# Cranberry Supplement's



## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

If you give cranberry supplements what brand? I am currently using Solid Gold Berry Balance and its just not working for us anymore. I think I need something stronger. He is still having crystals and bladder infections. Would this  or this work or be too strong? Any other suggestions are welcome!

I have also heard about putting Ocean Spray Craisins in their food.


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

At home my dogs love the dry cranberries. It was quite an accident the first time. I was putting some on my salad and dropped the bag. Some fell on the floor and my dogs scarfed them up. At work we sell this for the dogs. http://www.pureformulas.com/cranberry-rx-for-pets-90-caps-by-rx-vitamins.html#sthash.vmd2wOHH.dpbs

I think it is worth a try to switch to something else.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

luv mi pets said:


> At home my dogs love the dry cranberries. It was quite an accident the first time. I was putting some on my salad and dropped the bag. Some fell on the floor and my dogs scarfed them up. At work we sell this for the dogs. http://www.pureformulas.com/cranberry-rx-for-pets-90-caps-by-rx-vitamins.html#sthash.vmd2wOHH.dpbs
> 
> I think it is worth a try to switch to something else.


Thank you. I will look into that. We sell Nutricalm and other meds from that brand but have never used their cranberry formula before. We sell Cranandin at my work (great feed back!) but it would cost me around $60 a month (3 bottles almost) for them for Jasper because of his weight.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Every animal likes sugar. Craisins generally have lots of sugar added. It's not exactly the healthiest thing to give a dog.

Personally I feel like the whole cranberry thing is a bit exaggerated (like many other things when it comes to foods). I'd just give more water and let him eliminate more often.

Do you know what kind of crystals? Have you tested his urine pH? Acidifying the urine can help reduce the formation of struvite crystals but cranberries also contain oxalates which can increase the chance of oxalate crystals.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks for the reply. I figured the craisins were a bad idea but its just something others swear by and I was curious about others opinions. Jasper has had urinary crystals and UTI's on and off since he was 5 months old. He gets struvite crystals. He can not be on the prescription diet's because it is chicken based and he is allergic. I add 2 cups of water to each meal (2 meals a day). He drinks distilled water only. He can come and go inside and outside as he pleases during the day. His urine (when he has the crystals and UTI) is a 9/9 PH so it is very high, a 6.5 is ideal. I'll copy and past what I wrote somewhere else:



> Okay so I am completely at a loss with my little man Jasper. He is driving me nuts with his UTI problems! His first one was when he was 5 months old. It took 5 rounds of different antibiotics and 11 weeks to get rid of! I also started to give him Solid Gold Berry Balance. He did very well up until his birthday in september. He had Struvite crystals the entire time he had the UTI.
> 
> So his second UTI was at 12 months old. It took me 3 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of and 7 weeks. He had Struvite crystals the entire time he had the UTI. Once I got it under control again I was so happy! lol
> 
> ...


I keep PH stripes in the house and test him when he is not having issues. He is always at a 6.5, perfect.  When it starts going up I know he has a UTI and Crystals so I take him in and get him tested.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

The whole thing about needing 5 antibiotics to cure a previous infection is a red flag to me. When there is no response to the first broad spectrum antibiotic, then a sterile urine should be collected by cystocentesis, sent to a lab for analysis, culture, and have a sensitivity study done as well. The analysis will tell you what type of stones are forming, the culture identifies the bacteria present, and the sensitivity will identify which antibiotic eliminates the bacteria the best. So with our pup the first antibiotic didn't work, the vet collected a cysto urine for testing and gaveus a different antibiotic before we left because the analysis takes a few days, and once the sensitivity result came back the optimal antibiotic was started. End of UTI, end of struvite crystals.

What are you feeding? Our pup was eating a low end kibble when she came to us and we had t yet transitioned her when the crystal issue started. The other dogs in our household eat a raw diet, so we just transitioned the pup ASAP. While transitioning we added a bit of ascorbic acid (bought Emergen-C at Whole Foods) but carefully titrated it so that her daily pH stayed between 5.5 - 7.0. The other thing I noticed with our puppy is that she had this odd way of squatting to urinate which put her bottom almost entirely touching the ground. I wondered whether bacteria from the dirt was wicking up her fur on her urethra. I have since started trimming the fur in that area as well.

