😻 🚴🏿 🕠 Urolithiasis in dogs: symptoms and treatment 🍦 📉 🤾

Our pets are not immune from various diseases. The problem is that they cannot openly tell what is bothering them, so an attentive owner can only suspect something is amiss by unusual symptoms. Urolithiasis in dogs is often diagnosed and requires timely treatment. We will talk about the first signs of pathology and methods of therapy further.

What does the host need to know about the disease?

If you have at least the slightest idea about the features of the pathology, then you can identify the disease in your pet at an early stage. Important facts:

Stones can form in any part of the urinary system, but most often they are found in the bladder, as urine accumulates there.
The process of stone formation is not always associated with metabolic disturbances.
Urolithiasis in dogs does not always manifest symptoms at the first stage, so it is recommended to take a urine test periodically.
Dogs of small breeds are at risk.
When making a diagnosis, a variety of stones must be determined, without this, treatment of urolithiasis in dogs will not be effective.
It should be borne in mind that most often pathology affects middle-aged and male animals.

Difficulties in therapy can arise if stones of different nature are found in the animal’s body.

Varieties of stones

The following stones are found in dogs:

Struvites. It contains magnesium and calcium carbonates, ammonium phosphates. Most often, bacterial infections are a provocateur of education.
Phosphates Easiest to be excreted from the body. The diet for urolithiasis in dogs after the discovery of such stones gives excellent results.
Cystine Identified in dogs that have a hereditary tendency to urolithiasis.
Oxalates. Poorly treatable and have the ability to grow rapidly.

A variety of stones affects the choice of treatment tactics.

Causes of urolithiasis

The main role in the formation of stones, according to doctors, is played by infectious diseases. The inflammatory process against their background leads not only to a change in the structure of the mucous membrane of the bladder, but also to a change in acidity towards an increase in the alkaline environment.

But you can not discount other predisposing factors, they include:

An unbalanced diet. It’s bad when the owners feed their pets mixed food, combining dry factory food and natural food. This leads to an increase in protein in the body and a violation of the composition of urine.
Water deficiency in the diet, especially if the dog eats dry food. But also to give water from the tap is also undesirable, this provokes the formation of inorganic deposits in the bladder. It must be passed through the filter.
Urolithiasis in dogs can develop against a background of congenital abnormalities in the structure of the organs of the excretory system.
Inherited predisposition to the disease.
According to veterinarians, struvites are often formed against a background of a sedentary lifestyle, when the owner believes that walking in the morning and evening is enough for his pet.

Excess weight in an animal leads to an increased load not only on the cardiovascular system, but also on the excretory. The fluid is retained in the body, which changes the composition of urine.
Disruption of metabolism in the presence of pathologies of the liver, kidneys, digestive system.

The likelihood of developing urolithiasis in dogs increases several times if there is a combination of several predisposing factors.

How is the disease manifested?

The symptoms of urolithiasis in dogs will vary depending on the form, and different treatments will be required. There are several stages of the disease:

Asymptomatic.
Easy.
Severe stage.

The first degree of the manifestation of the disease has virtually no signs. To detect deviations in the composition of urine and to detect sand and stones can only be accidentally as a result of ultrasound or x-ray examination.

A mild degree may externally manifest itself as malaise, but some characteristic signs of urolithiasis in dogs can be noted:

The dog often goes to the toilet.

Drops of blood may appear in the urine.
During urination, the animal takes strange poses, the duration of urine output increases, the animal may whine.
The pet licks its genitals for a long time.
If a bacterial infection joins, then the temperature may rise.

If the owner missed or did not pay attention to the manifestations of a mild form of the disease, then a severe degree will not be long in coming. It is impossible not to notice its symptoms:

Involuntary emptying of the bladder is constantly observed, as evidenced by droplets of urine in the perineum.
If the dog lives in the house, then traces of urine can be found in different angles.
There is blood in the urine.
When you try to empty the bladder, the dog constantly whines.
The outflow of urine is difficult and an enlarged bladder can be felt.
The animal begins to eat poorly, looks sick and weakened.
Some dogs have an increased need for water.
Temperature may rise.

A severe degree should not be left without the help of a doctor, otherwise everything may end badly for the pet.

When is it urgent to see a veterinarian?

If some symptoms appear, you should not hesitate to visit a doctor. The following manifestations should alert the owner:

Urine stopped flowing.
There are signs of dehydration.
The animal constantly lies and practically does not respond to the voice of the owner.
The bladder is either full and painful when palpating, or it is generally impossible to detect if a rupture has occurred.
There are all signs of intoxication: vomiting, convulsions.
The temperature drops.

The effectiveness in this case of treatment of urolithiasis in dogs will depend on the professionalism of the veterinarian and his ability to recognize the disease according to the available symptoms.

Diagnosis of the disease

It is necessary to confirm the diagnosis of the symptoms of urolithiasis in dogs and the treatment will depend on the severity of the pathology and the type of deposits. If the owner carefully monitors the health of his pet, then the disease is detected even at the stage of not pronounced symptoms during laboratory tests. This study allows you to determine the nature of the stones and prescribe the appropriate therapy and diet to the animal.

To confirm the diagnosis:

Roentgenography.

Ultrasound allows you to determine the size and location of the stones.
A bacterial urinalysis will show the presence of infection.

After clarifying the diagnosis and determining the variety of stones, effective therapy is prescribed.

Methods for treating the disease

Only an integrated approach will save the pet from the painful symptoms of the disease. Therapy includes the following areas:

Drug treatment.
Physiotherapeutic procedures.
Special diet.
Surgical intervention.

