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Cystinuria is heredited autosomal recessive trait.
Very basically, cystinuria is a genetic defect in which the kidney is not able to process a basic amino acid, cystine, correctly. Over time, the unprocessed cystine in the urine clumps together to form stones. These stones can block the urinary tract. This is a life-threatening condition and requires immediate surgery.

Although a reduced-protein diet is usually prescribed for this condition, the actual experiences of people who have attempted to prevent stone formation with diet have not been positive. And while it is hard for cystine stones to form in alkaline urine (dog urine is normally acidic), maintaining a constant alkaline urine with diet or supplements is difficult, and can lead to the formation of other types of stone. Furthermore, since cystine stones do not dissolve in alkaline urine, if the urine goes into acidity even briefly, stones can form and will not dissolve just because alakaline urine is achieved shortly thereafter. Most of us with dogs with cystinuria have had bad experiences and poor outcomes from relying on diet and supplementation to prevent stone formation in our stone-forming dogs.