# Bladder stones/crystals in dogs



## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Ok, question for you folks. 
A good friend of mine has yet another dog with urinary crystals. Years ago, her lab was diagnosed with crystals, we adjusted his diet and some simple management and he did well enough into his early teens. 
I just got a message from her yesterday, Adam, her current dog (lab/rott mix) not related to Hoss, was just diagnosed with the same thing. Are labs prone to these, or could this be some sort of management issue? 
She has asked my opinion again since she would rather not feed what the vet recommends. I know with the many, many dogs I have fed over the decades, only one had stones. She also had an auto immune disorder. I soak their kibble in warm water and let it sit for about an hour or so. They have water bowls and buckets (even a little duck pond) scattered everywhere. I put ACV in my goats' water since the boys can have issues with life threatening urinary calculi. I also feed them minerals made for goats that has some sort of additive to help with that. Do they make something like that for dogs? Could she soak Adam's food in water and add some ACV (hopefully, he'd eat it).
Any chance Bladder Control could help? I've used it in conjunction with antibiotics for UTIs and it seems to at least help with the discomfort. 
Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Nutri-Vet Bladder Control Chewables for Dogs | drugstore.com


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## Summerhouse (Jun 12, 2015)

Don't blame her for not wanting to feed vets stuff. Apart from the fact it's rubbish it's also super high price for beef flavored rice with loads of additives.

Has she considered feeding raw? I don't know if you can get Nutriment where you are but they do a low phosphorus low purine complete food which is to help prevent bladder stones and dogs with kidney problems.

She could also try looking a a Dalmatian forum ( I'm sure there is one) as Dalmatians are very prone to bladder stones. 

dogaware.com has a lot of diet related info as well


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Excellent, Summerhouse! Thank you!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Peeves has been having urinary crystals, but strangely they are not always the same type. He has had one episode with oxalates and two with struvites. Both our regular vet and his associates who we saw while he was sick recommend neutering him as the best solution to the problem. We even had him get a very thorough ultrasound. It does show he has benign prostatic hypertrophy (mild) and that he has some blurring of the renal cortico-medullary border (probably really mostly an aging issue). 

We are reluctant to have him neutered since it is not reversible once done and since he is going to be 8 in October I'm not convinced his testosterone levels are so high that removing it will make a major difference. I have been managing his situation by giving him a daily dose of cranberry in a "soup" made with Primal raw freeze dried and a generous amount of water. I may also now add the nutri-vet supplement since it has saw palmetto which would be beneficial for his prostate.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Good point about the saw palmetto., Adam is a neutered (young) male. 

I love how I can come here and ask you guys doggie questions regardless of breed and get great answers and ideas.


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