Looking for Snack Alternatives - Bladder Stone Issues...

[miabellaamoure]

Ok, I'm fostering a Yorkie, Rocky who's post-op Bladder Surgery for multiple stones.

The Vet has advised NO dog treats/snacks and only feeding Royal Canine "Urinary SO" diet until his next visit on 1/30.

The Vet explained that Dogs often lose weight on this food since it's basically been stripped of any good protein.

So far, Rocky has lost 1lb - 4 oz. and I just started including a mid-day meal to see if that helps.

What's really bothering me is not being able to give him a treat (no human food) like I do for my other Yorkies during the day.

Does anyone have any great ideas? I've heard of small bite-sized pieces of carrots...anything else?

[miabellaamoure]

Canine Oxalate Bladder Stones

OXALATE BLADDER STONES IN THE DOG

* 73% of Calcium Oxalate patients are male. This stone type is unusual in females.

* Breeds at especially high risk include: miniature schnauzers, lhasa apsos, Yorkshire terriers, miniature poodles, shih tzus, and bichon frises.

* Most cases occur in dogs between ages 5 and 12 years of age.

HOW DO WE KNOW THESE ARE CALCIUM OXALATE STONES?

Although a urinalysis can provide a clue, the only way to know for sure that a dog’s bladder stone is an oxalate stone is to retrieve a stone and have a laboratory analyze it. If the stones are very small, flushing the urinary bladder and forcefully expressing it may produce a stone sample for testing. The only other way to obtain a sample is to surgically open the bladder and remove the stones. The surgical method is invasive but provides the most rapid resolution of the bladder stone issue. Calcium oxalate stones cannot be made to dissolve over time by changing to a special diet (as can be done with struvite or uric acid bladder stones).

WHY WOULD MY DOG FORM CALCIUM OXALATE STONES?

It should not be too surprising that there is a strong hereditary component to the formation of oxalate bladder stones. This is also true in humans. There is a substance (called “nephrocalcin”) in urine which naturally inhibits the formation of calcium oxalate stones. This substance is defective in both humans and dogs who form calcium oxalate bladder stones. The production of defective nephrocalcin may be a genetic problem.

In humans, the genetic predisposition for stone formation is coupled with dietary issues (problem foods include: spinach, peanuts, chocolate, dairy products, calcium supplements, vitamin C supplements, and tea). Dogs are more likely to eat simply a commercial brand of dog food without nearly the dietary variety that humans experience. This means that diet can be used to manage the problem in the dog but, unless the dog is receiving an unusual treat supply, probably the diet is not a cause.

There are some metabolic diseases that might predispose a dog to creating a calcium oxalate stone. For example, a dog with Cushing''s disease will be over-producing cortisol (commonly known as "cortisone"). This hormone increases calcium excretion in urine. The extra calcium present in the urine will promote a stone. Some animals may have an elevated blood calcium level ("hypercalcemia") for any number of reasons and this could lead to excess calcium in the urine as the body attempts to restore calcium balance. Again, extra calcium in the urine promotes a stone. Screening for such medical conditions is important and is generally part of the medical work up once stones are detected on a radiograph. If any such metabolic problems are uncovered, they will need to be treated separately and as these problems are resolved, no further stone prevention measures should be needed.

WHY CAN’T THE STONES STAY WHERE THEY ARE?

The most immediate concern for the dog with bladder stones is that the urinary opening may obstruct as the dog attempts to pass the stones. This is largely a male dog problem but the results can be life-threatening uremic poisoning. In such cases, the veterinarian will try to dislodge the stone, flushing it back into the bladder to restore the patency of the urinary opening. If the stone cannot be dislodged, a new urinary opening may have to be surgically created. The urethra (the narrow tube connecting the urinary bladder to the outside world) is a difficult place to perform surgery so it is preferrable to move the stone back into the bladder for removal rather than attempting removal from the urethra.

Bladder stones are irritating to the bladder simply by rubbing on the tender bladder lining. Bleeding typically results and, of course, the chance of developing chronic bladder infections is markedly increased with the presence of bladder stones.

