How To Prevent Canine Bladder Stones

Did you know that bladder stones aren’t just a human issue—our four-legged friends can suffer from them too? Thankfully, our friends at Whoa Nelly are here to shed some light on the topic and share how you can help prevent them.

Jimi Wall, a Brisbane-based canine nutritionist, is on a mission to help dogs thrive through the power of good nutrition. In 2016, he and his wife Tory—who’s a human nutritionist—launched Whoa Nelly! Raw Dog Food. With over 20 years of combined experience, they’ve made it their goal to make high-quality feeding easy and accessible. Here’s what they had to say!

If your dog struggle’s with painful bladder stones, you're not alone. This is a common problem that can seem difficult to stop and often requires repeated trips to the vet.

But there’s good news! Diet plays a crucial role in both the treatment and prevention of bladder stones. Making changes to the food your dog eats can often completely solve the problem.

What Are Bladder Stones?

Simply put, bladder stones form when the minerals in your dog's urine clump together in their bladder. Left untreated, these stones can create blockages and lead to infections - in addition to being quite painful.

If you have a smaller breed (like a poodle, bichon frise, shih tzu, dachshund, or cocker spaniel) you should be especially mindful, as these dogs tend to be more prone to bladder stones.

Look out for these warning signs:

• Blood in the urine

• Pain or discomfort during urination

• Frequent urination attempts

Understanding What Causes Bladder Stones

There are two main factors that contribute to stone formation: urine concentration and urine pH.

Urine Concentration

When urine is more concentrated, it contains higher levels of minerals which increases the chance of developing bladder stones. The biggest contributing factor here is diet due to the variation in moisture content. Kibble is is a dehydrated product that contains about 6% moisture. For comparison, fresh meat has a moisture content of around 70%. That’s a big difference!

When dogs eat a diet low in moisture their urine becomes more concentrated. This creates an environment where minerals are more likely to form into stones. Unfortunately, simply adding water to kibble or ensuring fresh water is available doesn’t really fix the problem. The moisture needs to be in the food itself to properly dilute the urine.

Urine pH

The other main contributing factor is urine pH, because bladder stones are more likely to form in an alkaline environment. As you can imagine, diet has a huge impact on this as well. Dogs eating raw food typically have a urine pH of between 6 - 6.5 (slightly acidic), while kibble-fed dogs tend to have a pH of 7 - 8 (slightly alkaline).

This difference largely stems from the high carbohydrate content in kibble which alkalises the urine. Even the fanciest grain-free kibbles contain between 40-60% carbohydrates.

It's worth noting that dogs have no biological requirement for carbohydrates. Their digestive systems are designed to break down fresh meat not starches, so consuming a raw meat based diet helps to maintain optimal urine pH.

Types of Stones

There are two primary types of bladder stones: struvite and calcium oxalate. Getting a diagnosis from your vet is crucial in knowing how to approach treatment and prevention.

Struvite Stones

These are the most common type of bladder stones and often appear after a bladder infection.

Vets typically recommend feeding kibble with reduced protein, magnesium, and phosphorous levels. These prescription diets also add chemicals like potassium citrate to lower urine pH.

The problem is that as kibble is mostly carbohydrates, it will inherently increase urine alkalinity. Kibble is also dehydrated so it will make the urine more concentrated. In my opinion this doesn’t make sense as a treatment, as it is disregarding the two primary factors that cause bladder stones.

A more rational approach is to feed a properly balanced raw diet. Feeding biologically appropriate food will naturally improve urine concentration while lowering pH to the optimal range - removing the conditions required for bladder stones to form. Supplements like cranberry extract and probiotics can also provide additional assistance against recurring urinary tract infections.

Calcium Oxalate Stones

These stones are more challenging to manage and may require surgical intervention to remove.

Prevention focuses on avoiding foods high in oxalates, including:

• Grains (wheat, barley etc)

• Beetroots

• Sweet potatoes

• Legumes • Spinach

The ideal urine pH for preventing calcium oxalate stones is around 7, which presents a challenge. Raw fed dogs typically have lower urine pH, while most kibbles contain high-oxalate ingredients. For dogs prone to this type of stone, consulting with a holistic veterinarian is strongly recommended.

The Raw Solution

If your dog is suffering from bladder stones your first point of call should be your vet to get a diagnosis. Your vet will help identify the exact type of stone, which is the key to developing an effective nutritional strategy. In my experience a properly balanced raw diet is almost always the best option.

A fresh food diet has so many health benefits - including helping to prevent and treat bladder stones. It helps to maintain normal urine concentration and pH in dogs, significantly reducing the likelihood of stone formation and supporting urinary tract health from the ground up.

Whoa Nelly! Raw Dog Food are a small family business making an amazing raw diet for dogs. Their aim is to improve the life of every dog that eats their food. It is a premium, human-grade raw diet made with organic ingredients and scientifically balanced nutrition. Packed in biodegradable packaging, each meal is formulated to support dogs' health from the inside out. is a small animal nutritionist specialising in dogs and diet formulation. Tory is a human nutritionist and whole food chef.

Together they have over 20 years professional experience in nutrition. During this time they have seen firsthand the profound connection between food and health.

Pop on over to www.whoanelly.com.au to check them out! And remember, if you’re a Happy Hounds Pet Parent, we have a sneaky discount for you in our Client Only Portal.