Bladder Stones

[2tollers]

I took one of my dogs to the vet today because she's been leaking a bit of urine. I followed her around for about 15 minutes with a frying pan to get a urine sample. :rolleyes: Gee did I get some looks.

Urine sample was a bit diluted but otherwise fine. He wanted to check out a couple of things before coming to any conclusions.

He gave her a probe around the abdomen and suspects she has bladder stones. Hopefully it's not a tumour. She'll be having surgery when I can organise the funds sometime in the next couple of weeks.

I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this and could tell me about the surgery and if more stones developed later.

Thanks :rolleyes:

[Dogsfevr]

Yes more stones can develop after the surgery but the fact is the surgery releives the problem either permantly or with a second go.

Also make sure the diet is suitable & often a diet change is the way to go.

You can use the premiun vet range but one of our clients had no more success with the cans than the normal diet so she made her own diet partially based on the human suggestions for similiar problem & the dog since surgery & this diet has blossomed in all ways

[Belijae]

Dalmatians are particularly prone to forming stones due to their rather unique urinary systems (as far as dogs go). The suggested diet for dals to avoid (or at least minimize the chance of) stones is one low in purines as well as plenty of fresh water constantly available. I am unsure if the same will apply for your girl, but I'm sure your vet will be able to tell you. There is also medication that can be taken to help.

These sites may explain a bit if you are interested...

Urinary Stone-Forming in Dalmatians and Other Dogs

Lukius Dalmatians - This is a dalmatian site but has very in depth information on stone forming

[Janba]

Dalmatians are particularly prone to forming stones due to their rather unique urinary systems (as far as dogs go). The suggested diet for dals to avoid (or at least minimize the chance of) stones is one low in purines as well as plenty of fresh water constantly available. I am unsure if the same will apply for your girl, but I'm sure your vet will be able to tell you. There is also medication that can be taken to help.

Dalmatians form urate stones which are very unusual in other breeds, caused by their inavbility to metabolise purines. They also get gout because of this. They stones found in most other dogs are diferent and require different treatment.

I had a dally bitch that formed stones. Luckily she passed them (screaming as she peed) but was then kept on a very strict low purine diet. In her case the urine had to be kept neutral to slightly alkaline but from memory I think for other types of stones the urine has to be kept slightly acid. She also had regular urine tests to detect crystals in her urine.

When the vet removes the stones he should be able to test them and see what type they are, then recommend the proper preventative treatment.

With management my girl never had another occurance of stones.

[2tollers]

Thanks for that info.

The vet said if it's stones they send them to Hills in the States and they test them. Apparently Hills do it for free.

I assume we'll talk about diet etc after we get the results.

He also said he'd have a look around to see if Tollers are prone to them. I've had a bit of a snoop and can't see anything that stands out.

I hate not knowing for sure what's going on in there. I've had Lilli for about 18mths now (she's 6 1/2) and she's had suspected discospondylitis, upper and lower back problems and sometimes somethings not quite right.

She eats like a pig and plays enthusiatically (bit too enthusiastically hence the back we think), she's had blood screens and urine has been tested before but nothing ever shows up.

I hope this procedure will give me some answers at least.

[Silak]

I took one of my dogs to the vet today because she's been leaking a bit of urine. I followed her around for about 15 minutes with a frying pan to get a urine sample. Gee did I get some looks.

Urine sample was a bit diluted but otherwise fine. He wanted to check out a couple of things before coming to any conclusions.

He gave her a probe around the abdomen and suspects she has bladder stones. Hopefully it's not a tumour. She'll be having surgery when I can organise the funds sometime in the next couple of weeks.

I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this and could tell me about the surgery and if more stones developed later.

Thanks

I would like to know the best way to get a dog with kidney stones onto a grooming table. I cannot lift him and he is too old to jump up. He is a rescue dog and I am worried that if i start grooming him it will awaken old memories and he may attribute any pain he experiences to the comb and not the stone and it may be traumatic for him. I had a grooming service that came out from Yagoona NSW but the person is only doing small dogs for a while and my dog does not stay still for grooming.

The groomer took his rescue background into account.

Bending long enough for grooming is difficult for me and i was thinking of getting a doggie ramp and a folding table ( not one with four folding legs but one that folded with one movement) that could be left outdoors.

He is a 15 yo medium hair desexed collie cross. I am deferring washing the dog until the groomer resumes full duties.

Diagnosed this week with crystals in urine. He showed no pain - except he yelped when he was about to get down from his beloved greyhound exercise machine. ( He does a maximum of 3 minutes on the machine but loves it and doesn't want to get off). Later in the day he urinated copiously, without any expression of pain and as if he had suddenly lost control. His urine ph is 6 and everything in the urine test is normal except the crystal formation in the urine. The vet says he is bright and active.

He is currently on Beneful and Schmacko strips for treats but the vet is going to talk to me about his diet. Unlike with nearly all other dogfoods he does not get diarrhoea with these products. They do not have poultry products in them to the best of my knowledge - anything with poulty products seems to have adverse behavioural effects.

