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Dog Bladder Stones

Urolithiasis - Dog Bladder Stones
By Tess Thompson

In certain conditions like disturbances in urine pH, crystals in the urine bond together. Once bonded, these crystals become insoluble and when more crystals join together, they form uroliths (urinary stones). The presence of stones in the kidney or the bladder is known as urolithiasis. Cystitis caused by bladder stones may lead to formation of more stones in the bladder.

The basic components of bladder stones are the minerals that form crystals. These are usually made up of only one type of crystal. In rare cases crystals formed by different minerals can mix for form the same stone. The relevance of understanding the types of bladder stones lies in the fact that each type is affected by the intake of nutrients and specific diets.

Nearly half the cases of bladder stones are diagnosed as struvite stones. These are found more in female dogs than in male ones. Struvite stones are also called magnesium-ammonium-phosphate or triple phosphate. Urinary tract infection in dogs that is caused by particular bacteria produce an enzyme called urease that sets a chemical reaction in motion.

In this reaction urea is converted into carbon dioxide and ammonia. This ultimately leads to an excess of ammonia and the formation of crystals. Instances where the bladder cannot be emptied completely due to canine or feline urinary incontinence, also leads to the precipitation of struvite crystals out of alkaline urine to form bladder stones.

Calcium oxalate stones are the second most common bladder stones in dogs. These types of stones tend to form in acidic urine. There is a strong hereditary connection with the formation of oxalate stones in dogs just as it is in humans. Nephrocalcin in urine restricts the formation of calcium oxalate stones.

The production of defective nephrocalcin or its absence is associated with genetic causes. This suggests that recurrent UTI in puppies should be investigated further to rule out the possibility of bladder stones. Calcium oxalate stones are sometimes found to occur along with other uroliths such as calcium phosphate and ammonia urate stones.

Struvite and calcium oxalate stones are radiopaque and easily show up on in an X-ray. Some stones like urate stones are radiolucent and do not show in radiographs. The best method to detect stones is an ultrasound examination. Sometimes air or dye or both are injected in the bladder to outline suspected stones. The pH of urine usually gives an indication of the composition and type of stones.

Besides genetics, stone formation in the bladder is also dependent on oxygen reuptake and the enzymes produced for digestion. Minerals tend to form crystal when they are not fully picked up by the digestive system.

Regular exercise and proper diet can restrict the formation of bladder stones. In some cases surgical removal may be the only option of treatment. Homeopathy, on the other hand, has some effective remedies for dissolving some types of urinary stones.

References:

http://lbah.com/canine/urolithiasis.htm
http://marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_oxalate_bladder_stones.html