My vet says my husky (5) has crystals in his urine. They did a blood test or urine test and he had to be in medicated dog food the rest of his life. Aside from marking his territory every ten seconds on walks he seems absolutely fine.

Should I get a second opinion?

I'd say definitely go for the second opinion.  UTI's in dogs are a pain in the butt (other places for the dog)   My lab had UTI's as a regular thing till we moved out here then they cleared up (I'll admit that I drove a garbage truck and she 'dined' on less than choice edibles)  Now, given that, I'd first take a real good look at what he's eating - both your approved diet and whatever he might be able to scrounge up.  

First step, as your vet recommends, give him a good, low ash food; give needed medications till this UTI has cleared.  Then, as I noted above, watch everything he puts in his mouth.  If he has another then go get your second / third opinion.

The reason I said second / third opinion is that chronic UTI's may be covering any of several diseases ( eg diabetes / cushings ) if your current vet isn't suggesting looking at other causes then you need to look for another vet.

ETA: this article gives a good run down of what might be the causes. Make sure you also read the second page.

I’ve been feeding this since November since I adopted him. Purina Moist & Meaty Wet Dog... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018CFNB0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share


The vet however had me feeding him this now and says I need to do it for life.

https://amzn.to/38kH8sL

I will
Def get a second opinion. He went on anti biotic for a week.

Aside from this he does eat his own poop and has chewed up and digested some plastic recently.

Take a look at this recent thread where the poster was asking about their malamute who had started his own feces and at the end there was a suggestion for products that give the dogs feces an bad taste (as if even the idea isn't bad enough!) However, being a coprophage (a dog who eats any and all feces) shouldn't be the cause of his problem - unless he's sicker than I'd expect.

A personal opinion here, take it with a grain of salt, I don't like your vet! Okay, my vet also sells Science Diet, they must get a good 'kick back' for the amount of floor space most vets dedicate to the product. However my vet will suggest 'a food like this (science diet product) or you might look at other similar foods' Meaning she's more dedicated to me as the doggy father than she is to her profit from the products.

I have bought from goFromm (the company vendor for Fromm Foods) and have been quite satisfied with their products. If you give them a call ( 833-242-2200 ) they're knowledgeable and if you get over their head they're willing to pass you to one of their dieticians. I'd give them the symptoms you're seeing, your vet recommendations and ask what they have that's comparable. Note, Fromm has had one recall (a canned oops with excess vitamins ) where Science diet had essentially their entire product line pulled in 2020 (2019?) and that means a lot to me when I go looking.

Yeah I feel ripped off. First time using this vet for this dog and immediately had a $500 bill. The only reason I took him in was the groomers said he coughed up blood. She didn’t care about that at all.

…and that was me who posted about the poop eating malamute. Lol

We do have a couple threads where past people have dealt with crystals and there are some options/products in them that could be worth a try if the crystals persist after antibiotics.

Crystals in Urine

Some things to ask if this round of antibiotics doesn't clear up the issue or it comes back is if they can identify the type of crystals. Knowing the type can help steer you in a food direction more precisely. Try to get all the information from the vet and don't let the vet just stop at saying "he has a UTI, take these meds and feed this food forever". Knowing crystal type and urine ph can help you better do your own research to save you money.

chovyfu wrote:

…and that was me who posted about the poop eating malamute. Lol

Well, gee, I'm sorry.  I remember the content not necessarily the author.    In that thread I mentioned a couple of items from Amazon<?> that would make his feces taste bad.  Have you had the opportunity to try any of them and how did they work?  I've never had that problem - except having a dog who thinks that Burro doo-doo is the best treat going - and I'm wondering what your results were.

I needed to place an order with Fromm so I talked to their people who suggested that this might be beneficial. In looking at the ingredient of the two (the Science Diet and Fromm) there'd be no question in my mind which I'd prefer to feed. Fromm doesn't have any 'prescription' diets but they do have good food. (( If I were a dog, I'd eat it. ))

Yeah. I used something. It sort of worked but i think he was just hungry. I went from 2 cups a day to 3 and he seems to have stopped eating his poop

Since he's a bigger boy that may have been his problem but, personally, I can think of more tasteful solutions.

Since that's a newish problem for me, mind if I ask what you tried and what happened? (( 75 yo and still curious ... but I have friends who say I'm 'curious' but I don't think they mean the same thing. ))

I used this one. https://amzn.to/3w3KKsh

I think it helped. But he was hungry is my guess.