My dog is a seven-year old female collie-terrier cross and I have had her for six years. Recently she has been drinking more water and urinating slightly more than usual. She also leaked a little urine a few times after coming in from her evening walk.
A urine specimen was analysed and the vet advised that calcium oxalate crystals were present in the sample. (Apparently there was no glucose, signs of infection or blood present). As a result, the vet has put her on a prescribed diet, Urinary S/O by Royal Canin, and has told me she'll have to be fed this food exclusively for the rest of her life, to avoid crystals forming and developing into stones in her urinary tract. This seems to me to be a very drastic diagnosis based on the analysis of only one urine sample. Should any further tests be done to confirm this is the correct diagnosis?
Another urine sample is to be tested in three months' time to check that the prescription diet is working. In the meantime she is to get no extra treats of any kind. She loves cheese but I suspect this is the worst thing I could give her. Are there any treats that are safe to give a dog with this condition? Can she still have rawhide chew bones? Should I be giving her eg filtered water as opposed to tap water? What are the possible causes of this condition, or is it genetic? Will this condition affect her longevity?
Up until now, she's been a healthy, lively, happy little dog. She's never had a weight problem and her only recurring complaint is a seasonal itch which is apparently an allergy to pollen in August/September each year.
I would be grateful for any advice or information regarding this calcium oxalate diagnosis.
Thank you.
Jeanette Macleod
Hi Jeanette, could I suggest that your dog may well benefit from some Bowen therapy? The more problems a dogs has ( or a human for that matter) the more the body suffers,and starts to accumulate further problems.As a therapist I quite regularly see people, horses (and dogs too) that have a suitcase full of physical problems. The body starts to become unbalanced and starts to be more susceptible to all types of problems and disease. Bowen helps to rebalance and align and can be incredibly helpful, not just with pain, but with allergies,kidney problems and digestive kind of complaints. Do not expect Bowen to be a miracle kind of cure, the more problems a body has the longer it takes to correct. No we do not promote lots of expensive treatments but we do advise just sticking with it for a while. (We recommend 3 sessions). I do urge you to at least have a chat with a Canine Bowen therapist, it will not cost you anything and they can answer any questions about how Bowen actually works. It would be lovely for your previously happy little dog to regain her health and become comfortable once more. For a therapist local to you take a look at the directory attached to www.caninebowentechnique.com
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