I call that the "Everything Must Have A Name" rule. None of this "poultry fat" stuff - gotta tell me if it's chicken or duck or whatever. Just "animal fat"? Run away screaming. On the "meal" issue... if your pet food contains fish meal, make sure it is specified as "ethoxyquin-free". Not that the entire pet food in total is ethoxyquin-free, but that that particular ingredient is. (Pet food manufacturers are not required by law to tell you what may have been added to an ingredient before it comes into their possession if they don't want to, so all kinds of preservatives, contaminants and such can be in there. They just have to tell you what THEY do to it.) By US law, fish meal not intended for human consumption must be preserved with ethoxyquin. A very few processors have been granted waivers to produce fish meal preserved with something other than ethoxyquin and usually it's trumpeted loud and clear as a marketing point when a pet food manufacturer uses ethoxyquin-free fish meal - Wellness is one of them, and it took some digging but Natura Pet Products (Innova, EVO, California Natural, Healthwise, and Karma Organic) is on board there too. "Digest" must be avoided at all costs even if it does have a species name although more often than not it's just on there as "animal digest". It's gods-only-know-what waste material chemically or enzymatically broken down - predigested - into a slurry in order to convert it into supposedly-bioavailable protein that a less-than-scrupulous pet food manufacturer can use to raise the "crude protein" content on the label. Not only does the animal usually get little actual nutritional value out of the substance but what can legally go into "animal digest" is gruesome to say the least - there is no control over quality, source, or contamination. I do have to nitpick just a little bit though - by-products are not necessarily always bad, but it's a case of Know Thy Manufacturer. See, people go on and on about by-products being whatever junk swept up off the factory floor when by legal definition it is just the stuff that isn't "striated muscle" (either skeletal muscles, diaphragm, or heart): "lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomachs and intestines freed of their contents" and specifically excludes "hair, horns, teeth and hoofs". If you've got a food company that gets that material fresh and handles it properly so it doesn't spoil, it's very good stuff. C'mon, people eat kidneys, brains, liver, blood (usually made into sausage - black pudding being a famous variety), stomachs (tripe), and intestines ("chitlins" and sausage casings), and many of the frozen-raw-diet manufacturers are all over the stuff. A hot trend in natural pet food is "green tripe", which is cow stomach without the contents removed, just ground up semi-digested grass and all. (The smell of it will clear a house though. Whoooo-eeee!) So really it's more a question of knowing your manufacturer than avoiding an entire class of ingredient. Many of the better pet-food manufacturers are avoiding brains entirely these days though, because of worries about BSE.

Hi ladies: First, to answer Laurie's question, I think urine should be slightly acidic to help prevent bacteria from attaching to the bladder wall (or kill it altogether)? Something like that.... Although, the vet did say that it's good to keep fluids going through her to keep her bladder "washed out", too. Casey had another bout this morning, although not quite as bad as it was yesterday. And like yesterday, by afternoon she was back to her usual peeing (still about every hour). I collected a urine sample this afternoon and took it to the vet. They called right about closing time saying there was "something in it" and the vet wanted to put her on ABX again. I couldn't get there before it closed, and since Casey seems her new usual self, I'll get it in the morning. I was looking back at her previous urine analysis (last fall), and it showed a pH of 5. That's a tad below the range of 5.5....to whatever. Maybe she has some crystal formation--I'll ask the vet tomorrow about today's pH results. Strange that she has a worse problem w/ frequency in the morning time. It's maddening, isn't it? Not always being able to figure out what's going on with your pets. If there's nothing to be done (like if she had bladder cancer or something), at least I'd know that. Not knowing the cause makes you think you haven't done enough to try and help the situation. Thanks! Tracey

When I first started dealing with UTI I didn't think it could be diet related. I have three vets that I consult with, in addition to my regular vet who sees my dogs. I also did tons of research etc. just to educate myself about what I was dealing with. I was desperate because reconstructive surgery was suggested. This completely horrified me. Plus when surgery is mentioned, I do everything I can to stay away from it. This has served me well, and saved me tons of money. If your dog is passing blood, I would consider getting medication A.S.A.P. UTI is a painful experience for humans and dogs. You don't want it to get to far out of control and cause other problems. I would also quiz your vet about a possible inverted vulva. This is becoming more common in dogs that have been spayed to early. The vulva cannot pop out normally. To get your dog used to cleaning, make it a game. I use treats. When I say it's "lady part time" she knows she is going to not only get treats, but get the cleaning done. Of course, my other two dogs know that they will also get treats. Dog get's one treat when she sits. Then I make her lay down, then I clean her while keeping the other treat from her. After I clean her, she get's the treat. I always clean lots of stuff off of her. One vet said not to clean more than once a day, lest the area get irritated. Good luck! SG

annz--- The point is.......after she came off the meds she returned to her normal self with no more accidents. Was there any kind of transition period that she had to relearn her housebreaking habits? The behavioral thing is really what I was trying to ask about. She is going to be on the lasix for life, and I know that's at least part of the problem. But I was thinking there also might be a behavioral aspect. Because of the unlucky coincidence of getting a really serious uti at about the same time she started a new drug that makes her drink and pee a lot, she was basically peeing in the house almost continuously, without getting punishment since I knew she couldn't help it. I'm wondering if she might have "learned" that the rules have changed and peeing in the house is now allowed, and that might be part of the problem? (she manages to unlearn all her table manners in about two seconds flat whenever my mom visits...) Her behavior has changed... she doesn't bother to drop her head and tuck her tail between her legs in Guilty Dog Pose as soon as she sees me, I have to go looking to see if there's been an accident. If it's behavioral, I can try to address it, but was just thinking it might be easier for her to relearn if she isn't also coping with the diurectic influence of the lasix at the same time... just to clarify, would not do that w/o the vet's ok, and would be very temporary even if I did, I wasn't really asking if that's a good idea health-wise. Was just wondering if the idea that she unlearned her housetraining because she's been unable to help herself and I've recognized that and therefore "allowed" it-- is even a possibility? Has it happened to other dogs, that after a medical issue like a uti, they had to relearn bathroom rules?