Fish kibble cause UTI???

No, LOL! That's what I thought, too. Marshmallow is actually an herb that's completely seperate in every way from the white, fluffy, smores ingredient. It's good for tummy stuff.

Ah ha!  OK, sounds good to me then.  I'm going to try to find it later today. 
Do you think I should stick with the fish kibble or should I switch her.  Maybe it's time to switch to duck--and hope that she doesn't have issue with it the way she does chicken?  Or maybe I could try Eagle Pack cause she said that one has low ash.  I really would like to keep her on a fish formula because her coat needs a lot of support. 

I try to keep the ash content of food around 6 %.
This has worked well for Darci. While she was on NB she had 2 Uti's.
 
But when I changed her food thats also when I started with bottled water and cranberry capsules daily and adding the water to her kibble, so it may not have been the NB.
 
I would try the water, cranberry first before changing food, since she likes so well.

Eagle Pack reccomends their fish formula for UTI prone dogs.

Cindi--Are you using regular bottled water or distilled, or??  We have a good filter would that be the same?  She doesn't get water right from the tap. 

Lori, I'd do one thing at a time. We have dogs with issues. We need to know, sometimes, WHY it's working. If the supplement works, fine. If not, change the water. If that works, great. If not, try the food. That's how I've been doing things, and it keeps me less confused[]

I'm sorry to hear that Willow is getting UTI's. I'm very prone to them and they're awful! []Cranberry works like a MIRACLE though. It works by keeping bacteria from sticking to the bladder's walls. If I take cranberry when I feel the first symptoms coming on I can nip an infection in the bud. With a dog prone to UTI's I would give them cranberry daily. The Solid Gold Berry Balance supplement looks great and it's MUCH better than giving antibiotics on a regular basis.

Eagle Pack Holistic is what I'm currently feeding Gingerbread and it's the best food (along with Timberwolf Organics) that I've found after going through many, many different brands. The target ph for their food is 6.0-6.4, which is ideal for dogs prone to UTI's. I think Natural Balance Fish & Sweet Potato is a great food. It's possible that the target ph is higher and with Willow being prone to UTI's it's just a little too high.

I think any of the Eagle Pack Holistic formulas (other than the chicken one of course) would be fine for Willow.

I dont do distilled just a jug of spring water from the grocery store.
I think if you have a filter for your drinking water that would work the same.
 
We have regular tap water and I tested it the ph was 8

ORIGINAL: willowchow

I thought recently I saw a topic that was discussing UTI's and it mentioned that fish kibbles could aggravate the problem.  I've searched but cannot find it.

Can anyone help me out in finding it or please let me know if this is true. 

I "thought" that Wellness was the issue with Willow's UTI's.  But, oddly enough, she's got another one and she's on another fish kibble. 

Thanks.[]

 
     It was probably me that mentioned a correlation between fish based kibble & urinary problems. This is a MAJOR MAJOR peeve of mine, and I refuse to feed any brand that contains any type of fish or fish meal as the main ingredient. I've had problems with my own dogs that I caught onto early from fish kibbles, mainly with the urine being pale or watery. After feeding two or three fish based kibbles, it finally dawned on me that this was the connection between the watery urine and frequent urinary tract infections that were resistant to both homeopathic & conventional meds. I did some digging and found too much anecdotal evidence to support my decision to not include fish as the main source of animal protein.
     The main problem is that fish (and too many veggies) will alkalize the urine, while meat acidifies it. A properly balanced diet that includes many different sources of animal protein, including meat & fish, but also with some vegs and even grains is the most natural way to promote a healthy urine pH. If the urine is too alkaline, over time bacteria will flourish, causing the UTI. A normal acidity kills excess bacteria in the tract, dissolves the majority of stones or crystals before they have a chance to become a problem, and promotes the overall health of the bladder/kidneys. It is impossible to maintain urinary health (long term) on a fish based diet. Dogs are carnivores, and fish is NOT an appropriate food for carnivores. I'm not even going to get into the vast array of problems it causes for obligate carnivores (cats), but fish diets are out of the question if your cat has FUS or similar chronic urinary problems.
     Another reason I do not feed fish is because most fish meals are preserved w/ ethoxyquin by the supplier, not th emanufacturer of a food, and as such, the chemical will not be listed on the bag.
     It doesn't matter what brand, all fish has the same effect on a carnivore's urinary health. Don't get me wrong, its a gread addition to any diet - fish is full of zinc, EPA, DHA - it just should not be listed as the first or second ingredient - and if the first two ingredients are meats (in lieu of meal) and the third is a fish meal - thats actually a fish based food.
     I know too many people who have lost dogs or spent $$$ in vet bills after feeding fish based foods. This is actually everyone I know who feeds a fish formula - somewhere along the line they run into trouble. Yes, its anecdotal, but I'm talking about dogs who didn't just have problems with UTIs. Some were dying from very obscure cancers of the urinary tract, having problems with renal function, etc. Not a chance I will take anymore. [sm=2cents.gif]

For allergy dogs, fish is a wonder food. I also feed fresh friuts and fresh cooked veggies.

Urban Beagles---Do you have any further info or links to back up this information regarding fish not being appropriate for carnivores? 

Buck got his first and only kidney infection the end of last May, he was 11 1/2 at the time.  My vet put him on antibiotics for 3 weeks and and science diet k/d for 3 months.  AND after I finished the antibiotics, i started him on the same one a day cranberry capsul hubby and I take.  At the end of the 3 months his kidneys showeed perfect again, but i have kept him on the cranberry capsuls as so many times older dogs tend to develope kidney problems, or so my vet tells me.  Buck is the first dog i ever had to have a kidney infection.

I called my Dermatologist in Houston. He has never heard of or seen a problem with Fish food causing UTI's. He has been practicing for many years. He has helped Trudy and I trust him.  I had pets with UTI's and they never ate fish. Now Trudy is fine and has been eating fish kibble. Each dog is different.

I asked my vet about this yesterday, and she said she had never heard of UTI's being caused by a fish diet. 

ORIGINAL: UrbanBeagles


    The main problem is that fish (and too many veggies) will alkalize the urine, while meat acidifies it. A properly balanced diet that includes many different sources of animal protein, including meat & fish, but also with some vegs and even grains is the most natural way to promote a healthy urine pH. If the urine is too alkaline, over time bacteria will flourish, causing the UTI. A normal acidity kills excess bacteria in the tract, dissolves the majority of stones or crystals before they have a chance to become a problem, and promotes the overall health of the bladder/kidneys. It is impossible to maintain urinary health (long term) on a fish based diet. Dogs are carnivores, and fish is NOT an appropriate food for carnivores. I'm not even going to get into the vast array of problems it causes for obligate carnivores (cats), but fish diets are out of the question if your cat has FUS or similar chronic urinary problems.
 

This is completely wrong!  All animal meat, including fish, is acidic.  Fish urine itself is sometimes alkaline depending on the fish, but that has nothing to do with th pH of the flesh.  Alkaline urine is a sympton of UTIs, not a cause.  The bacteria in the tract split urea into ammonia and other alkaline wastes.  Old school thinking was that pH played a role in causing UTIs but modern thought is the cause is hygenic, and that while acidic urine in the bladder can help limit bacteria growth there is no cause/effect relationship.