Bladder Stones In The Dog, Diagnosis, Prevention,Treatment. Urolithiasis, Calculi, Uroliths.
While cystitis is the commonest urinary tract problem found in dogs in my experience the next most common urinary tract disease in dogs is stones in the bladder. First some terminology as this can be confusing to non medical folks, to start with another name for stones in the bladder is urolithiasis, and the actual stones are also called calculi or uroliths, one is visible in the X-ray above. They can actually be found anywhere in the urinary tract such as in the kidneys and the ureters but they are most common in the bladder so lets concentrate on that area.
So what is the cause of bladder stones in the dog? : We know that the stones form because of the long term build up of certain minerals in the urine but beyond that often the precise cause is not known. Contributing factors include dietary factors, metabolic disease affecting the parathyroids, bacterial infections and some congenital diseases. Some dog breeds are more prone to this disease than others, these breeds include Miniature Schnauzers, Dalmatians and Bulldogs amongst others.
What are the symptoms of this disease? : These are very often similar to those of cystitis in the dog, increased frequency of urination, difficulty in passing urine and sometimes blood in the urine and signs of abdominal pain.
How is this disease diagnosed? : Normally you would suspect this disease on the clinical signs and then run lab tests on the urine which would help further, a definitive diagnosis would then be made by visualising the stones via x-ray or ultrasound. It is a good idea to get a sample of a stone by some means to determine which type it is { there are a number of possibilities } This will help your vet decide on how to treat the disease and to decide between medical or surgical treatment. Only some types of stone can be dissolved without surgery.
How is this disease treated? : Where bacterial infections are thought to be a factor then a prolonged course of antibiotics if often needed. Further treatment then would involve surgery to remove the stones or in some cases the disease can be resolved in a simple fashion by altering the affected dog’s diet.
For example where you are dealing with a struvite stone or, urate or cystine, they can be dissolved by altering pH and concentration of the urine. This is typically achieved by putting your pet on a commercial prescription diet. This may take many months to achieve it’s effect but it is a simple and stress free approach to the problem. In certain circumstances drugs like potassium citrate and the thiazide an allopurinol. Finally in some cases surgery is the only way forward.
How is this disease prevented? : This can be difficult, there are prescription diets which can help with this and any urinary tract infections which occur in the future should be promptly dealt with.
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