My 5.5 month Chocolate Labrador has just been spayed and the nurse noticed blood in urine after dog was recovering. They said it was probably from her operation and asked for a sample of urine to be taken in 3 days when they checked the wound was healing.

The vet said it was clear of blood and infection but the PH was high at 8.5.
The sample was taken first thing in the morning and was quite strong as she had not drunk water after 10pm the night before.

I think it may have been for the above reason but the Vet was very keen for her to start using Hills S/D diet that is canned and that will cost me about £30 per week.

I really think she was trying to frighten me and she definately gave me the hard sell.
I have so far stood my ground and refused to try her on the Hills S/D diet and she has given her antibiotics to rule out infection which the urine test said she did not have.
She wants to review this again in a weeks time.

What do you other forum dog owners think?

Am i being given the hard sell?What alternative treatments are there for a high PH in the urine that could possibly cause the formation of crystals in the urinary tract?

I am really annoyed with my vets practice as every time i go i end up getting sold something or other.
Xmas she had an upset stomach and the vet gave her 4 types of medications and it cost over £80 - i know she was beeter the next day but i'm sure they just gave my little girl more medication than she needed.

Time to seek a new practice maybe.

Advice appreciated please

I don't have any experience of this but I am sceptical about the various commercial 'prescription' diets.

My ageing dog has weak kidneys and although recommended the Canin renal diet by a vet, it wasn't good for her and was an extremely low quality food. It might have been good for her kidneys but it was clearly dreadful for the rest of her! After researching options on the web I started a mixture of home cooking (rice and sweet potatoes mostly) with small amounts of high quality protein. She's 15 now, and doing well.

So - I recommend finding out what the prescription diet aims to achieve nutritionally, and then putting together the same with the best ingredients you can find/afford, whether that's bought or home cooked. I know Burns has a nutrition helpline, it might be worth ringing them to find what they recommend even if you don't buy from them.

Secondly, I'd buy some urine analysis strips (such as these) and test your dog over time - and at different times of day/with different foods etc - so you have more information to give to the vet. It should work out much cheaper than repeated vet visits and you'll have a clearer picture of what's going on.

My cat had something similar, and i got her onto a low ph biscuit. It wasn't one that the vets sold. I bought it online so it wasn't too expensive. It worked. I put all my cats onto it as they all had various urine problems and the food alone solved all the problems.

Ask the vet for alternative medication or advice. If she offers nothing and still tries to sell the Hill's, decline and complain to an official body. It is well known that nutrition and diet is not something that vets get much instruction in for some reason. Do not go with the Hill's. It's a great big con.

A high pH needs taking seriously as the alkaline nature of the dog's pee can leave it more open to infections and stones. The internet unsurprisingly has plenty of theories about what to feed a dog to lower it's pee pH. One I found is less carbohydrates and less grains - grains and carbohydrates are often fillers in dog food.

pH testing strips are not hard to come by - there are plenty on the Internet. If you get ones that will show what the pH is from about 5 to 9 (8 would probably do) you can keep check on what it actually is as you change her food. pH 7 is neutral so just below that will probably do just fine. Use a mid-stream sample for testing!

Remember that if the value is the highest (or lowest) the strip will show it could well be higher (or lower). And also remember that stones or an infection are serious, whip her off to the vet if you get symptoms of either.

I think i will buy test strips and monitor my dogs PH levels whilst adjusting her diet.
I will also ask for alternative treatment/or advice without going down the Hills food route. It really bugs me that these Vets push Hills prescription diet on people but i guess they get greedy at the thought of all that commission they get for selling the food.

Thanks for all the advice _ this is a great forum.

I have also done some research online and will at least be forearmed when i next see my Vet in a weeks time.

My dog is on a urinary control diet for crystals. He has the Royal Canin biscuits and cans of meat. Yes it is inconvenient, only being able to pick up the food from the vets, yes, it is expensive but.......................I would feel absolute shite if my dog were to get crystals and needed another operation, so I take the advice from my vet, who, afterall is much more qualified than me with these things.

OP - Is there anyway you could get another opinion from another vets. I understand and to a certain degree agree with your scepticism, but if stones are a real threat, then the warning shouldn't be taken lightly.