If your dog has recurrent urinary tract infections, urinary crystals can form in his bladder and eventually cause bladder stones. Urinary crystals and bladder stones can cause many problems for your dog, such as painful and excessive urination. If you know the symptoms, and seek treatment, then the problem can be alleviated along with the symptoms.
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Formation
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Whenever changes happen in the urinary tract because of infection, minerals that appear as microscopic crystals appear in the urine. If these small crystals bond together, then a bladder stone develops. A bladder stone can reach up to 3 or 4 inches in diameter.
Causes
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Some causes of bladder stones are genetic predisposition, defects of the kidney and bacterial infections. The latter play a major role since infections cause urine to be more alkaline, and this alkalinity is a perfect condition for mineral formation. Certain species of dogs are more susceptible to bladder stones than others. For instance, Dalmatians have a metabolism defect that can cause stones to form.
Symptoms
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Dogs that have bladder stones may urinate frequently, but only pass small amounts of urine each time. Your dog may shows signs of pain and straining while urinating, and blood may be present in his urine. Some dogs that have bladder stones will not show any symptoms, and the stones will only be found through examination of the abdomen.
Diagnosis
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Abdominal X-rays are used to confirm bladder stones in dogs. Usually stones will show up on X-rays as white circles. Some stones do not show up in X-rays due to color and transparency issues. In these cases, a special dye is injected into the dog's bladder to outline any stones that are present and show them on X-rays.
Treatment
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Bladder stones are treated in several ways. The stones can be surgically removed while your dog is under anesthesia. Or, he can undergo urohydropropulsion, a procedure where a solution is injected into the bladder, and then forced back out, while ejecting any stones with it. This procedure is only used when stones are very small in size. Also, a specially formulated diet that is low in protein can cause certain stones, such as struvite or ammonium urate stones, to dissolve.
Prevention/Solution
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Since stones are usually caused by an imbalance in urinary pH levels due to urinary infections, or malnutrition, the best prevention method is to help your dog's urinary tract maintain healthy pH levels. You can do this by feeding your dog a nutritious diet and giving him supplements. Dandelion, marshmallow and goldenseal are herbal supplements that boost the immune system and kill bacteria, thereby decreasing the chances that your dog will suffer from urinary tract infections.
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