Its 3AM and I just got back from the vet...

babywukong · Sep 24, 2008

I drove my friend's dog Whisky (10 yr old Shitzu) to the vet because he'd been scooting along the floor on his bum leaving a trail of poo stains. My friend was worried and didnt want to wait till morning as he looked really uncomfortable. Well, that turned out to be fine, just his anal glands needed to be expressed.

While waiting for the vet to see him, he peed at the vet's.. lo and behold it was dark urine with blood. The vet tech took a sample, and sent it for analysis. At the same time, Whisky was ushered in for X-Rays and they found he's got stones in his bladder.

Vet said radiography is in order, and if it really is stones, Whisky will have to undergo surgery to remove them.

Has anyone's dog been through the same thing? Particularly an older dog? I just want to know the risks involved so we can be mentally prepared. Also, any advice on diet and lifestyle would be much appreciated... Vibes would be great as well

Mods, Sorry if this is in the wrong section... Wasn't sure if this should be in Health & Nutrition since Whisky isn't a cat.

faith's_mom · Sep 25, 2008

I would find out if they are forsure too large for him to pass...putting an older dog, especially a dog with a short nose, is always precarious, because of the risks of anesthetic issues. If the stones aren't too large, give him a chance to pass them on his own (with medications)

As far as diet and lifestyle; if he's overweight, get some of the excess weight off of him, as this 'often' though not all the time, can contribute to these types of issues.

As far as diet...it's mainly the calcium\\phosphurus ratios that must be balanced carefully...so if he's on 'cheapo' type diets, that may have to change as many of these aren't balanced very carefully, and also contribute to overweight issues, because of all the extra additives, and starchy type materials.

babywukong · Sep 25, 2008

Finally someone replied!

Thanks a lot Faith's_mom. Whisky will be visiting the vet later today for an ultrasound or whatever you call it, so we'll see what the vet says about the size of his stones. The emergency vet did say there was danger that his pee might get blocked up if one of the stones wandered out and got stuck, but I think she couldn't really tell the size just from XRays.

As for diet, Whisky is mainly on a boiled meat with no additives diet. Its usually either chicken or beef, boiled with plain water. I'm guessing raw is probably gonna be good for him, but he's 10 years old, and has been on commercial diet all of his life until a couple of months back when he was put on boiled meat diet. He will not accept raw - looks at us like we're crazy.

He's lost some weight since being on boiled meat, I don't think he's classified as being overweight.

Would you have any dietary plans to recommend, if you have had dogs go through the same thing?

nekochan · Sep 26, 2008

Boiled meat with no additives? It doesn't sound very balanced at all...where's the calcium?

katiemae1277 · Sep 26, 2008

I'm a little late, but lots of vibes for poor little Whiskey!!!

2dogmom · Sep 26, 2008

I'm late to this too. Sorry to hear this, I guess it was a blessing in disguise that Whisky was scooting. And that was relay kind of you to drive your friend's dog to the vet and stay so late!

I'm not an expert in diets for kidney problems by any means. But I do know that at 10 years, a dog might not take to a sudden change to raw. If you want to lower phosphorous, as far as I know the only game in town is the special diet that Science Diet makes for kidney problems. Note that this is not the plain 'ol Science Diet that anyone can buy at the pet supply store but the prescription one for dogs with kidney problems.

http://www.raingoddess.com/dogfood/phos.html

Good luck

wishiwas · Sep 26, 2008

If he does need surgery, the gas anesthetics are pretty safe even for older dogs. Of course there are always risks, but using gas rather than an injectable makes it safer. Our vet requires this on all senior pets, but I don't know if all of them do it automatically since it is more expensive.

I am also concerned about the boiled meat diet.. does that mean meat only?? That would be lacking in a lot of nutrition.. I would look at trying a quality canned food personally.

babywukong · Sep 27, 2008

Thanks for the heads-up on his unbalanced diet. I admit I did overlook the lack of calcium. He does get bones to chew though (real bones, not rawhide).

The vet did a check on him yesterday. The poor boy had to be cathered (ouch!) for a urine sample, and they found that the crystals in his urine are calcium oxalate. We were all hoping it was struvite, which can be broken down by special diets. Unfortunately, the only way to get calcium oxalate out is by surgery.

His surgery is fixed for 16th Oct. I'll confirm with the vet that they are going to use gas anaesthesia.

Following the surgery, the vet will be prescribing a special diet for him. I suspect its gonna be the Science Diet prescriptives, which will probably give him all the nutrients he needs

Vet assures that this is a simple surgery that will last no more than half an hour or so, and he should recover by 3 days. Nonetheless, I worry. I've never had an animal that I know undergo surgery before. This boy is a toughie though, he's had surgery to remove a lump from his neck when he was much younger - thankfully it was benign.

I'll post an update in a month's time when his surgery is complete. Thanks everyone, for the comments and advice!

mews2much · Sep 27, 2008

I was hoping it would not be that kind of stones.
My old cat had struvite stones and they were shrunk and have never come back but I was at er until almost 5am the other night and her kineys are going.
Was the dog tested to see if his kidneys are ok?

babywukong · Sep 27, 2008

Originally Posted by mews2much

I was hoping it would not be that kind of stones.
My old cat had struvite stones and they were shrunk and have never come back but I was at er until almost 5am the other night and her kineys are going.
Was the dog tested to see if his kidneys are ok?

Click to expand...

Oh no.. is your kitty alright??

No, Whisky hasn't had a blood test to check his kidneys. After he was cathetered, we didn't want to put him through extra misery on the same day. The vet advised that the blood test to check his kidneys could be done the morning of his surgery. This would also ensure that the blood sample is fresh and would give the most accurate picture right before the surgery was done.

mews2much · Sep 27, 2008

Coco isnt good right now and hides behing the scratching post.
She has to get another bp test on Weds. If its high we have to use pills.
I hope your dog feels better.

babywukong · Sep 27, 2008

Originally Posted by mews2much

Coco isnt good right now and hides behing the scratching post.
She has to get another bp test on Weds. If its high we have to use pills.
I hope your dog feels better.

Click to expand...

Vibes and prayers that Coco improves Whisky is feeling just fine. The stones are not affecting him in any way. He'll be miserable when surgery time rolls around though... Physically as well as emotionally because he has separation anxiety issues.

Btw, Whisky isn't my dog. He's my good friend's dog, but I see him very often.

meowers · Sep 30, 2008

Well they do say things happen for a reason. Glad the dog got the medical attention it knew it needed Hope it is ok.

Its 3AM and I just got back from the vet...

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