Bladder Stones

LaceyJane writes:

Hi,
Went to the vet today and she did an x-ray and found 2 stones in Lacey's bladder. Any one else have this problem? We are trying a special diet to see if that will dissolve them then more x-rays and probably looks like surgery which will be very costly and major surgery.

My2Bichons responds:

Hi,
Molly has had 2 urinary tract infections within several months. (Poor baby!) After the 2nd one, her vet put her on a special diet by Science Diet (c/d I think?) to help prevent stones. She had some crystallizing which could develop into stones..
It's too soon to tell if this is going to work, but I've got my fingers crossed!
The vet did say that smaller dogs with shorter urethra's (sp?) are more susceptible to bladder & urinary tract infections.
Good luck with the diet! No one wants to put their babies through surgery!
Terri & Molly

LaceyJane responds:

Hi Terri,
Have you taken Molly back to the vet yet after her being on the Science Diet to see if she is completely better yet?

That is exactly the same food Lacey is on and she does seem to be doing better. At one point she was needing out every 2 hours to pee and now with the special food she seems to be better to us. We will keep her on this diet for a while longer before we take her back for another x-ray, want to make sure we give the food a chance to really work to see if it will dissolve the stones before we jump into surgery. If this food is working then I am pretty sure she will have to stay on this special food from now on.
Leslie and Lacey

ElliesMomPaula responds:

Hi,
Yes, Ellie Mae had UTI's that we just couldn't get rid off. I hoped and prayed it would all go away but when I returned from a trip to California her vet said that Ellie Mae have to have the stone removed, that was a year ago this month. Since the surgery Ellie Mae has been on the Science Diet c/d food too, she doesn't like it much. Her vet said she could continue to eat for boiled chicken in small amounts which she loves. We also asked him about an article we read of a vet recommending giving CranActin, he said it wouldn't hurt her, in helps people why not. So she has been getting the pills twice a week. So far so good, I test her urine pH too and so far it is in the safe range. She goes for her yearly check up soon and I'm going to ask him about Wysong food, they have one for crystals too.
Paula & Ellie Mae

LaceyJane responds:

Paula,
Your vet said it was ok to give boiled chicken and the Science diet ud? Lacey just loves lettuce and she will eat the science diet ud when she gets really hungry but our vet said not to feed her anything else but the science diet. I feel so bad every time I get out lettuce to make a salad and she just goes nuts wanting some. I am going to start to give her lettuce along with the science ud since your vet said chicken was ok lettuce should be the same.

We bought both the canned and the dry food science ud and feed her both each day but she really doesn't eat it very well unless I "hand feed" it to her.

Leslie and Lacey

My2Bichons responds:

Molly has been fine so far. And, she actually likes the c/d food, which makes my life easier! I'm interested in trying the CranActin. Does it come in different strengths? Do you give her a whole pill? Does it have any red dyes? (We don't have any tear stains and don't want any!) The vet didn't tell us not to give her any other foods with the c/d... Molly loves lettuce too. ..and carrots, and green beans and apples.... most anything we give her. (only healthy raw fruits and veggies... NOT grapes and raisins)

ElliesMomPaula responds:

Leslie,
Ellie doesn't eat it well either, hence the chicken. Yes, he did say she could still eat the chicken and she has some treats I give her too and I see Molly's vet said the same. My sister had a different type of dog with the same problem and she never strayed away from giving her only the c/d science diet food, but it never failed she always developed the stones and had to have them removed. I don't want Ellie to have this same problem for the rest of her she just turned 3. I did read an article that it was not the diet the dog eats that causes the stones/crystals but the food that is being feed (i.e. dog food) to them is not acidic enough so the urine becomes to alkaline. I'm hoping I am doing the right things and so far so good. We are keeping our fingers and paws crossed.

