# Bladder Stones



## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Does anyone have experience with bladder stones?  My little Jamie just had one removed from her bladder this morning, vet said it was imbedded in the bladder wall & looked kinda like a cockleburr. Poor baby had been straining to tee-tee for a while. We thought maybe she had a UTI & put her on Baytril, obviously that didn't help. Then Monday we x-rayed her and this huge thing showed up, gosh it was big. Anyway, it's gone now but I'm wondering what caused it and what I can do to prevent a recurrence. It breaks my heart to think about how much pain she's been in.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Do you know if it was a struvite or calcium oxalate stone?

Canine Struvite Bladder Stones

Canine Oxalate Bladder Stones


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Marti -- don't have any experience with this, but sending prayers for a complete recovery.


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Marge, I don't know which kind, they're sending it off for analysis. Thx for the links. 

Lynn, thx for the prayers, that stone was almost 3/4" across & had a lot of pointy things on it.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

My friend's malt had a stone - actually her Phoebe had a lot of problems associated with that. But she's better now....she's eating a special food that has really helped her. I'll have to ask her what it is again...I forget.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

I am no expert but sometimes a change in water helps! Wish you the best for your baby!


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## MaryH (Mar 7, 2006)

Marti, my Grace had bladder stones (4 of them) back in 2004 that had to be surgically removed and sent off to the lab for analysis. They were struvite stones. She's been on a prescription diet ever since with absolutely no more stones, no UTIs, no problems. She eats Hills Canine C/D. As for pain and discomfort, Grace never exhibited any symptoms of pain or discomfort. I came home from work one night, let the dogs out into the dog yard and noticed that she squatted to pee at least 5 times, that's not like her at all and my first thought was that she possibly had a UTI. I brought her in, called my vet, and while I was on the phone with him she squatted at my feet 2 more times to pee with nothing coming out. My vet had just closed for the night but said he'd wait and to bring her in. An x-ray clearly showed the stones, he operated right then (with me as his only assistant) and sent her home with me. He said she'd probably sleep through the night but gave me his home and cell number in case any issues arose. I brought her back to the vet clinic the next morning, she stayed for the day while I went to work, I picked her up that night, she recuperated well and has never had another stone or any UTIs. For about 4-6 weeks after the surgery she did pee alot more frequently, my vet assured me that that was a normal part of the healing process.

Hugs to Jamie and best wishes for a speedy recovery.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

oo wow , i have had kidney stones , and the pain isunbearable i can imagine a poor lil malt w bladder stones, i will b praying for ur little one to get better , crazy how pups could get every sickness a human can get ..


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

I see Marj already gave you info on the type of stones. Once you have that info then diet can be altered to lower PH or raise ph whichever is appropriate for the situation. It is something that will be needed to be adhered to.
I have a little rescue, Naddie that is believed to be Maltese mix with Bichon. Since the Bichon breed tends to be proned to the formation of crystal/stones, I monitor her urine's Ph on reg basis. ( Easy test with 'dip-strips' specifically for ph which you can get at most pharmacies. ) Thankfully she is pretty consistantly just below 7 which is an 'ideal' ph. ( neither too acidic nor too alky) 
Please keep us updated on your little one!


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Hey Everybody, thx for all the info & support. Jamie's doing pretty good right now, ate a light supper, drank a bit of water but not much. She wants to be right next to me, either on my lap or in the chair behind me, aww... It will probably be next week before I have the results of the stone, but I'll let you know what I find out. Again, thx a jillion.


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## mary-anderson (Jan 12, 2010)

Sorry to hear Jamie is not well, glad she is resting comfortable. Please let us know how her results come out.


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## CeeCee's Mom (Sep 14, 2006)

Oh, so sorry to hear that Marti........My husband had a stone and had to be operated on. It is awful. Take care of that sweet baby and give her lots of love, which I know you will do!!!!


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

As others said, they will most likely do a diet change. My cat had stones, and once he went on the Royal Cainin Urinary SO food, he has never had stones again.

HUGz and good luck! Jules


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## aubie1996 (Aug 13, 2010)

My papillon had surgery this year for bladder stones. His were calcium oxalte. He had to go on a special diet. First we tried Science Diet and he would not eat it. Then we tried Royal Canin U/D. He ate that for a few weeks and then refused to eat it anymore. We then moved to Purina NF and he loves it. He can not wait to eat.


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## beckybc03 (Jul 6, 2006)

My parents bichon had surgery twice for bladder stones when she was 2-4 years old. She is now 11 and hasn't had surgery since. They switched her to a special food (not sure the brand) and that is all they feed her. No treats and no "people" food at all. She also gets distilled water. Knock on wood, she has been healthy ever since!! She is 11 and still acts like a puppy!


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

My Sophie had the struvite bladder stones. Poor thing, she was just a small bichon and they removed 5 huge ones from her bladder. She was put on Royal Canin SO and didn't ever get them again. She did still eat other treat and people food though too. Lots of liquid is important, she wasn't on total dry food ever again.


