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My dog had bladder stone surgery

Love Trees
13 years ago

We had a tough time last week. MY dog 'lukcy' could not pee and was in pain. Took it to emergency room at early morning 2.00 AM and they found stones in her bladder. They did some procedure and sucked the urine out. The next day I admitted her to my vet and they did 2 hour surgery and removed tons of stone. She is since been recovering

The culture analysis of the stone says it is a 'Struvite Stone'. This means she needs to be on prescription medication food for rest of her life. Doctor is recommending CD from Hills or Urinary SO.

Do you all have any suggestions on food, water habits etc? She never drinks water and i have to mix food with water for her to drink

Comments (4)

  • sylviatexas1
    13 years ago

    You've *gotta* get that water into her.

    Even if you have to cook chicken or turkey in plain water (no salt, etc) & add the broth to her water, get water into her.

    It might be that your tap water is distasteful to her:

    Here, the water has so many minerals in it that it makes tea & coffee taste bad & the water company advises that children under the age of 6 not drink it, as it can damage the enamel of their teeth.

    If that's the reason she won't drink water, you might get a filtration system or buy bottled water.

    I wish you the best.

  • Meghane
    13 years ago

    You need to find a new vet.

    Struvite stones in dogs are caused by UTI. There is absolutely no reason to make a diet change for struvite stones in dogs. Either your vet doesn't know that, or is trying to sell you an Rx diet your dog doesn't need.

    Your dog needs to have the correct antibiotics in order to kill the infection that caused the stone formation. There should have been a urine culture and sensitivity done at time of admittance, and your dog should be on the appropriate antibiotic. You should also have a recheck urine culture scheduled for 5-7 days after completion of the antibiotics.

    As long as *all* of the stones were removed, and that was confirmed by x-ray after surgery, then all you need to do is complete the antibiotics and make sure the infection is cleared by rechecking the urine C&S. I also generally recheck a urine culture after a couple of months, because some dogs are prone to infection which makes them a risk for stone formation.

    My own lab Max had struvite stones due to recurrent UTI. The second bout was 100% my fault because I did not follow up on urine culture often enough, and he developed another infection which caused the stones. The first time he had struvites, he blocked and needed surgery, was put on appropriate antibiotics guided by the urine C&S results. But I didn't follow up on the recheck C&S, and the infection wasn't really cleared. He got stones again, but this time didn't block, so I was able to use Hills S/D to dissolve the stones while he was on appropriate antiobitcs to cure the infection. That time, I made sure I had repeat C&S to show the infection was cured and the stones never came back. Once the stones were gone, I switched him back to his regular food (Natural Balance). He never got stones again.

    Sorry to be so blunt in the beginning but if all the vet does is Rx a diet then your dog will still be at risk for struvite stone formation.

  • Love Trees
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Great Post Meghane; Thanks for educating me on the stones. Did not know that stones are caused by UTI

    The Vet did urine/blood culture before the surgery and changed the antibiotics for the dog based on the results. The dog now takes antibiotic called Zeniquin - 100mg 1 Tab everyday. This is an expensive one and i ordered in the internet for 5$ a piece. The vet charged me 8.00$ a piece.So i got prescription and ordered it online

    The vet said that in the long term the dog should take either Urinary S/o or Cd Hills. Now after reading you post, I am going to discuss this with the doctor.

    Thanks again for your time

  • betlebum
    11 years ago

    The formation of Struvite stones is NOT always from a UT and, in either case, there are other factors involved such as heredity ( more common in certain breeds) & diet!
    So, yes, if there is an infection it should be treated BUT do not ignore the dietary factors! A special diet that not only makes the diet slightly more acidic, lower protein & a lower content of the minerals that form the stones plus a slight diuretic effect (parsley is very good for this) is the best way to ensure that your dog doesn' t get the stones again!