Bella and Duke talk to vet Wendy McGrandles “Waving Goodbye to Bladder Stones With Raw.”
https://www.bellaandduke.com/2018/06/podcast-22-waving-goodbye-to-bladder-stones-with-raw/
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Seaweed - thank you for the link. It is a podcast of nearly 40 minutes. It’s not a format that I like - would rather read a written report but couldn’t find one on the site. Have you watched the video? If so, and you have time please could you summarise it for us? We can then add it to one of the existing threads on this subject.
I have decided to give this food a go as I am running out of uses for polystyrene boxes now. Being vegan, I have had to wrestle with which I feel worse about, non recyclable packaging or the wool lined boxes. However the news that black plastic is not recycled in the UK, has led me to decide on the wool lined boxes. At least the lining can be sent back free of charge for reuse. I will have a look at the podcast later and see if I can do a summary. 
ETA I am trying to decide between Bella and Duke and Naturaw now as I can’t find much info about how the meat used for Bella and me is sourced.
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Dottie, you can read the podcast conversation below the video link. Raw is believed to be highly beneficial for struvite stones due to it creating an acidic environment and it’s high moisture content. If the urine is acidic it may dissolve struvite crystals, at least the small ones and they pass out in the normal way, the added moisture content helping in this passing. Struvite stones are more common in females and the crystals need bacteria to form so is often accompanied by a uti infection, these stones are smooth in nature. Calcium oxalate stones are more prevalent in unneutered males and are sharp in nature. Urate bladder stones are most commonly the result of a genetic abnormality, also urate crystals can also be seen in puppies of any breed that has a thing called a portosystemic shunt. As I understand it, a raw diet will not deal with already formed calcium oxalate and urate stones. I should imagine urate stones would need a more specific raw diet. This was an interesting podcast and a big thank you goes to Bella and Duke
I just watched it and can’t add much to what you say Seaweed. I wasn’t sure if the vet was indicating that the calcium oxalate stones could be helped by acidifying the urine but this article says the opposite.
It is worth noting that Wendy McGrandals, the vet being interviewed stated, that she was basing what she said, on her 35 years experience rather than evidenced studies. One of the points that made sense to me was the issue with the need to drink plenty with dry food. I am always shocked at how much my dog drinks when she has dry but she always has access to water and will take in quite a lot when playing when I wash her paws. She can be fussy about where she drinks from eg I need to wash her bowl daily and refill with fresh water and she won’t drink from a communal bowl. These quirks may mean dogs are not drinking as much as they need and concentrated urine is another risk factor identified. I have to say, that the necessity to drink that much has always made my favour wet over dry. There are too many factors which may inhibit an individual dogs intake.
ETA I also found it interesting that the podcast stated that some of the prescription diets were high in salt to acidify the urine and to encourage more drinking but they weren’t designed to be used as a long term solution.
Another diet related factor was the need to reduce inflammation in the body as this was identified as a contributing factor to the formation of stones. Which is why struvite stones are common after a UTI in female dogs. The implication was that dry food was more likely to contain ingredients which may lead to inflammation.
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Thanks to both of you for clarifying the information from the Bella and Duke video. I do appreciate it. Bit short of time at the moment. 
I feel sure that this topic will be of interest to others because we have had questions on this subject before. I have therefore split the relevant posts, renamed the thread and moved it to the health forum in order to make it easier for people to find.
Years ago one of my dogs had stones and I remember the vet giving prescription food but said it was only for a few months. She had it for maybe two or three months and the stones were cleared.
I agree with Tinyplanets re dry food. It can be wet down but I would hazard a guess that few pet owners do this.
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