BECAUSE CALCIUM OXALATE STONES
CANNOT BE DISSOLVED BY DIET CHANGE,
SURGICAL REMOVAL OF THE STONES
IS USUALLY NECESSARY.

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT 50% OF DOGS
THAT HAVE UNDERGONE SUCH SURGERY
WILL DEVELOP NEW CALCIUM OXALATE STONES
WITHIN THREE YEARS.

THE FOLLOWING THERAPEUTIC PLAN HAS BEEN DEVISED TO MINIMIZE THE CHANCE OF RECURRENCE:

STEP ONE: DIET

While special diets cannot dissolve existing stones, they do help prevent the development of new stones. Prevention centers on creating a urinary environment with minimal calcium and minimal oxalate as well as creating a urine pH that is not conducive to calcium oxalate formation.

The usual diets recommended include:

* Hills K/D diet

* Hills U/D diet

* Royal Canin Modified diet

* Royal Canin L/P diet

* NF from Purina

For each of the above diets, the canned form is preferable to dry so as to increase water consumption and thus help dilute the urine. It is especially important to avoid table scraps when caring for an oxalate stone forming dog. Still, no one wants their dog to live life without treats. The following treats are acceptable for oxalate stone forming dogs:

* plain cooked chicken

* plain cooked turkey

* eggs

* rice

* peas

* pasta

* white potatoes

* cabbage

* cauliflower

* bananas

* melon

Many pet owners ask if any non-prescription diets are appropriate for this condition. None are, however, it may be possible to have a veterinary nutritionist provide a recipe for an appropriate home cooked diet. Please visit Welcome to the Balance IT® Web Site or Welcome to Pet Diets for details.

CON'T...SEE PART #2

[miabellaamoure]

Canine Oxalate Bladder Stones

There are some medications which can increase the risk of calcium oxalate stone development and these should be avoided. Prednisone and other cortisone-type medications (commonly used for itchy skin, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and other inflammatory conditions) should be avoided if possible. Furosemide (brand name: Lasix or Salix) is a diuretic mostly used in the treatment of heart failure. Both these medications lead to excess calcium in urine. Should a diuretic be needed for a patient at risk for calcium oxalate stones, one from the thiazide class (see later) would be a better choice. Supplementation with Vitamins D or C also increase risk of forming oxalate stones; such supplementation should be discontinued.

STEP TWO: URINALYSIS

Two to four weeks after surgery, a urine sample is checked. If the urine is not adequately dilute (meaning the specific gravity is less than 1.020), water consumption will have to be increased (either by adding water to the food or increasing the amount of canned food).

If urinary pH is less than 6.5 or if oxalate crystals are seen, it is time to go to Step Three. If all is well, a urinalysis should be performed every 2 months or so for the rest of the dog’s life (University of Minnesota’s current recommendation).

Radiographs are taken every 3-6 months so that any new stones will still be small enough to be retrieved from the bladder by flushing. If one skips this monitoring, one may find stones present have developed to a large size and surgery is again needed to remove them.

STEP THREE: POTASSIUM CITRATE

By taking potassium citrate orally, citrate levels increase in the urine. Calcium binds to citrate instead of to oxalate. This is a desirable event since calcium citrate tends to stay dissolved whereas calcium oxalate tends to precipitate out as mineral deposit. Potassium citrate also helps create an alkaline urine (in which calcium oxalate stones have difficulty forming). Potassium citrate supplements are typically given twice a day.l

STEP FOUR: URINALYSIS AGAIN

Two to four weeks after potassium citrate is added to the therpeutic diet, a urine sample is checked. If the urine is not adequately dilute, water consumption will have to be increased (either by adding water to the food or increasing the amount of canned food).

If urinary pH is less than 6.5 or if oxalate crystals are seen, it is time to go to Step Five. If all is well, a urinalysis should be performed every 2 months or so for the rest of the dog’s life (University of Minnesota’s current recommendation). Again, radiographs should be taken every 3-6 months.

STEP FIVE: THIAZIDE DIURETICS

A diuretic is a medication designed to increase the amount of urine produced. The thiazide class of diuretics does this in a way that reduces the calcium content of the urine. This medication is typically given twice a day and electrolytes are generally measured via blood test within the first two weeks of this treatment.

