Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary S/O Dry Dog Food alternative

[Boronia]

My dog is fed Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary S/O Dry Dog Food at breakfast time, for tea-time she gets raw chicken (chopped up drumstick or wings and 1/4 frame) with Vets All Natural Complete Mix Adult Senior mixed in.

She did have bladder stones/struvite crystals (that's why the Urinary S/O) and suffers from some itchiness on her haunches; she licks them and her bum as well, her anal glands were expressed but she still licks.

After her struvite crystals diagnosis and treatment there have been none detected in her urine.

She was on Niralone to see if it helped her licking/itchy problem which it did, but her vet took her off those tablets as the skin on her back is becoming dark and there was hair loss, she stopped her licking for around one week but then started again after discontinuing them,  we have been trying 1/4 Apoquel morning and night for two weeks then gradually cutting the dosage back, not so much licking now but her skin is still blackish, though only on her back...her tummy, chest, head and legs are nice and pink.

I thought she may be extra-sensitive to the Canin Veterinary Urinary and wondered if there is an alternative.

She must be kept on a low low low magnesium diet as we want to prevent struvite crystals forming again.

Any suggestions will be very helpful

[Papillon Kisses]

Hills will definitely have one and maybe Purina (their vet line).

[leac1801]

I only know of Hills c/d, I don't think Purina have one.

[Boronia]

4 hours ago, leac1801 said:

I only know of Hills c/d, I don't think Purina have one.

I checked and they appear to have it just for cats,

perhaps I'll try the Hills though I'm not too sure if it's all it's cracked up to be, it appears, from some comments I read a while back by Dolers, to make the dog drink more which flushes out the kidneys, seems a odd thing to do.

I'll have a look at the sodium content later on today

[Papillon Kisses]

Malcolm has had calcium oxalate stones but can’t have urinary food due to lymphangiectasia, so he’s got a script for whatever is in it that binds calcium. Perhaps there’s an equivalent for struvites? Or maybe she’s reacting to the other things she’s eating?

Edited August 26, 2019 by Papillon Kisses

[Boronia]

I am going to take her off the Royal Canin and see if the blackness on her skin clears up, she can have chicken and VAN, golden paste, cranberry powder and vitamins instead.

[Boronia]

this is the dry food she is eating in the morning:

https://www.petstock.com.au/product/dog/royal-canin-veterinary-urinary-s-o-dry-dog-food/58497

and a list of the ingredients, as you see they are pretty crappy, no wonder her skin is going black...an awful amount of corn, fillers and sodium to make her wee more often therefore drinking more to flush the kidneys

Rice, maize flour, animal fats, dehydrated poultry meat, maize gluten, minerals, hydrolysed animal proteins, vegetable fibres, soya oil, fish oil, fructo-oligo-saccharides, marigold extract (source of lutein). ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin A: 16200 IU, Vitamin D3: 1000 IU, E1 (I ron): 52 mg, E2 (Iodine): 5.2 mg, E4 (Copper): 10 mg, E5 (Manganese): 67 mg, E6 (Zinc): 202 mg, E8 ( Selenium): 0.08 mg - Preservatives - Antioxidants. ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 18% - Fat conte nt: 17% - Crude ash: 6.6% - Crude fibres: 2.3% - Calcium: 0.5% - Phosphorus: 0.5% - Sodium: 1.2% - Chloride: 2.21% - Potassium: 0.8% - Magnesium: 0.05% - Sulphur: 0.3% - Urine acidifying substances: calcium sulphate (0.55%), DL-methionine.

If I can't find a low magnesium kibble I will just feed her chicken and VAN Complete mix, I am feeding kibble in the morning so she can have some vitamins and minerals that she may miss out on if fed just chicken and VAN and it's more of a convenience as mornings are busy.