Stones in Dogs

Common causes of bladder stones are minerals, bacterial infection, diet and genetic predisposition.

Some breeds are more prone to getting stones than others.  Please check with your veterinarian if your dog is or is not one of these breeds.

Symptoms of bladder stones in dogs include the need to urinate frequently (although only a small amount of urine comes out each time), or blood in the urine.  Often the most telling symptom though is when they remain in the urinating posture for a significant amount of time after urinating.  This is because they still need to urinate but are experiencing a blockage.  Basically they are trying to force themselves to urinate more.  Please note that stones can be highly dangerous and that if your dog is experiencing any of these symptoms you should treat this as an emergency situation.

It's important to note that often dogs do not show any symptoms at all of bladder stones.  And yet they could be experiencing a life threatening situation.

It's surprising how many dogs have stones that are undetected because the dog displays no symptoms (despite that the dog may already be close to a life threatening condition).  As such it's important for your dog to have regular veterinary visits where they will palpate the dogs urinary bladder to check for stones.  Often this quick check can detect stones that otherwise would have grown into bigger problems.  Other ways of detecting stones are urine samples, x-rays and ultrasound.

Larger stones may need to be removed through surgery while others may be dissolved through medications and special prescription diets. If you suspect your dog has stones treat this as an emergency situation and bring your dog into the vet immediately.

You can help reduce the chance of your dog developing bladder stones by putting them on quality foods (no table scraps) designed specifically for dogs that are prone to urinary problems and using distilled water (well water in Southwest Florida is loaded with minerals that can cause stones). For information on nutritional planning for your dog please feel free to come by our offices.