Dog UTI's and Struvite Stones

About 2 months ago I noticed that Mochi has been peeing more frequently, in smaller puddles. The good thing about having her using pee pads is I was able to monitor the amount. Then when she went outside, she took a lot longer to pee, from about 5 quick seconds to sometimes 30 seconds. Then she would have frequent accidents in the house, and piddle when we get home or had quests over, something she never did before. At first we thought this was a behavioral problem, so we just tried to keep her calm. We decided to bring her to the vet to get checked out anyway since we suspected it might be a UTI.

FIRST TREATMENT
She was brought to our vet and they performed a urinalysis (not urine culture) and they determined it was an Urinary Tract Infection. She was given a antibiotic shot called Convenia. The total cost for that visit was around $100. In hindsight, we should have asked for a urine culture, which would determine the exact appropriate antibiotic before giving her anything. After a week or so she was still having accidents, no real improvement in her condition.

SECOND TREATMENT
A week or so after her first vet visit we went to a pet store where she had an accident on the floor, this time very bloody. In panic, we brought her to an emergency vet where X-rays were taken and they determined that it was most likely struvite stones caused by the UTI. The X-rays showed 4 large stones that took up most of her bladder, which explains her frequent accidents. The vet asked if I would like to have her urine sample be sent out for a culture, which under different circumstances I would. However, she still had the first antibiotic shot in her body, and I know that will compromise the culture. She was prescribed Clavamox (Amoxycillin)and Royal Canine Urinary SO food which I will go into further below. The cost for this visit was $350 including the visit fee, antibiotic, food, and X-rays.



Bloody urine



X-Ray showing 4 large struvite stones in bladder

PRESCRIPTION FOOD
The vet prescribed Royal Canine Urinary SO food to help dissolve the stones and to keep her pH balanced. I did not want to feed her this since the ingredients are terrible, and from what I've read, once an infection has set in the food does little good. Her stones were also way too big to be dissolved. I did follow instructions and fed her this, but the vet mentioned she might have to be on it for the rest of her life. There is no way I'm feeding her this crap when first main ingredients are rice, ground corn, and chicken fat.

SURGERY
Our only option at that point was surgery to remove the stones since they were so large. We ended up getting the surgery done at our regular vet, the cost was around $1100. After the surgery they also took X-rays to make sure all the stones and other particles were removed. She got staples and was very drowsy from the pain medication for about 2 days. After the 2 days of rest she was back to normal and was eating and drinking again. We kept the cone on so she wouldn't lick at her wound. About 10 days later, her cut was almost healed, and I figured she might be OK without the cone so I let her run free. Less than an hour later I found that she had ripped out the staples. Lesson learned. We brought her back to the vet for a checkup and everything looked good. They did not really recommend any prevention methods except to keep feeding her Royal Canine.



Struvite stones removed from the bladder.


Mochi's booboo with staples. I believe they stitched the inside layer with stitches, but staples were a better choice to hold everything together.

PREVENTION
We did send the stones out to be tested, and the results came back Struvite. This type of bladder stone almost always forms when a dog has a UTI. Since recurrence is likely, my main goal is to prevent her from getting a UTI again. I am continuing to feed her Lotus Food and I started adding wet canned Lotus Food with her dry kibble to get more fluid in her system. I also try to take her for more walks, allowing her to pee and drink more water. We got a pH Test Kit and test her urine level every week right when she gets up. Since Struvite stones form in more alkaline urine, anything above 7.5 will be a cause for concern. I will also start to give her Cranberry tablets to help prevent UTI's. I clean her peepee area after she goes potty and keep the hairs around that area cut very short.

We have tested her urine for 2 weeks, so far it has stayed 6-6.5 which is good. If her urine pH suddenly jumps from acidic (5-7) to alkaline (7.5 or higher) I will bring her back to the vet to get her urine cultured. This should determine the right antibiotic if she does have another UTI.

MORE INFORMATION
For owners who have had to deal with this, I know how hard it is to find prevention methods when vets tend to only treat the problem when it's too late. If you would like to get some more information about bladder stones in dogs, this article is a great source.


All bettuh!

UPDATE: Since her surgery in August 2010, we have kept up with 3 preventative steps and they seem to be working. Her urinary health is great.
1. Mixing a little bit of canned food to her kibbles (we feed her Lotus dog food, not Royal Canine as prescribed by the vet)
2. Keeping her private areas clean after she pees
3. Checking her PH levels in urine. Hers has stayed between 6-6.5 which is normal.
4. Giving her some cranberry pills
5. More walking to encourage peeing