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## Dixie's Mama (Mar 19, 2008)

Oh no Marti. Poor little Jamie. I'm glad she's a bit better and cuddling with her Mommy. Give her kisses for me and let us know the results.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

depending on what stones it is the whole dog journal had excellent articles in may and april of this year on preventing them so if you do not subscribe you can order the two articles below or i would be happy to fax it to you as i have both articles. They are extremely informative on how to prevent stones 

Preventing Bladder and Kidney Stones in Dogs - Whole Dog Journal Article

Canine Kidney Stone and Bladder Stone Prevention - Whole Dog Journal Article


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

depending on what stones it is the whole dog journal had excellent articles in may and april of this year on preventing them so if you do not subscribe you can order the two articles below or i would be happy to fax it to you as i have both articles. They are extremely informative on how to prevent stones 

Thx for pointing those articles out. I do subscribe to WDJ but since none of my dogs "ever" had stones, I skipped right over those articles. I'll go get them right now.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Tanner's Mom said:


> depending on what stones it is the whole dog journal had excellent articles in may and april of this year on preventing them so if you do not subscribe you can order the two articles below or i would be happy to fax it to you as i have both articles. They are extremely informative on how to prevent stones
> 
> Thx for pointing those articles out. I do subscribe to WDJ but since none of my dogs "ever" had stones, I skipped right over those articles. I'll go get them right now.


oh good as they have some great information as just sent it on another group to help someone and read through it as i had skimmed over too lol as i have not dealt with this thank goodness but found it very interesting.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

just so others can have info as well to review if it is struvite crystals here is some info i posted from the article on another group for an owner that had a dog with struvite crystals 

It states that struvite crystals are usually formed from bacteria and that many times a uti is not detected on a urinalysis . It says uti that cause struvite crystals to become uroliths can raise urinary ph to 8.0 to 8.5. 

The supplements that are used for dogs getting recurring uti are cranberry capsules, probiotics ( i have used for years dds plus from vitamine shoppe and really like this one) and vitamin C. 

It states you should not change the diet for struvites as it is usually bacteria related. I would keep a dog getting these from reading this on probiotics for life. 

It says that you should not switch to low protein diet but the reasoning why some say you should is because high protein provides urea, which bacteria convert or hydrolize into ammonia, one of the struvite building blocks so feeding low protein when symptoms occur is good but not for life. It says if stones are not present there is no reason to feed low protein diet. 

Cranberry doesn't cure existing infection but it mechanically prevents bacteria from adhering to the tissue that lines the bladder and urinary tract. 

( i know that juicing celery and zucchini together helps as zucchini cleanses the liver and celery cleanses the urinary tract so you can juice together and put pulp on food and poor juice over food as this will help as well) 


Giving cranberry treatments in doses is more effective so best to do twice or three times a day as it continuously washes the bacteria out of the system so bacteria does not have the chance to create an infection

Holistic all-natural cranberry antioxidant cures dog itching, cat arthritis - Cranimals

Probiotics are the firstline of defense against infection so dogs prone to recurring infections like uti or skin infections or diarrhea issues should be taking these daily I think. Dee Dee takes 2 dds capsules every day 20-30 min before her meal in am and the one time i stopped she was a mess and had staph infections that took 2 rounds of antibiotics to kill and she had clostridium as well (diarrhea bacteria infection). It really works as I have seen it with her. The more beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract the better for dogs prone to infections. 

While on antibiotics i double up probiotics so I treated dee dee where i gave her probiotic in am then antibiotic and always do MID MEAL so 1/2 food then antibiotic then 1/2 meal and i did this at night then 2 hrs after antibiotic i gave her probiotics before bed so she was doubled up after a dose of antibiotics with good bacteria as antibiotics kill all good and bad so you need to up the good so the infection does not come back after antibiotics are stopped. 

Vitamin C is used as an anti-inflammatory - dogs unlike humans manufacture their own vitamin C but the amount they produce may not be enough if they are under stress in fighting infection

The ascorbate form of vitamin C is the most often recommended for dogs as it may be better absorbed and is less prone to cause gastro upset. Calcium ascorbate and sodium ascorbate are available in generic forms as powder but the most popular form is ESTER-C which contains calcium ascorbate and vitamin C metabolites. 

Vets recommendations range from 250mg twice a day for every 15 to 30 pounds up to a max of 1000mg twice a day for large dogs. Vitamin C can cause diarrhea so start with small doses and increase gradually. Max your dog can tolerate without diarrhea is called bowel tolerance. 

The herb uva ursi is used in many herbal blends because of its antibacterial properties - best to use short term as it can irritate kidneys. 

( coconut oil is good as well as it is a natural antibacterial and antifungal) 

its says adding salt to diet helps them to drink water but i would do organic low sodium broth on food before doing salt and would not do salt with a dog with thyroid issues due to iodine. It says unrefined sea salt is best as it contains dozens of minerals and trace elements that refined salt does not. It says a pinch of salt for small dogs. Increase at a pinch at a time to see if drinking increases. It also says you can make a broth but i buy the organic chicken broth low sodium from whole foods when demi had a high bun and was not drinking enough water so was dehydrated i added a little to her food to increase water consumption but she will only drink if bowl is fresh water otherwise she holds out







. I put the broth in ice cube tray and froze and popped out and kept in a freezer bag in freezer so i could preserve it longer and not waste it as organic does not last as long in fridge. 

It says struvites can make a dog miserable so may be why you are seeing the rubbing and licking.


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

My cat just had a recent issue with struvite crystals and bladder infection. I worked with Dr. Becker to solve the problem. His urine ph was 9 and the crystals looked like little glass shards.

I was adamant about not using Science diet or Royal Canine as I do not feed byproducts to my animals.

The ER vet gave him an antibiotic shot. Dr. Becker recommended we changed is diet to a high protein real food canned diet (Weruva). We put him on methegel for about a week. I also got him a fountain to make sure he was drinking enough. Three weeks later my cat tested perfect. No crystals no infection, a urine PH of 6.8 and he had lost some weight. 

I have been very pleased with the more holistic approach that we took.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

wooflife said:


> My cat just had a recent issue with struvite crystals and bladder infection. I worked with Dr. Becker to solve the problem. His urine ph was 9 and the crystals looked like little glass shards.
> 
> I was adamant about not using Science diet or Royal Canine as I do not feed byproducts to my animals.
> 
> ...


that is great news. I really like her information as saved her videos on youtube and pass them around


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