultrasound - nothing of concern but saw some irritation in the digestive tract. He was diagnosed with Gastroenteritis. I asked the doctor is he wanted to test his poop to see if it was another bacteria, he said no. (Looking back, maybe I should have pushed that?) I was sent home with probiotics, and a bunch of other things, and told to give him Royal Canin wet Gastro food for 5 days until things returned back to normal, then to return back to his regular food.
I went to see an integrative vet, who is also a nutritionist, in hopes for some other alternatives. She told me to avoid foods high in calcium, raw food as it has bones with are high in calcium, as they can all contribute to Oxalate crystals. She also gave me a long list of foods (mostly veggies, that have oxalates to avoid.) I have read about others who have been given something natural and their pets never had crystals again. She suggested “Corn Silk” and “Couch Grass” and told me I could buy tincture (which I don’t want to do as they have alcohol and I don’t think that’s good for them, right?) or she said I could buy dry herbs from online and grind them up and put them in his food or steep them and add the water to food or have him drink if he would. She told me adding water to his food is imperative and the thing that will help the most.
I go back and forth from Montreal and Toronto. This is only integrative vet I could find and she was 2 hours away from me. When I get back to Toronto, I will try and look for others there, but the ones I have found so far are not taking patients right now or there is a very long wait list.
Since the episode in April, his poop is now solid, but often has some thin string like, (believe mucus?,) and sometimes has darker spots in it (digested blood?)
Looking for more support, please. I love him so much, I just want to do right by him.
Questions:
1. Do these “high oxalate” foods really contribute to oxalate crystals? I’m getting conflicting info from vet to vet
2. For dogs with Calcium Oxalate crystals:
3. Please provide suggestions on supplements to break up crystals and stones, and where to get? I've heard of Chanca Peidra?
4. Please provide good, trusted holistic vets in Montreal/Toronto or even in Canada that is still taking new clients.
THANK YOU
@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina
Male
Nuterred
Shih-Poo
11lb
Diet: Currently on Royal Canin Urinary S/O and Gastro (See info below) Looking to switch to real food diet
Vax: Vaxinated and on flea tick, as I didn't know better at the time, has been on some rounds of antibiotics before
BEAM
Behavior
Since March: plays a little but stops after a few minutes, is more itchy, eyes are more watery, yaws more, licks lips, licks the bed sheets at night, bites paws, more unsettled (moves around more than usual, before getting comfortable,) snores, gags, coughs, makes a honking sound, makes small huffing/coughing sounds after running/playing and longer walks and makes little noises sighs/small moans, when going to lay down – recent vet said this is due to indigestion, would you agree?
Energy is good.
Appetite is good. He always wants to eat, some days less, but mostly he eats.
Mood, overall good, but sometimes he wants to be alone and goes under the bed (normally wants to be with us, all the time) He’s a trouper, but I know he’s off and sometimes doesn’t feel well.
Hello,
This is a little long, but please bear with me as the issue is twofold, and I am at a loss.
I am a member – I have searched the library and forum, watched most of the videos on the YT channel, and seen 4 different vets/integrative vets, but I am receiving conflicting information and still have questions/concerns.
For most of his life, he was on a better, cleaner kibble, no grains, with chicken being the first ingredient with minimal other ingredients. I stopped being able to get this food, so I switched him to another brand, which I cannot recall, but was similar.
About 6 months ago, a couple of months after being on the new food, he had an episode where he was urgently needing to pee, often, and with blood. The vet tested his urine and found that he had oxalate crystals. They gave him antibiotics to treat it and told me he had to be on the prescription Royal Canin Urinary S/O diet. I was not impressed with the ingredients, and the fact that salt is the “helping” factor, didn’t sit well with me. I asked for alternatives, and they told me there weren’t any. I asked about making food, or going raw, and they got irritated with me and told me not to.
I called a few vets, saw another, but I got the same info.
He went on the prescription Urinary SO food in June, with no new episodes happening until November. He had an episode where he started having bloody diarrhea, with mucus, and had to go every couple of hours for about 12 hours. He was very clingy and was not feeling well. I brought him to the vet and examined the poop and told me it was a “small intestine issue” there was a “bacterial imbalance,” They put him on antibiotics, some probiotics and told me to switch his food from the Royal Canin Urinary S/O to the Royal Canin Urinary S/O + Satiety as this could have more fiber and help the digestive tract.
At the beginning of March, he had a 2nd episode where he threw up 3 times over a couple days. Twice food and the third, blood - he did not want to eat that morning. He eats dry food with some wet food mixed in as he won’t eat just dry, alone. I had run out of wet food, so I steamed him some carrots and peas, which I thought would be okay, as they are in his canned food, but perhaps that upset his stomach? I went to get him his wet food, and he was fine after.
A few weeks later, at the beginning of April, his latest episode, he started having diarrhea with mucus. He went out every two hours for 12hrs each time with diarrhea, at first no blood, then after a while, blood. The next day, the diarrhea was less frequent, but he started throwing up bile with some blood. Since this was the 2nd episode in a month, I was concerned so I brought him in. They suspected Addison’s but it's not, they did blood - everything looked normal and they did an ultrasound - nothing of concern but saw some irritation in the digestive tract. He was diagnosed with Gastroenteritis. I asked the doctor is he wanted to test his poop to see if it was another bacteria, he said no. (Looking back, maybe I should have pushed that?) I was sent home with probiotics, and a bunch of other things, and told to give him Royal Canin wet Gastro food for 5 days until things returned back to normal, then to return back to his regular food.
I went to see an integrative vet, who is also a nutritionist, in hopes for some other alternatives. She told me to avoid foods high in calcium, raw food as it has bones with are high in calcium, as they can all contribute to Oxalate crystals. She also gave me a long list of foods (mostly veggies, that have oxalates to avoid.) I have read about others who have been given something natural and their pets never had crystals again. She suggested “Corn Silk” and “Couch Grass” and told me I could buy tincture (which I don’t want to do as they have alcohol and I don’t think that’s good for them, right?) or she said I could buy dry herbs from online and grind them up and put them in his food or steep them and add the water to food or have him drink if he would. She told me adding water to his food is imperative and the thing that will help the most.
I go back and forth from Montreal and Toronto. This is only integrative vet I could find and she was 2 hours away from me. When I get back to Toronto, I will try and look for others there, but the ones I have found so far are not taking patients right now or there is a very long wait list.
Since the episode in April, his poop is now solid, but often has some thin string like, (believe mucus?,) and sometimes has darker spots in it (digested blood?)
Looking for more support, please. I love him so much, I just want to do right by him.
Questions:
1. Do these “high oxalate” foods really contribute to oxalate crystals? I’m getting conflicting info from vet to vet
2. For dogs with Calcium Oxalate crystals:
- Do bones and raw food with bones in them need to be avoided as they have calcium?
- Does that include bones like marrow to chew on for teeth health?
- I saw Vit C should also be avoided.
- In the webinar I saw in the library, it says low carbs, high protein, and lots of vegetables (don't most veg have high oxalates?,) but the integrative vet told me to use lots of carbs and watch out for vegetables - what's the right thing to do?
- Suggestions on what to feed, please?
3. Please provide suggestions on supplements to break up crystals and stones, and where to get? I've heard of Chanca Peidra?
4. Please provide good, trusted holistic vets in Montreal/Toronto or even in Canada that is still taking new clients.
THANK YOU
@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina
Last edited:
You are absolutely on the right path, even if it feels confusing at times — advocating for him, seeking deeper answers, and trusting your inner knowing are core parts of the healing journey we emphasize at Holistic Actions! and through the Path to Pet Wellness.
