If you're a dog parent, Dr Karen Becker recommends feeding a fresh, species-specific raw diet to promote healthy urine pH and help provide your dog with an optimal moisture intake.

But if you choose to feed your dogs a dry food diet, be sure to provide them with the extra fresh drinking water they need to help maintain their urinary health.

Here are a couple of everyday steps you can take to help your pup maintain optimal urinary and bladder health, and support healthy detoxification:

1. Keep your dog well-groomed and bathed.

Trim away long hair from around your dogs' genitals to help keep the area clean, and bathe them regularly.

By keeping your dogs' genital areas clean, you help prevent grease and dirt buildup that has the potential to create problems for their bladder and urinary tract health.

2. Allow your dogs to urinate frequently.

Give them breaks as often as possible so urine doesn't sit in their bladders for long periods. If it is not convenient to allow them outside every three hours or so, consider installing a pet door.

Just as with cats, plentiful moisture intake and frequent urination are nature's way of cleansing the bladder and urinary tract.

And here are some tips that apply to both cats and dogs…

1. Don't allow your pets to drink potentially hazardous water.

Tap water is often contaminated with fluoride, pesticides, heavy metals and other pollutants – and it always contains chlorine.

All of these contaminants load our pets' bodies with more toxins and pose risks not only to their urinary health but also to their overall health. Whenever possible, give them clean filtered water to drink.

2. If your pets are currently eating commercial dry food, consider transitioning them to a moist or raw diet, Furchild Meals.

A fresh, whole food, meat-based diet promotes a normal healthy urine pH, as well as general overall health.

Keep in mind that carbohydrates, especially grains, alkalise your pet's urine and may cause an undesirable shift in pH. As much as possible, choose options that minimise carbohydrates in your pet’s diet.

If you are feeding your cat dry food, try adding a small amount of warm water to provide extra moisture.

Many pet owners don't realise that there’s a connection between diet, urine pH and urinary health.

As you may already know, when scientists measure pH levels, they’re assessing whether a liquid is acid or alkaline.

What you might not know is that this measure of pH is actually quite important when it comes to your pet’s urinary health.

Every animal species that produces urine has an ideal pH range their urine should fall in. Some are more acidic while some are more alkaline.

To get an understanding of how this works, take a look at the pH scale diagram below.

As you can see, 7 is at the centre and is the neutral point in the acid-alkaline scale. A pH score greater than 7 is alkaline, while a score less than 7 is acidic. As the score gets further from the centre, it’s considered more alkaline or acidic.

Because they’re natural carnivores, cats and dogs should have a slightly acidic urine pH, optimally between 6 and 6.5. Helping your pets maintain a pH within this range helps maintain their urinary health.

Not surprisingly, diet has a significant influence on the pH of your pet's urine.

Since dogs and cats are designed to eat meat – which has an acidic pH – feeding them a species-appropriate diet high in meat promotes a urine pH in that ideal range.

However, when cats and dogs eat a typical commercial dry pet food grain-based diet, their urine pH can rise into the alkaline range. This is also true for many popular commercial “grain-free” diets based on other carbohydrates, such as potatoes, peas or lentils.

Feeding your pets a fresh, species-appropriate diet, like Furchild Meals can go a long way to protecting their urinary systems from unnecessary stress. Even a slight shift from the ideal pH can affect their urinary health.

On top of the effects it can have on urine pH, there's another major issue with commercial dry and canned pet foods… hydration!

Compared to other animals, cats have a low thirst drive.

Healthy cats won't lap up water like dogs or other animals. In fact, they're often more interested in just watching or playing with it…

This is because cats are naturally designed to get most of the water they need from their food.

Cats in the wild hunt and eat prey, which contains about 75% water. Their bodies are excellent at absorbing the water from their prey so their need to drink is comparatively low.

Lions, for example, can go up to four days without drinking water, although they will drink if it’s available. The same is true for cougars, who can go several days without drinking, if necessary.

While your cats may do you the favour of hunting small prey in your neighbourhood and leaving the trophies on your patio, they mostly depend on you for their food and water.

If you feed them canned cat food, they're getting about the same 75% moisture content as what cats naturally eat in the wild.

But dry food contains only about one-tenth of the ideal moisture content – far from what your cats need.

If you feed your cats dry food, you need to pay close attention to how much they drink. Since your cats are getting less water from their food, they need to drink more to make up the difference. And because of their natural design, they're not always likely to do so.

Your cats need water in order to make urine, which flushes toxins from their bodies. Without adequate water intake, their bodies can’t produce healthy amounts of urine, making it harder for them to maintain healthy detoxification.

Making sure they get enough water is crucial to their urinary and overall health.

A study conducted by a pet food company in 1999 discovered that the urinary health of cats who ate a canned food diet was considerably better than that of cats who ate a dry food diet.

Sadly, this study and others showing similar results haven't been enough to influence the feeding recommendations of many traditional veterinarians.

In light of these findings, Dr Karen Becker, a wellness and integrative veterinarian, recommends that you take a serious look at other feeding options if you're still feeding your cat a dry food diet.

Her top recommendation for overall pet health is to feed a diet of fresh, species-appropriate raw food. However, any increase in the amount of moisture in your pet's food is a step in the right direction for supporting urinary health.

Various pet food diets influence urinary health in pets through pH balance, hydration, and nutrient intake - for better or worse.

Opt for high-moisture, whole-food diets, avoid additives and dry food, and prioritise nutrients like omega-3s for better urinary tract function and reduced inflammation.

Here are our recommendations that are most popular with our pet parent community:

Furchild Meals

A fresh, whole-food, meat-based diet promotes a naturally healthy urine pH and overall general health. Our natural raw foods have a high moisture content, aiding in enhancing your pet's overall hydration—crucial for maintaining proper urinary function.

The correct balance in Furchild recipes ensures a controlled intake of mineral levels, including minerals like magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. This balance helps prevent the formation of urinary crystals and stones. Furthermore, our balanced fat ratios provide our meals with anti-inflammatory properties, benefiting both urinary tract health and overall well-being.

Among the selection of Furchild Meals are those that include organic cranberries. These cranberries aid in preventing the attachment of bacteria to the walls of the urinary tract, thus reducing the risk of urinary tract infections.

Bone Broth

By providing essential nutrients like glycine and collagen, our premium and organic bone broths can help maintain the integrity of the urinary tract lining and support overall urinary function. Additionally, its hydrating properties contribute to proper urine dilution and flushing of the urinary system.

Raw Goat Milk & Kefir

By delivering probiotics and beneficial enzymes, they promote a balanced gut microbiome, which can indirectly enhance urinary tract function. These dairy products also provide hydration and contribute to urinary pH regulation, helping to prevent the formation of crystals and stones.

Fresh Raw Fish

By providing omega-3 fatty acids, our range of Fresh/frozen Wild-caught Fish has anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce the risk of urinary tract inflammation and promote overall urinary well-being. Additionally, the natural moisture content in fish contributes to hydration, supporting proper urine dilution and flushing of the urinary system.

For more food recommendations that support urinary health in your pet, click here. 

If your pet has any of the following urinary health issues diagnosed by a vet, [urinary tract infections, urinary stones (calculi), urinary blockages, urinary incontinence, cystitis (bladder inflammation), and kidney disease.] we recommend that you contact our qualified pet food advisors. They will be able to provide personalised recommendations that are appropriate for your pet's specific needs.