Bladder stones

[Laura L]

Not a Border Collie, but my sister has a dog that she adopted this year. She knew he had health issues from the start, he had bladder stones that the vet was treating him for. The shelter under the vet's direction changed his diet to Science ID and he had surgery the end of May to remove the stones because the diet alone wasn't helping enough. She was fostering him until the surgery and adopted him shortly afterward.

 

Since then he's been on Science WD, distilled water and a supplement K-Cit-V, but he's getting oxilated (sp?) crystals again. The vet is not sure what else to do for him. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Laura

[Liz P]

Royal Canin SO diet. Only one out there I have found that really works for that type of crystal.

[Laura L]

Thanks for the suggestion Liz, I forgot to mention that he's also got pancreatitis.

Laura

[Liz P]

The vets on staff at Royal Canin are super helpful. I would suggest that your friend ask her vet to call them for a consult. It's free and I have been very pleased with the level of help they provided. There are drugs that can help with oxalate crystals, but they have side effects.

 

Is the pancreatitis chronic or acute? If it is acute the dog should be able to safely transition to the RC SO after a few weeks. If it is chronic your friend's dog could benefit from a consultation with a veterinary nutritionist.

[Mark Billadeau]

My Gyp had bladder stones (both struvite and oxalate) several years ago. Since the surgery she has been on Royal Canin SO (she even gets the food in place of other treats) with no evidence of crystals in her urine (she is tested annually).

 

Mark

[Laura L]

Liz, the pancreatitis is acute, so that's helpful. I'm passing on the information and thank you for replying.

 

Mark, good to know that there is a good outcome if the dog goes on the Royal Canin SO. It seems like if it's not one thing it's another.

Laura

[BCjetta]

Just curious what type of dog this is? Some breeds are very prone to the oxalate stones.

 

From what I remember, the stone report we get back for calcium oxalate stones usually says the risk of recurrance is moderate and the stones tend to recur over months to years, royal canin urinary SO is the food of choice, and a big one is to keep the urine specific gravity less than 1.020 as crystals have a harder time forming in dilute urine.

I'd recommend they take a first morning urine sample to the vet just to check the concentration and see how high or low it is.

[Laura L]

Gene looks like a Border Terrier mix and since he's from the shelter we don't know for sure. The last urine sample was the first of the morning and my sister had fun with that but it worked.

Laura

[2 Devils]

My border collie this problem as a puppy. She had 2 different crystals showing up. We found it was food based - she can't handle veggies very well and we also put on a powder for a few weeks to straighten out the PH Balance. I can't remember the name of the stuff though but it basically makes them want to drink more.

[gail]

Hey Laura,

 

Not sure if it will help a dog, but I have a cat with a tendency towards stones & urinary infections & I put her on Cosequin & it works like a charm. The package insert for cosequin does discuss its benefits for cats & urinary issues, but does not mention dogs. Not sure why it would not have the same benefits for dogs. Maybe you could call cosequin & inquire.

 

I assume it helps with any inflammation & either allows stones to pass or decreases the chances for them to form. I was really frustrated with my cat & felt very helpless with her. She would go through a course of antibiotics & it would clear up & within a week or two, it would be back. And as bad as I felt, I could tell she felt worse. My vet suggested that I try the cosequin & within a week or so, she was better. I started her on 2 pills a day & the only time she had a recurrence was when I tried to reduce to one a day. Went back to 2 a day & she hasn't had a problem since.

 

gail