We have not had a repeat of the UTI or crystals. However, some dogs/breeds have life-long problems no matter what you do. I also find it odd that a 5 month old pup already has a food allergy. With one of our older dogs I found that she could not tolerate lamb kibble but when we transitioned her to raw she can eat everything and anything. But she was nearly 2 years old when her allergy/sensitivity appeared.

I'm not really sure that an expensive supplement is any better than cheap over the counter supplements. If you're trying to acidify any acid will do. Cranberry and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are easily available in any grocery store at a reasonable price.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

briteday said:


> The whole thing about needing 5 antibiotics to cure a previous infection is a red flag to me. When there is no response to the first broad spectrum antibiotic, then a sterile urine should be collected by cystocentesis, sent to a lab for analysis, culture, and have a sensitivity study done as well. The analysis will tell you what type of stones are forming, the culture identifies the bacteria present, and the sensitivity will identify which antibiotic eliminates the bacteria the best. So with our pup the first antibiotic didn't work, the vet collected a cysto urine for testing and gaveus a different antibiotic before we left because the analysis takes a few days, and once the sensitivity result came back the optimal antibiotic was started. End of UTI, end of struvite crystals.
> 
> What are you feeding? Our pup was eating a low end kibble when she came to us and we had t yet transitioned her when the crystal issue started. The other dogs in our household eat a raw diet, so we just transitioned the pup ASAP. While transitioning we added a bit of ascorbic acid (bought Emergen-C at Whole Foods) but carefully titrated it so that her daily pH stayed between 5.5 - 7.0. The other thing I noticed with our puppy is that she had this odd way of squatting to urinate which put her bottom almost entirely touching the ground. I wondered whether bacteria from the dirt was wicking up her fur on her urethra. I have since started trimming the fur in that area as well.
> 
> ...


His first infection I did three rounds of antibiotics without a culture at a lab. After that I sent one and it took 2 rounds of that med to fix the problem. I now have cultures done when he has a problem but it still takes forever to get it fixed even with the med they suggest.

Jasper was eating Natural Balance Venison and Sweet Potato. I recently have switched him to 4Health Beef and Potato. He has really bad tummy issues on most foods, and is allergic to any amount of chicken in a food. 

Jasper is 17 months old now, not 5 months.  And he has had continued problems with Uti's and crystals over his life so far.


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

I don't usually use products marketed for dogs. I use basic powdered cranberry capsules (for humans) and they work fine for my mildly spay-incontinent dog.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

Damon'sMom said:


> I keep PH stripes in the house and test him when he is not having issues. He is always at a 6.5, perfect.  When it starts going up I know he has a UTI and Crystals so I take him in and get him tested.


That makes sense. UTIs tend to increase pH and the formation of struvites.

A pH of 6.5 is pretty ideal so I'm just guessing here but maybe he's just more prone to bladder inflammations, which give bacteria more or a chance to attach and grow.

Three things I can think of:
1) I'd still go with having him drink more and pee more often to flush out the bacteria. Adding water to his food should help increase hydration.

2) Have you tried any probiotics? While not very fleshed out, there have been some proof that probiotics help prevent UTIs.

3) When it comes to cranberry supplements, what you'd be looking for is probably more the PAC content (the proanthocyanidins help prevent E coli from sticking to urinary walls) rather than the acidifying affect. Unfortunately, I don't think cranberry supplements really list anything along the lines of content yet so it's hard to say which one is better on that front. As far as I know, the only risk with overdosing on cranberry supplements is making the urine too acidic so I guess you can just try the "strong" supplements and adjust accordingly. If I remember correctly, ideally you'd want to keep the pH above 6.2


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I use Urinary Tract Essentials (human) that I get from Swanson Vitamins online.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

InkedMarie said:


> I use Urinary Tract Essentials (human) that I get from Swanson Vitamins online.


How much would you give a 58 pound dog? And how about a 30lb dog?


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Damon'sMom said:


> How much would you give a 58 pound dog? And how about a 30lb dog?


My 32 pounder and my 22 pounder split a capsule (I just sprinkle into food) so half for the smaller dog, one for larger.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Damon'sMom said:


> His first infection I did three rounds of antibiotics without a culture at a lab. After that I sent one and it took 2 rounds of that med to fix the problem. I now have cultures done when he has a problem but it still takes forever to get it fixed even with the med they suggest.
> 
> Jasper was eating Natural Balance Venison and Sweet Potato. I recently have switched him to 4Health Beef and Potato. He has really bad tummy issues on most foods, and is allergic to any amount of chicken in a food.
> 
> Jasper is 17 months old now, not 5 months.  And he has had continued problems with Uti's and crystals over his life so far.


