# Urine pH/Digestion



## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

So poor soul Nelly doesn't seem to be doing too well all-round at the moment.

She had a UTI a little while back but a course of antibiotics seemed to kill the infection, however, after 5 or so dipstick tests her urine pH was still showing 'off the scale'. 

We sent a sample away for culture which came back negative for bacterial growth over the weekend so that's great news but pH is still off the scale.

I'm not sure if this is linked to being on a course of antibiotics or not, but she now seems to have developed constant loose stools or diarrhoea.

We skipped a meal when this started meaning she was about 18 hours without food and then fed a bland diet for a couple of days, but that only helped for that amount of time. 

I had also popped a spoonful of natural unsweetened yoghurt into her food after the antibiotics for about 3 meals just to get her good bacteria going again which actually really perked her up.

In herself she seems her normal, alert and playful self, drinking plenty of water and still eating normally but I am conscious of dehydration with the loose stools/diarrhoea. 

She's on TOTW high prairie puppy at the moment, after buying a little bag and doing the switch all was fine and it has been the only food she will clean the bowl with. 

I wondered if all of this could be diet related in some way and what ingredients (or lack of) could cause this.

Our Vet has advised us to start a bland diet again from today and see how it goes. We have a huge amount of TOTW left but I don't want to keep feeding if this could be causing the problems.

Any advice or similar experiences greatly appreciated!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Quickly, before the raw feeders wake up, and start yawning.
Of course, my iPhone auto correct proves invaluable again...
---/---

Bland food, is actually not bad
Cooked rice with boiled chicken. 

After that look into digestive enzymes. Seems like magic powder but it works. (Prebiotic and Probiotic bacteria) 
http://www.inclover.com/optagest_dogs.html (nothing special, our pet food store had this one. 
This allowed us to switch to Orijen Regional Red (something almost impossible even with adult vizsla) 
Acana, is another option, Orijen being the flagship brand. 
Btw, I have TOWT as well as Blue (considered medium quality by purists$) and the boy did very well for a long time. Orijen, just happened to be a deal we reluctantly tried, with great success thanks to the digestive enzyme supplement. 

google "role of supplementing digestive enzymes in dogs" 
Lots of pertinent info from weight loss to allergies to poop eating.


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

Hey data and thanks for that info, i've been wondering about pre's and pro's for a while but didn't really know where to start so i'll look into what is available over here. 

My partner was given a 'bland' food from the Vet this afternoon called Specific for Digestive Support, I was just going to continue with rice and boiled chicken but he went and bought it. 

I've checked the ingredients out and they actually aren't all that bad but there does seem to be a whole lot of just 'minerals' 'oils' listed with no specifics. 

I also had a look at Orijen and Acana this morning and wondered if it would be worth switching over. I'll definitely be looking at the magic powders though thanks again data!


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

Nelly-

Max had an elevated urine PH a few months ago (I think it was 8.5), which was above the normal range.
The vet told us that high PH could be caused by UTI or by high carbohydrates in his food (UTI was ruled out). 

We had to switch food, because he was at risk of developing kidney stones if we could not get urine PH under control.

After a week on chicken and rice diet, we put him on a different brand of food, now he is doing great.

Hope you can sort everything out and Nelly will feel better.


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