[OutWest]

I know a lot of people here feed their dogs grain-free food. I met a dog walker who looked at my spaniel's eyes and said her "eye boogers" would go away if I didn't feed her food with corn in it. Trouble is, she has bladder stones and is on a prescription dog food. I looked at the label, and it is in fact filled with corn.

Has anyone put together a special diet or found a commercial food that is not corn-based but works for dogs with bladder stones? Evidently such a food should have "reduced levels of protein, magnesium and phosphorus."

I am somewhat despairing of finding a food that is perfect. I have been happy to avoid more bladder surgery for Tess, using the Royal Canin prescription food. But she has been putting on weight (working on that, too) and I'm wondering if the woman is right about her rheumy eyes and the "boogers." Help and input welcomed!

 

[tippykayak]

It's amazing how people who work with dogs with absolutely no medical or nutritional training offer unsolicited advice to strangers. Unless a dog has a specific intolerance for corn, which is uncommon, there's nothing wrong with it as an ingredient. Too much in a food would be bad, obviously (or you wouldn't call it too much), but corn sometimes gets a bad rap that it doesn't deserve.

If your dog has excessive eye discharge, there are lots of things that can cause that: seasonal allergies, infection/inflammation in the tear duct, malformed tear ducts, distichias, etc. And the occasional eye booger is normal anyway.

It's extraordinarily unlikely that the discharge has anything to do with the corn in the food. If she has bladder stones, messing around with her food sounds like a terrible idea to me. Your dog walker needs to remember that her job is dog walker, not dog nutritionist, just like your dog nutritionist shouldn't be offering unsolicited advice on what oil you're using for your car this winter and your mechanic shouldn't be telling you that you're using the wrong collar for teaching heel.

 

[Tahnee GR]

I agree with Brian. Foods for specific medical conditions have been carefully researched and if it is controlling her condition, I wouldn't mess with it.

Interestingly enough, there is a food made specifically to be fed to bitches who are being bred. It is designed to increase conception rates and successful pregnancies. Those who have used it, have reported good success with it-and it has corn as a significant ingredient. Corn is not necessarily bad, assuming it is of good quality and is properly processed. This was all part of a discussion on a GR breeders group and was very interesting to read.

 

[Willow52]

Eye boogers are a small annoyance compared to bladder problems. I'd stick with the prescription food and hope the dog walker learns to mind his own business.

 

[drloripalooza]

You might want to check out DogAware.com: Health Problems in Dogs. They carry a lot of information on medical conditions and special diets for medical conditions. I got good information about Watt's liver condition -- even though I feed him L/D -- so I know what snacks to feed him and what toppers I can give him. Watt can only have chicken, turkey, cheese, etc.

Since I don't know what type of bladder condition your Golden has (stones? what type? etc.?) I couldn't link the specific page for his condition.

Sorry to hear about your doggie's bladder condition.

 

[MyBentley]

I strongly suggest you locate a holistic vet with a strong interest in nutrition for dogs with special needs. There are ways of home-cooking meals for a dog that would provide reduced levels of protein, magnesium and phosphorus. For my own dogs, I would be looking for healthier long-term alternatives to the prescription food reliance on rice, ground corn and chicken fat.