Have you tried some low ash foods - Nutrisca has a Salmon that is about 4% ash and doesn't seem to have chicken in it http://nutrisca.dogswell.com/salmon.html

I had started Zoey on these cranberry extract tablets http://www.naturesway.com/Products/Herbs/15021-Cranberry-Standardized.aspx and got the dosage from here http://www.ehow.com/facts_5641433_cranberry-urinary-tract-infection-dogs.html She is now on the solid gold berry balance along with probiotics http://nwcnaturalspet.com/total-biotics.html

The Vet doesn't believe that Cranberry or probiotic works the way that I've read on the internet but did say to get Zoey to drink more which she now gets a lot more water. 

I switched her from 4Health and was starting to give her to Victor but then it was said that high ash is not good and going online I read that ash may contribute to crystals so I switched her to Annamaet which has less then 7% ash.

I won't say that Zoey is cured but she hasn't had a UTI in a while and I have been feeding Annamaet for about 3 months now but I guess we'll see.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

zhaor said:


> That makes sense. UTIs tend to increase pH and the formation of struvites.
> 
> A pH of 6.5 is pretty ideal so I'm just guessing here but maybe he's just more prone to bladder inflammations, which give bacteria more or a chance to attach and grow.
> 
> ...


I really can't add much more water to his food. It looks like soup as it is. lol And he doesn't like it that I do that. I might buy one of those water fountains, I heard that makes some dogs want to drink more. And he has access to outside at all times right now so that he can pee at anytime he wants. 

I have had Jasper on Probiotics for his tummy issues and heard that they help with UTi's and such. It really didn't seem to make a differance to him. I am going to try him on The missing link soon (a different brand than I am using now). It has the omega 3's I want and probiotics in it. We will see if that one seems to make a difference I guess. Thank you for all of your help so far!



Dog Person said:


> Have you tried some low ash foods - Nutrisca has a Salmon that is about 4% ash and doesn't seem to have chicken in it http://nutrisca.dogswell.com/salmon.html
> 
> I had started Zoey on these cranberry extract tablets http://www.naturesway.com/Products/Herbs/15021-Cranberry-Standardized.aspx and got the dosage from here http://www.ehow.com/facts_5641433_cranberry-urinary-tract-infection-dogs.html She is now on the solid gold berry balance along with probiotics http://nwcnaturalspet.com/total-biotics.html
> 
> ...


Glade to hear she is doing better! I just switched Jasper to 4health GF Beef and Potato and he is doing better on that food than on any other he has been on. I don't want to rock the boat on food right now. I will keep in mind the foods you listed though. Do you happen to know the ash level in 4health foods? I have yet to get a response from them. 




InkedMarie said:


> My 32 pounder and my 22 pounder split a capsule (I just sprinkle into food) so half for the smaller dog, one for larger.


Thank you!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

I don't know but I wonder if you contact Aineworth (spelling?) maybe they will tell you.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Dog Person said:


> I don't know but I wonder if you contact Aineworth (spelling?) maybe they will tell you.


I did contact them about a week ago but no reply so far. I might just have to call them instead of email.


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## llillio (Aug 15, 2013)

We just had serious bouts of struvite crystals with our 11m miniature schnauzer pup - 3 emergency vet trips in 2 weeks because his plumbing was completed blocked with crystals. Urine analysis showed trace blood in his urine and high PH (8.0) and A LOT of struvite but negative on UTI and bacterial cultures. We put him on antibiotic (for safety) and cranberry extract immediately - generic 1000mg capsules. I open the capsule and sprinkle a pinch of the power on his meal. With him being so small (13lbs) one capsule was enough to feed him for about 5 days. We've been monitoring his urine PH daily as well and I'm happy to report that it took about a week for his PH to come down to 6~7 range. He gets a pinch every 3 days or so now since we don't want to risk having his urine go too acidic now. He hasn't had any more blockage (knock on wood). We're expecting the acidity will help dissolve the remaining crystals and are planning to take him in within a month or so to get another round of ultrasound to check on his bladder. 
If your guy has other dietary restrictions or allergies, it may not be a bad idea to get him on strict cranberry extract rather than the supplements which will have other ingredients and chemicals in them as well. Limiting the exposure to chemicals (however good or bad) was critical for us as our pup is under medical management for liver shunt as well... good luck with Jasper.


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