There will always be some dogs who continue to form stones no matter what is done. With radiography monitoring, it is hoped that new stones can be detected while they are still small. As research continues, it is possible that new developments will arise that will not require such frequent monitoring. Until then, these are the guidelines for oxalate prevention as proposed by the specialists at the University of Minnesota.

To view the Guidelines Directly visit:

Academic Health Center - Page Not Found

A SPECIAL NOTE ON THE BICHON FRISE

Bichon FriseThe Bichon Frise appears to have a unique situation with oxalate bladder stones in that they seem to begin to recur virtually as soon as they have been removed. In a study presented by Jody Lulich's group at the University of Minnesota at the 2004 meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 24 out of 33 Bichons had oxalate stone recurrence after cystotomy (37% had had their first recurrence in the first year after surgery, by the end of the second year 57% had recurred, and by the end of the third year 73% had recurred, some more than once.) Steps to prevent recurrence need to be particularly aggressive from the beginning in this breed.

PREVENTION OF MALE DOG OBSTRUCTION

In the male dog, a bone called the "os penis" is located in the penis, surrounding the urethra. Urine passes through this hollow bone like water through a pipe. Because this area is made of bone, it cannot stretch or expand to accommodate a stone trying to pass. A stone blockage of this type leads to an emergency and death if it goes untreated.

In a perfect world, controlling the bladder stones controls the risk of obstructions, but controlling the bladder stones is not always easy and treating a dog over and over for obstruction becomes expensive. A surgical procedure called a urethrostomy can be performed to prevent obstruction. This procedure involves creating a new urinary opening in the area of the scrotum. This allows urine to be expelled earlier in its course so that passage through the os penis does not occur. The flexibility of the non-bony part of the urethra plus the surgically enlarged urinary opening allows for smaller stones to pass rather than stick in the os penis.

In order to perform this surgery, the male dog must be neutered (which can be done at the time of the urethrostomy). The creation of the new opening usually requires removal of the empty scrotum.

While this is not as good an outcome as preventing stone recurrence at least the emergency obstruction is prevented.

Calcium oxalate bladder stones can be very frustrating. Not only do they tend to recur but following monitoring recommendations involves a visit to the veterinarian's office every two months. It is up to every owner how rigid he or she wishes to be with guidelines but keep in mind that the trouble and expense of a stone surgery weighs against the much less trouble and expense of monitoring.

[Yorkieluv]

What kinds of stones did they find? Were they actually analyzed and are they calcium oxalate?

If your dog has calcium oxalate stones, it is very important that you keep him on a low oxalate diet. You can do a google search online for charts showing which foods are low oxalate. Also, it's important that you add food to the water at each meal. Don't let the food sit out though. He should eat it in the moment.

[schnauzermom]

I know this thread is older but I found it looking for treats for my schnauzer with bladder stones. Raw carrots are definitely a no-no for dogs with a history of stones - they are high in oxalates. If you google - oxalate content of food - you'll find a site that lists the oxalate content of vegetables, meats, etc. Good luck Yorkie fans!

[miabellaamoure]

Originally Posted by schnauzermom

I know this thread is older but I found it looking for treats for my schnauzer with bladder stones. Raw carrots are definitely a no-no for dogs with a history of stones - they are high in oxalates. If you google - oxalate content of food - you'll find a site that lists the oxalate content of vegetables, meats, etc. Good luck Yorkie fans!

Hmmm...I was only fostering Rocky who had the (Calcium Oxalate) Bladder Stones but, since this experience...I've have found so much conflicting info about which foods to avoid from websites & Vets, too. Anyone else have this trouble?

[angierae73]

My Yorkie has a problem with reoccurring oxalate stones, I feed him hills U/D I buy the dry food and make treats out of it - it is the safest way to go. I use 3 cups of dry food put in the blender then I put it in a bowl add 1.5 cups of water mix add a dash of cinnamon spread it in a small brownie pan and bake on 425 for 35 minutes I cut them into little square and store in the refrigerator. He loves them! I got to tell you it sure does stink when they are baking, but I do what I have to for my dog. Good luck.