Charley has bladder stones :(

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

My Charley Girl has bladder stones. I took her to the vet last week because she was ringing her bells to go outside more than usual and when she urinated she was squatting a long time. The vet gave us 14 days of Clavamox which she had been taking as ordered.

Well, it's one week later and her symptoms are worse instead of better. She continues to have frequency and started straining to urinate so I took her back to the vet today. I told him she was very uncomfortable yesterday but seems to be doing better today... not straining but continues with long squatting. He said he was concerned about bladder stones. He also said it is very rare for such a young dog (18 months) to have bladder stones so he ran a chemistry panel to rule out liver shunt. Thank goodness the chemistry panel was normal but her x-ray showed multiple bladder stones. He wanted to do surgery on Monday or Tuesday to remove them. He said removing the stones and running an analysis on them was the only treatment option. Cost = $2,000... YIKES!

I wanted a second opinion so I took her with a copy of her chart and x-ray directly to a vet my niece uses for her dogs. This vet said bladder surgery carries an increased risk of infection because the bladder is opened. He said it is better to try treating it conservatively and gave her steroids to reduce the inflammation and help her feel more comfortable. He said to continue the Clavamox. He is running a urinalysis to determine what type of crystals she has and then we will start a prescription diet to see if the stones can be reduced using conservative measures.

Has anyone else had a dog this young or younger develop bladder stones? The second vet also said it is very unusual in a dog this young and it is related to genetics. He recommended letting her breeder know about this. I had a very negative experience with her breeder and I dread having to have any communication with her again.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Karen, I am so very, very sorry to hear about Charley's condition. I'm glad you found a vet willing to take a more conservative course of action. If that doesn't work surgery would be an option later I would imagine. I am hoping for a very good response to the steroids and Clavamox. 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Not that I know a lot about stones with dogs, but that does seem young. Did your research tell you if her diet could have anything to do with developing them? Also, you might want to do your homework on the RX food they are going to have you buy from them for this. Please check out the Food Group? As for the breeder....I'd probably just send her a short email letting her know your vet recommended that you inform her of this. . I'd probably go check my Health Guarantee if you have one. But if you dread having to communicate with her again, it sounds like you wouldn't want to persue her any further for help with this even if it's covered in the contact. Good luck And I hope the conservative approach works !

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

The poor thing!  I'm sure that is probably painful.  I am sorry you are going through this.  I don't know anything about the bladder stones.  I agree with Sue to just e-mail the breeder.  If she's as bad as you're implying, she probably will just ignore it, but at least you tried.  I'm assuming you don't have pet insurance?  That's too bad, because even if you got it now I think that wouldn't be covered because it would be considered "pre-existing," but I'd definitely get it anyway.  I hope she gets better soon and please keep us updated!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so sorry to hear about Charley.  It makes sense to me to start with the conservative approach...I hope that it works and Charley won't need any surgery. I would absolutely let the breeder know about this.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

So Sorry to for Charlie to be going through this, our previous dog, a male poodle mix, had bladder stones and we had the operation. He was 2 years old....he lived to be 15. This was over 22 years ago and the cost was $1250....so that is in line I would think.

The reason for the operation was because the stones reached the urethra and was blocking his ability to urinate. We felt we had no choice and were given NO other options. He was scheduled for the next day. All went well.

If it were me I would probably do it the same way all over again. I don't think you have time when it comes to the comfort of your pup and I could not bare watching him try to pee and nothing coming out. I had a severe bladder infection once and thought if it was anything like that I couldn't put him through it another moment.

The Vet attributed his stones to sodium in his diet...not that this was proven but his treat of choice at the time was beggin strips (we did not know better). He never had another and he never got stones again.

[Angela, Wheeler & Wicket]

Aww, poor girl! My past Dobie had 4 bladder stones, which he had to have surgery to get out! Apparently he was not urinating (which I didn't realize, cause I would see him lift his leg), but thank god, at his time, one of my dress socks became missing(Piston was about 6 year), & Piston started vomiting, so off to the vet we went in fear he had a sock stuck! That's when they saw no sock, but 4 bladder stones! I will be honest with you, beside having to make the decision to put him in his resting at 13 1/2 years old, this surgery was one of the most heart breaking things to go through, you will have to stay very strong for Charley! My poor guy (he weighed 144 lbs, no fat), he had to have about 30 staples in his lower belly area. After he had healed, he never had the destinct Doberman look, cause his belly was so saggy (people use to say, aww when are her puppies due? I would say, HE isn't having any, LOL, you just couldn't see his little pee pee anymore!). But, yes, until the day he passed away, from 6 years to 13 1/2 years, he always had bladder infections & was on different antibiotics for his whole life! When he got older about 12 years old, he then started to have leakage, but I think he would have had that with old age anyway, the poor guy just had to wear custom made male diapers for a little while, but when he was put on a bladder med, his leakage completely stopped!
I wish you & Charley well, I hope that Charley does not need surgery, please keep us updated!

[Ginny Nightingale]

I think that bladder stones can be broken up with lasers in humans, then they will pass more easily--but you may have to go to a major vet school for something like that if they do it at all. Maybe the second vet could call around to see if there is anything out there that is an alternative--but it might be pricey. I will ask my daughter--she just got a vet degree from Cornell and they are the leaders in innovative treatment.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think it is ultrasound that can be used, at least for kidney stones, in people.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I was hoping you'd chime in on that, F. That was my understanding as well, that they use ultrasound, and  have heard of it being done in water. But I heard of that with kidney stones. Are bladder stones the same as kidney stones?

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

They can be the same kinds of stones but in a quick glance I didn't see any articles on using ultrasound on them, or in dogs. I do know gallbladder stones can also be pulverized with ultrasound. Sometimes bladder stones can be moved or removed with catheters. Diet may be important to prevent future stones but that's your area : )

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I did find a NY Times article on using ultrasound for kidney stones in people: http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/kidney-stones/other...

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yes, kidneys and gallbladders are done.