bladder stones in dogs

last year

last modified: last year

My 9 year old female dog had surgery for bladder stones in November 2024. She had a couple of follow ups since then and all was good but during a check up last Friday, the vet saw on her xray she had 3 small stones in her bladder which are calcium oxalate since her urine PH was at 5. A the time of her UTI, her PH was at 8, she had struvites crystals and small struvite stones that all dissolved to the exception of one which was blocking her urethra, thus the need for the emergency surgery.

Since the surgery she has been on Royal Canin Urinary S/0 7 years+ dry food and wet food and she also get the Royal Canin S/O treats. She has been drinking a lot, which we want for her to flush her bladder.

Her urine PH came down to 7 with the RC s/o dry food which was great but Friday we found out it dropped to 5. This kind of dry food does not dissolve calcium oxalate stones so this Thursday, my vet will perform hydropropulsion to extract them and hopefully she will succeed and there will be no need for another surgery since it has been only 8 months and it is a very hard surgery on a 20lbs dog.

My vet contacted RC and they suggest I feed my dog 4 times daily instead of 2 and encourage intake of water. My dog has been drinking and peeing a lot so I do not think it will make a difference. They also suggest a CBC which will be done to eliminate underlying conditions.

My gut feeling is telling me not to keep her on RC s/o and switch to Hills c/d or Purina has also something for urinary health.

Anyone here was ever in this situation with their dog? Which food were you succesful with? I would appreciate and welcome any comments or observations.

Thank you very much!

Featured Answer

Ninapearl

last year

i tend to agree with elmer, i think you may want to pursue a second opinion. i am surprised that your vet hasn't already done a senior blood panel and particularly shocked that he wouldn't do one prior to surgery/anesthesia to determine if organ functions are normal. i would also see about finding a vet who can do a cardiac ultrasound before you think about any possible future surgeries.

by chance, do you have a veterinary college within a reasonable distance? they are often a great source of diagnostics since they usually have state-of-the-art facilities and also, treatments for various conditions can be much less expensive.

my dane girl recently recovered from a raging UTI that took 3 different antibiotics before it finally cleared up. i also started giving her a daily dose of D Mannose for urinary tract health and will keep her on this supplement for life.

https://www.chewy.com/natures-pure-edge-d-mannose-chicken/dp/241535

wishing you luck getting answers for your pup!!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

socks
last year
Sorry you haven't gotten any replies. Good luck taking care of your beloved pet.
marielle thanked socks
Elmer J Fudd
last year
last modified: last year
For a vet to get treatment advice from a dog food company suggests that you're not seeing a vet who's professionally competent to treat your dog. This sounds like a vet in general practice for whom your dog's condition has exceeded their knowledge and professional capabilities

If you have a veterinary specialist practice in your general area, I'd recommend having your dog seen by a vet who's had the extra training and experience to become board certified in internal medicine. Such vets have an additional degree in their title - ACVIM.

Good luck.
marielle thanked Elmer J Fudd
Related Professionals
Quincy Architects & Building Designers · Grand Forks Architects & Building Designers · Huron Architects & Building Designers · Tucson Architects & Building Designers · Victorville Architects & Building Designers · Glenwood Springs Architects & Building Designers · Anchorage Architects & Building Designers · Murfreesboro Interior Designers & Decorators · New Haven Interior Designers & Decorators · Minneapolis Interior Designers & Decorators · Cornwall Interior Designers & Decorators · Hattiesburg Furniture & Accessories · Lawton Furniture & Accessories · Murfreesboro Furniture & Accessories · Bloomington Furniture & Accessories
HU-279332973
last year
I can see that with a blocked urethra, which truly is an emergency, there was no time to do a blood panel before surgery but it is surprising it wasn't done afterwards. I would want some input on a change of diet. You could just ask your present vet to look into that if you have trouble locating a specialist.

patriciae
Elmer J Fudd
last year
" I can see that with a blocked urethra, which truly is an emergency, there was no time to do a blood panel before surgery "

Are you trained to know what the normal procedures and protocols are? I suspect the answer is No. Please don't speculate in an area you're not qualified to comment about.

My comment was that the vet concerned seems incompetent, on several fronts. That's easy enough to perceive from afar without pretending to know anything more than what an ordinary observation suggests.
HU-279332973
last year
Elmer, you can draw the strangest conclusions. Could you tell me your qualifications for your judgements?

patriciae
Elmer J Fudd
last year
last modified: last year
I made no judgements, I made an observation that I'm sure others did too. Your comment was one to be expected only of a person with personal experience in the area, not from an observer at a distance.

We can start with your stating a blocked urethra is an emergency. Do minutes matter? Is this something general vets do regularly and a surgery specialist isn't necessary? (I don't know the answers, I suspect you don't either)

Are you also ready to comment on standard procedures for treating a dog that was hit by a car?