What Diet Helps after Removal of Bladder Stones?

Recently I am seeing more and more dogs have Bladder Stones and most are having to have surgery to remove them.

So, we need to look at the diet of the dog and make sure we change it up to stop more stones forming.

There are two ways forward. Preparing the food, yourself with quality meats and vegetables or using a commercially prepared Pet Food specific for this issue.

Many Vets will take you straight to the Kibble/Biscuit packs found at the vets. There are a few veterinary prescription diets that are designed to (theoretically) reduce the likelihood of calcium oxalate bladder stones.

You can also look at other ways to feed your dog if he/she is prone to having Bladder Stones.

So, let’s see what foods we need to avoid.

Avoid feeding foods that contain high levels of oxalate such as spinach, sweet potatoes, organ meat and brown rice.  Look at foods with lower oxalate levels like apples (peeled), white rice, meats, and fish. It’s a great idea to boil any vegetables as well – this helps to reduce the oxalate levels in them.

Restricting calcium is another strategy for reducing oxalate levels in the urine, however too much restriction can be damaging and may lead to health problems including osteoporosis.

Reducing salt and avoid excess vitamin D as well.

Vitamin C supplements are also not recommended because when it is broken down it produces oxalate.

In all cases of urinary tract stones, it is a good idea to give a vitamin B complex supplement.

Calcium oxalate stones do cause the bladder to become inflamed so to help reduce this inflammation, you can give your dog fish body oil supplements and avoiding liver oil as this contains vitamin D.

You can also prepare your dog’s food using the same high-quality ingredients that you eat. There are several health benefits of making your dog’s food at home. By feeding your dog a home-prepared diet rather than a dry kibble diet, you can increase the amount of water they are drinking. And as mentioned above, increased water consumption makes urine more dilute and can help prevent stones forming. Using bone broth is another great way to increase water intake.

A home-prepared diet is also the only way you can truly control what is going into your dog.

If you’d like to try cooking for your dog, the best way to ensure that the diet is meeting all your dog’s nutritional needs is to get your recipe from a qualified dog nutritionist. We are lucky enough in WA to have vet Dr Clare Middle who can design a diet for you.

Here are some of the vegetables you can mix with the meat.

Apples, Cranberries, Mung Beans, Lettuce, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Yellow Squash, Cauliflower, Kale and Mustard Greens.

I find introducing a good Pro Biotic will also help moving forward. I use Pro Biotics for numerous issues in my 3 dogs.