Just anecdotally - he was a rescue dog adopted at about 18 mths old and he is of very gentle temperament. It took me a long time to get him used to any object that resembled a stick (even a comb) and any time my arm moved away from the side of my body - possibly he was concerned about it being preparatory to being hit. He would hover round me out of arms reach. The vet thought he might have been trained in German. The dog had had unusual training - if I tried to catch him he could do a brilliant somersault and get away. He reacted to praising, gentle words as if he was really in trouble. Once I made an unintentional movement which he interpreted as a signal and he went down into the "dead dog" position. I am sure it was trained. I didnt know the release command. He was perfectly all right - but i couldn't get him to move for 8 hours. He howled if i sneezed - it seemed trained because he just did not stop and i used to go through every gesture and combination of gestures i could think of trying to quieten him. Unfortunately the neighbourhood children worked out he would howl if they sneezed and told me with great delight!!!!There were other times too when he reacted as if i had commanded him. I could never work out the system of commands that he had been trained to. But that is all in the past now.

Dog handlers who will not take into account his background - or do not have the experience to deal with it - distress him greatly. So I want to wait until the groomer is back to full duties and groom him myself in the interim.

If anyone knows of a detangler that you dont have to wash out I would be grateful.

I have not had to groom a dog with stones before and i wondered if there are any tips for doing so.

The sorts of concerns I have are

1. Possibly grooming sessions of only 5 mins?

2. Are there any positions that are more comfortable - less comfortable - e.g. sitting, lying on side?

3. Would walking up a ramp (provided i could persuade him to do it) be painful - (He has no arthritis or muscle or joint problems). I think maybe the backward slope of the ramp would cause him to carry his weight further back and possibly put pressure on his urinary system?

4. Are there any areas I should simply avoid grooming because it would be too painful. ( Obviously I could work this out by trial and error - but if i have some idea in advance it is better for my dog)?

5. I wouldnt be lifting him - but would being lifted be painful?

Thanks for your consideration of my email.

[Staffyluv]

Ollie dog was diagnosed with bladder and kidney stones in the June before he was diagnosed with mast cell cancer - not related just bloody unlucky...

He had a common type of stone (oxalate) and he was operated on and it/they were removed in June 2005. We were warned that they can be recurring and a lot are due to diet. He was always on a diet of fresh food, meat and veg (all sorts). Since the operation he has been on Hills Science UD and he still has fresh food but he does not have any of the veg that can contribute to oxalate stones (there is a big list). He really only has sweet potato, pumpkin, zucchini and a couple of others.

To date we have had no recurring problems - touch wood. If they did recur, he cannot be operated on again because of the cancer...

I was told you can check for oxalates in the urine yourself - get a sample, pour a small amount onto some newspaper, leave it in the sun to dry. When it is dry if you can see small crystal formations (almost powdery) then there is a good chance that it could be the problem. I never tried this. I left it all to the vets...

The operation cost us about $2000.00 from memory and that was about 2 years ago.

I wish you good luck with your pooch and hope and pray that it is just a bladder infection.

Jodie

[Silak]

Hi Jodie

Sorry I haven't replied before this.

Thanks so much for replying. I appreciate your saying what veggies your dog can have. Meanwhile someone has advised me to buy a detangling comb where the tines are L shaped - really they are blades - and this makes it less difficult to groom him.

Unfortunately he definitely had crystals in the urine. I am about to take him on one of his return visits to the vet.

I have priced a dog ramp and they are between $180.00 and $250.00. But i need one i can also use to load the dog in the car. It is OK where there is plenty of space. Where i have to take the dog to the vet and other places like a dogwash where it is like a crowded parking lot the dog has to turn as he gets out. At one place I take him they have a small very light (plastic I think) canvas dog bed which fits between the cars and is like a small step and soft when he steps on it. He really likes it and is quite eager to use it. But i cannot find where to buy one. Certainly not on ebay.

I wish you all the best for Ollie dog

Silak

Ollie dog was diagnosed with bladder and kidney stones in the June before he was diagnosed with mast cell cancer - not related just bloody unlucky...

He had a common type of stone (oxalate) and he was operated on and it/they were removed in June 2005. We were warned that they can be recurring and a lot are due to diet. He was always on a diet of fresh food, meat and veg (all sorts). Since the operation he has been on Hills Science UD and he still has fresh food but he does not have any of the veg that can contribute to oxalate stones (there is a big list). He really only has sweet potato, pumpkin, zucchini and a couple of others.

To date we have had no recurring problems - touch wood. If they did recur, he cannot be operated on again because of the cancer...

I was told you can check for oxalates in the urine yourself - get a sample, pour a small amount onto some newspaper, leave it in the sun to dry. When it is dry if you can see small crystal formations (almost powdery) then there is a good chance that it could be the problem. I never tried this. I left it all to the vets...

The operation cost us about $2000.00 from memory and that was about 2 years ago.

I wish you good luck with your pooch and hope and pray that it is just a bladder infection.

Jodie