Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections are very common in dogs with poor liver health. The urine becomes too alkaline – over 7.0 - which creates the perfect environment for different bacteria to flourish.  

 

Urine pH tells you how your dog's body handles the food he/she eats. If the body has enough organic minerals from the foods the dog is eating, then the urine pH should be 5.5 to 6.5 (somewhat acid). This acidic bladder environment will inhibit the growth of any bad bacteria and urinary infections will not be a problem. This is the body’s response if the dog is eating a well-balanced whole food diet.

 

If the urine pH readings register in the ranges of 7.0 to 8.0 (alkaline) or even 9.0 (high alkalinity), this means that something is amiss. This alkaline environment in the urinary tract is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria that cause infection and is not normal. Thus, urinary tract infections can occur and keep reoccurring as long as the urine pH stays consistently alkaline.   

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Antibiotics are prescribed for a UTI, but they only kill the bacteria in the urine, they do not change the pH in the urinary tract. Antibiotics also indiscriminately kill friendly bacteria in the digestive tract, causing imbalance and permeability, thus resulting in an overburdened liver and thus contributing to the underlying cause instead of fixing the problem as desired.

 

An alkaline urine reading following feeding your dog an acid diet (meats, dairy, grains and cooked foods) is the result of the body adapting to protect itself. It has to do with the acid/alkaline balance and is not widely understood.

 

The acid residue of acid ash-producing foods (meat, grains, processed and cooked foods, drugs, medicinal herbs....etc.), are strong and dangerous to the urinary tract. Strong acids must be neutralized or weakened before being expelled from the body. Acid urine is neutralized in one of two ways; either alkaline minerals are available through the diet, or, if appropriate minerals are not available, the body will use ammonia. 

 

Ammonia is a byproduct of the body metabolizing protein and as a urine neutralizer is an emergency backup system.  Ammonia is more highly alkaline than alkaline reserve minerals. It has a pH of about 9.25. Does your dog’s urine smell like ammonia? Does your dog’s urine burn the grass when she/he pees? All of these symptoms indicate ammonia in the urine.

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So we have a strong acid that is going to be eliminated in the urine and two methods of neutralizing it are: (1) the alkaline reserve in the body, if any, and (2) the emergency backup system, ammonia.

 

When alkaline minerals are available from the alkaline diet and added to the strong acid in the urine, the strong acid is made weaker. It is still acid, but weak enough not to irritate the delicate tissue in the bladder. This is the normal state of things and produces a normal urine pH.

 

If the alkaline reserve has been depleted (that’s most dogs’ case since they are eating an acid ash producing diet and taking medical drugs or medicinal herbs), minerals aren’t available from that source to buffer the strong acid in the urine.  

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Yet the body is intent upon survival. It will neutralize the strong acid even if it has to alter its normal way of functioning. If the body did not counteract the strong acid in the urine, then the sensitive tissues in the bladder would be harmed.

 

One of the alterations is to use ammonia produced by the body. Ammonia is used to neutralize the strong acid.  Ammonia is a very strong alkali. It overpowers the acid and the urine registers highly alkaline, around pH 8.0 or higher. This alkaline environment is then the perfect breeding ground for urinary tract bacteria resulting in infection.

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The only reason the urine is alkaline when acid ash foods, herbs and drugs are being consumed is because the body has adapted its function to take care of an emergency situation. Alkaline urine following acid producing foods or drugs is a sure sign that the alkaline reserve is depleted and that the body’s resistance is faltering and the emergency backup system is in use.

 

Summary:

 

If a dog has high alkaline urine pH readings resulting in recurring UTI, then their  body does not have enough minerals, especially sodium to buffer the acidity from the diet.  Smell your dog’s urine. Does it have a strong ammonia odor? The odor of ammonia is considered by many to be normal for urine; however, it is a telltale sign that your dog’s body is using an emergency system to keep alive.

 

When you add vegetables high in organic sodium and other organic minerals to your dog’s diet, the pH numbers will begin to decline.  This is not only to be expected, it’s what you are trying to accomplish. As your dog’s mineral reserves are replenished, enough sodium will be available for the urine and it will start registering around 5.5 to 6.5 pH and the burning will stop (a natural solution to recurring UTI).  

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This will not happen if your dog takes any type of drugs. But after you stop giving your dog prescription dog food and drugs and you take care of feeding them the right diet, then the urine pH will start dropping and become slightly acidic. UTI’s will be a thing of the past as the body maintains a proper bladder pH. And this is merely by feeding your dog the right real foods and the right whole food supplements.

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If your dog has recurring urinary tract infections they may have poor liver health. 

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