CranActin is a natural cranberry supplement you can also buy Solid Gold Berry Balance which is made for dogs & cats it contains cranberry and blueberry extract with marshmallow and vitamin c to help the urinary tract system they give it to dogs and cats prone to struvite crystals and bladder infections (which is what Ellie gets). I haven't tried it yet since I have been using the CranActin but I'm thinking of buying some.. I found some on www.onlynaturalpet.com. I can't say Ellie has tear stains if that is your concern. Has anyone tried the Solid GOld Berry Balane, I loved to know what you think too.
Paula & Ellie Mae

MickyMac0 responds:

Hi,
Wanted to reply to your message. My Maggie had stones in her kidney and bladder and almost died. She got an infection that spread into her liver, kidney, and bladder. She stopped eating and drinking just laid on the bathroom floor. Since I work and have two Bichons and 6 cats, I didn't realize that she wasn't eating or drinking. When I saw her throwing up foam, I ran her to the vet. Her blood pressure had dropped causing the vet to have a hard time to get blood. Also her body temp dropped and they put blankets and a heat lamp on her. The vet said she was in organ failure. We rushed her to an urgent care facility. She was listed in critical condition. After she was in stable condition, in three days, the ultra sound showed she had stones and the infection. She was operated on and they saved both her kidneys since we thought she would lose one. Maggie was in the hospital for a week. Anyway, she is home now but it was major surgery and thousands of dollars. She has special food that we had to order for her. My fear is she will get them again and I cant afford to do this again. If anyone has any hints as to what I can watch for or do I would appreciate it.

My2Bichons responds:

Yikes! Poor Maggie! I would definitely keep her on the special food that the vet recommended. It has made a world of difference here. At first, I wouldn't give her anything but the special food to get her system back on tract. I know that won't be easy considering you have 8 furbabies and they all want what the other one has! You also might consider the CranActin or Solid Gold Berry Balance, but check with the vet first as she's had a huge ordeal... maybe give her a few months before you start it? Good luck with everything!
Terri & Molly

LaceyJane responds:

Lacey had her surgery back in the beginning of May. We noticed before surgery for several months she was having alot of accidents in the house (peeing on the floor, and if she would jump up on our bed she would pee, she would pee on the couch sometimes) plus she was needing/wanting out to go alot. Sometimes during the night I would have to get up every 2 hours all night long to let her out. We took her to the vet and she had me keep a 24 hour chart for 10 days noting every time she went out and if she actually squatted to pee. Then one day I just happened to notice the tiniest lightest bit/drops of blood when she had an accident in the house. Then the vet x-ray ed her etc. and found the stones.

Her surgery went well and she has been on the special cd diet all this time since before surgery even. BUT I am going to have to take her to the vet because she is starting to once again need to go out about every 3 hours or so all night long. It will be 5 months now since her surgery and I am nervous that maybe the stones are back.

BijousMom responds:

Hi-

Sorry to hear about the stone issues with your Bichon.
Do they know what type of stones they are? It sounds like they know they are struvite if they are trying to dissolve them. Struvite stones are very common in female bichons and can be dissolved. Our bichon had bladder stones this June. We opted for the surgery and she had 12 stones that turned out to be struvite. Often struvite stones are infection induced. My bichon had a bad bladder infection which caused the stones.We now feed her a raw food diet (Nature's Variety) which keeps the urine more acidic, give her Berry Balance 3x/week and give her Tinkle Tonic.

I assume your dog is on an antibiotic. Have they done a urine culture do make sure they are treating the infection with the right antibiotic? Usually since struvite stones are infection-induced they should dissolve once the antibiotic takes its course. I am not a fan of the prescription diets long term. The Hill's diets are high in fat and have been known to cause pancreatitis in bichons. Also, make sure if you do the surgery your vet sends the stones to the U of MN for a free analysis. They have one of the largest stone urolith research centers in the country and you will get a very accurate analysis of the stones. There is lots of information on the Internet. You can do searches on bichons and stones will find lots of links. Also, if you join the yahoo groups- K9 kidney diet or canine uroliths you can get lots of great information. Good luck and keep us posted!
Karla

Here's a few links about struvites:

http://www.bichonhealth.org/HealthInfo/UrinaryStones.asp

http://vettechs.blogspot.com/2005/05/so-your-dog-has-struvites.html

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsindex.php

http://amsc.us/urinary.html