Ask A Vet: Dog Bladder Stones
May 16th, 2008 by Dr. Donna SpectorWe heard from one of our readers with the following question:
“I have a female Lhasa Apso, 17 months old, and her name is Maggie. We found out two weeks ago she had bladder stones, many of them. She had surgery a week ago and had them removed. She is doing great and acts like a new puppy. The vet called today with the lab report on the kind of stones they were. He said we will be trying to treat her with a change in her diet rather than with antibiotics. Can you tell me if Halo Natural Dog Food would be considered a good food to keep her from getting more stones?
Thank you. I love my two dogs so much. I think we (you and I) must be kindred spirits!!”
Answer: You can learn more about Dog Bladder Stones in the Pet Education area of our site.
Do you need vet advice? Post a comment with your veterinary questions and we will send them to Dr. Donna Spector to be answered in a future column.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Thank you so much for your reply and information. It was very helpful.
So far the first Rx food we tried, she would not eat. The second kind has been a little more to her liking. I have put out several water bowls throughout my home, and change it often.
When Maggie came to us, she had already been in two other homes. Both homes returned her to the breeder because she could not be house broken. When we got her we notice that she would go right where she stood, no matter where that was. I took her to my vet and he diagnosed her with a bladder infection. She was about 3 months old when we got her. So, looking back I can see where she has had bladder problems from a very early age. (I wonder had the first people who owned her had taken her to the vet and found out what was wrong and had it treated….would it have ended up a minor infection, where as, now, she will be forever likely to have a recurrance of the infection and more stones.) After treatment the first time she seemed better. She became house broken and we were all happy. When she again began to go where she stood, I knew the problem was back. I had never heard of bladder stones. She probably suffered for a long time before we began to see the symptoms.
I hope this never happens to her again. We are trying to be deligent in what she eats now. It is hard for me to with hold the treats and ‘people food’ she loves so much. I realize now that I was literally killing her with kindness when I would give in to her pleading brown eyes and give her just about anything she wanted.
If you come up with something that would be safe for her, please let me know.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Pamela M. Davis
May 25th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
My 13 year old beagle/terrier mix (34lbs) has diabetes and was also diagnosed 6 months ago with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I struggle every single day when trying to feed him in order for him to get his proper dosage of insulin on time. He LOVES chicken, but my vet believes that he now allergic to that protein source. He turns his nose up at almost everything I put down for him unless it’s junk dog food or human food.
I was watching ELLEN and decided to try the Spots Stew. Well, Mickey eat the whole 13 oz can and I was able to administer his medication (Metranidazole and Pepcid), along with this insulin on time (YEAH!)
My question; is Spot’s Stew appropriate to feed, Mickey? I keep calling Mickey’s Internist, but even they have run out of options (Science Diet w/d, d/d, salmon, lamb). It’s such a delicate balance!!! Any help or suggestions with food and treats would be so welcome.
Thank you for a very smooth dinner time tonight with, Mickey!!
May 31st, 2008 at 9:04 am
My 4 year old golden retriever has been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We have had him on lamb and rice only and he did great for a while. Now he is having diarrhea and we are switching him to Halo Spot’s Stew Salmon canned food for 6 weeks as recommended by a local vetrinarian to clean out his gut/detox him. It seems to be helping some after a few days (still 50-50 with old food).
What suggestions do you have for IBD? Any help would be appreciated. We have been told that keeping him to only one protein source and only one carb source is correct, but Halo food has several of each. Any comments?