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]

Yes, I've had it done for kidney stones.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Here is an article on bladder stones, which may help.

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/bladder-urethral-stones-dogs-various-typ...

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

The complete obstruction is what our Zach had so surgery was necessary. It was a long recovery but he made it though. He did end up having kidney failure many years later, perhaps it all started with this. Poor guy, he was such a trooper through it all.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I hope Charley feels better poor baby. I'm glad you got a 2nd opinion.

Good luck with the treatment and keep us posted-very important to let the breeder know if it's genetics.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry for Charley.  I hope the conservative treatments work.

[Bryce P]

Oh, poor pup!!!! I hope she feels better and doesn't have to get surgery. Maybe you could try to make up with the breeder.

[Mary Beahm]

Trudie was diagnosed with bladder stones a little over a year ago and she is now on the Royal Canin OS food.  Apparently, all of the food I was giving her which I thought was good (high protein, dairy) was one of the causes of the stervite stone.  She has not had an issue since changing to this prescription food.  The stones look like the size of a pea or pearl.  I found one and the vet analyzed it.  It was painful coming out.  Hope everyone finds the right treatment for our little family members.  Poor Charley Girl.  Hope she is doing much better.

Our current issue is off/on incontinence.  The vet put her on Proin and Trudie had a reaction so was taken off immediately.  Our vet is researching to find another medication.

[Kamela & Beckett]

Mary, our 11 1/2 year old schnauzer is on Incurin for incontinence (and it's successfully treated the issue). You might ask your vet about it, in case it's different than Proin.

[Mary Beahm]

Thanks for the information.  I did give this information regarding Incurin to my vet to research.  However, as Trudie has not had daily issues we decided to hold off.  The vet did warn that with Incurin, you cannot handle it as it is a hormone so I would need to use protection (gloves).  But otherwise seems to be a good alternative.  At least we have something to use if Trudie begins having accidents on a regular basis.

Oh, yes, the bladder stones.  Our vet did an x-ray and it showed the stones.  Did Charley also have an x-ray?

Thanks again.  I really appreciate this website and all of your input.