Drug therapy

The owner of the animal must understand that there is no single treatment regimen for dogs with this diagnosis, so you should not follow the advice of dog breeders and give your pet the same drugs. Self-medication can end badly. The veterinarian most often prescribes the following groups of drugs:

To maintain the heart, if the animal is in critical condition: “Cardiamine”, “Sulfocamphocaine”.
To relieve smooth muscle spasms: Atropine, No-shpa.
For relief of a pain syndrome: "Baralgin", "Analgin" "," Pentalgin ". In case of urgent need, the doctor makes novocaine blockade.
If a bacterial infection has become the culprit of the development of the disease, then antibiotics cannot be dispensed with: “Furadonin”, “Neopen” or “Furagin”. Dogs are strictly forbidden to give "Gentamicin."
To eliminate the effects of dehydration and intoxication appoint: "Vetavit", "Nelit."
To relieve the inflammatory process, drugs for urolithiasis are prescribed: "Urodan", "Stop-cystitis", "Urotropin", "Uro-ursi".

The dosage and dosage regimen is prescribed in each case individually. Treatment of urolithiasis in dogs in Moscow or any other city should be carried out in a specialized clinic for animals. This is the only way to be sure that specialists will provide your pet with expert assistance.

Physiotherapeutic treatment

From physiotherapeutic methods of therapy, pulsed magnetotherapy gives good results. This method of treatment allows you to get rid of stones without surgery. In addition, he has some more advantages:

Magnetotherapy eliminates the inflammatory process.
Reduces the intensity of pain.
Accelerates recovery.

It is used to treat urolithiasis in dogs and hirudotherapy. It gives good results in the early stages of the development of the disease, as well as rehabilitation or preventive measures.

Surgery

If drug therapy does not give a noticeable improvement, then surgery is prescribed. Most often, surgical intervention has to be resorted to when forming oxalate stones.

Surgical removal takes place under general anesthesia. The surgeon makes an incision in the bladder and removes stones from it. Small formations and sand are simply washed away. After 2-3 days, the dog urine normalizes. Be sure to prescribe conservative treatment and follow a special nutritional system for urolithiasis in dogs after surgery.

Stone Diet

A well-formed diet will help the animal recover from urolithiasis. It must be observed even after surgery to avoid relapse. The diet of a dog with a mixed type of urolithiasis or in the presence of a certain type of stones is aimed at creating a lack of certain mineral compounds that the body must take from deposits.

If nutrition is not balanced, then the disease will progress, and the stones will increase in size.

If struvites are found, the diet for dogs with urolithiasis should be designed to create a deficiency of magnesium, ammonium and phosphate in the body. The feeding recommendations are as follows:

If the pet receives natural food, then use special additives.
Ready-made dry food should contain a reduced amount of protein.
Food for the animal should be as humidified as possible.
It is impossible to give the animal a large amount of feed at a time, the nutrition should be fractional.
You can not give tap water, it is better to use purified or bottled.
In order not to provoke a deficiency of trace elements when following a diet, it is necessary to add veterinary additives and urine oxidants to the feed.

A disease with the formation of urates is the worst treatment, it will take at least 4 months to dissolve such stones. Dogs with such formations should follow a diet for life.

Ready-made feed for animals with this type of disease should contain a reduced concentration of proteins. Available in two forms:

Food labeled S / D. Its disadvantage is the oxidation of urine, but it contains salt.
The box is marked U / D. It does not contain salt, but it strongly alkalizes urine.

With cystine stones, it is important to follow all the recommendations of the veterinarian on taking medications. How to feed a dog with urolithiasis of this type? In this case, drug therapy is more important, and in the diet just follow the measure and give more fluid to the animal so that the urine becomes alkaline. If you purchase ready-made feed, you must give preference to those that are marked U / D.

The formation of oxalates requires a reduction in calcium and a balanced menu. But many veterinarians are of the opinion that an overabundance of this element is the trigger for the development of the disease, but not the fact that after eliminating it, the problem with the stones will be resolved.

In the presence of stones of a mixed type, dog breeders can give the following recommendations on the nutrition of their pets:

It is advisable not to mix ready-made production feeds with natural food.
The diet should be diverse, you can not feed the animal constantly with the same products.
Exclude offal from the dog's menu, as they are a source of oxalic acid.
If urate is found, then the broth from meat and fish is contraindicated to the animal, but in boiled form these products are allowed.
Dairy products must be present in the diet, but they cannot be overfed.
After feeding, food from the bowl should be removed, but water should be constant.
It is recommended to add vitamin A to the feed, it favorably affects the condition of the mucous membrane of the bladder.

To maintain the health of your pet, it is important to exclude from his diet fried foods, salty, sweet and fatty. If a ready-made therapeutic feed is selected, then in addition to it, it is not recommended to give the dog other food.

Forecast

Most often, it is not possible to completely get rid of the disease. Yes, the disease stops, the symptoms disappear, but the owners must remember that if you stop following the medical recommendations on nutrition and taking drugs, when the animal feels better, then very soon everything will return again.

The prognosis will be favorable if you strictly follow all the appointments of a veterinarian and periodically take tests and undergo examination in the clinic.

Prevention of urolithiasis in dogs

You can prevent the development of the disease if you follow some recommendations:

Revise the animal’s diet and give foods that are high in moisture.
Get premium or super premium food.
The animal must have access to water at all times.
Keep track of the weight of the dog, you can not overfeed the animal.
It is necessary to provide the pet with an active lifestyle and physical activity.

Timely treat infectious diseases.
Take a urine test periodically.
Make sure that the dog does not tolerate, but timely empties the bladder.
If the animal had a history of urolithiasis, then the recommended nutritional system should be constantly adhered to.

Pets are like little children who need our love and care. Only an attentive and loving owner will not allow the development of a serious ailment in his four-legged friend.

Urolithiasis in dogs: symptoms and treatment