Bladder Stones, genetic in corgis????
Hello all, Autumn just had bladder surgery yesterday to remove bladder stones that on the xray showed taking up 1/2 to 3/4 of her bladder.. I couldn't belive it, poor baby, she started showing signs of straining to pee and nothing comming out and accidental peeing in the house when playing or excited.. my vet said most times is genetic, and of all the genetic disorders in corgis no where have i ready about bladder stones.. anyone out there hear of it??? just fyi, if you corgi starts showing these symtoms get an xray.. the stones are going to the lab to see what they are made of, and we will start feeding her special food to keep them from comming back...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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It does seem that corgis have bladder infections/stones more than some other breeds. I dont know that one could truly call it a "genetic predisposition". Seems to be caused by the imbalance of certain chemicals within the system and how the body deals with them. Often times they are a result of chronic urinary tract infections that go unnoticed for quite some time. I do have to say in my 18 or so years of owning corgis I have never had one with stones.
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Permalink Reply by Candy on
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OMG. I cant believe Im reading this. My youngest corgi (2 yo) had that same problem. The stones were sooo large that it had to be surgically removed, and then there were several smaller ones but still too large to urinate out.
It was terrible. She is now on a special diet- Hills- C/D diet bc Faye's stones were primarily Magnesium, Aluminum, and Phosphate. She has to get yearly xray though to be sure. So the food are low in protein, Mg, Al, Phosphate and low pH (to keep the urine slightly acidic) to prevent it from cystallizing.
I still worry sometimes.
I dont know if its genetic. I havent read anything on it. Im in the health care field but I havent figured out what could be the cause of it considering her kidney function is normal and her blood levels of those elements are normal too.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Is there a vet on this site who can hold forth about this? What can one do to reduce incidence of bladder/kidney stones? Increase water intake? How? Change pH of urine somehow? Encourage more frequent urination by letting them out more often?
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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I'm not a vet, but used to shadow a Urologist for a few years as a PA. Increase in water intake is the only way to reduce stone accumulation. You can change the ph by adding concentrated lemon juice (pure with no sugar) + water, the acidity will help dissolve the stone in size, allowing the stone to pass. Pure cranberry juice without the sugar will prevent the bacteria from adhering within the urinary tract, reducing infection %. However, always consult with your own physician, if the stone is too large the method mentioned above will not work, but it'll certainly help some.
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Permalink Reply by Kyle, Megan and Loki on
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This is spot on.
I don't shadow the urologist, I visit him every couple months as I have chronic stone disease (in my early 20's no less) Water intake is the single most important thing to managing stones, first highw ater intake, then diet to counteract what stones are made out of (in humans cases, usually they are Calcium oxalate or urea, so managing oxalate ((as dietary calcium is not necessarily a factor)) or in ureas case just drinking tonnes more again, and maybe some solvent meds iirc). I assume your vet analyzed the stones, but DRINK DRINK DRINK! (well force the dog too).
For a little more info, the high acidity drinks only work with urea stones, not oxalate stones.
Careful with vitamin C, if the stones are calcium based, I know in people you pass equal calcium as vitamin C back out, same for salt.
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Permalink Reply by Jodi Hoffman on
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thank you to all who responded, update, autie (aka autumn) is doing great.. i'm seeing autie back doing stuff i hadn't realized she hadn't been doing lately... like scratching, cleaning herself, and what i call carpet swimming.. i common corgi behavior as every corgi i've been around does this!!! so she is feeling so much better, we are feeding her a low phosophorus with added vitamin c (for more acid) dog food.. the lab results aren't in yet, they said it would be awhile. hopefully they won't come back!! thanks again for your support!!
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Permalink Reply by Mattie, Dooley, and Duncan on
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This is probably pretty unlikely in your situation, but sometimes exposure to or ingestion of certain chemicals can lead to the precipitation of stones....in humans, ethylene glycol (in antifreeze) is a common culprit in acute-onset stone formation. In prone (human) individuals, the consumption of certain other dietary molecules (such as phosphoric acid, found in cola) also increases chances of developing a problem. Let us know how it turns out for your Autumn!
Acidifying or alkalinizing the urine can be used to manipulate excretion of bases and acids.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Wilson on
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Stone formations, struvite & oxalate types, are usually related to ongoing untreated urinary tract infections. One rescue dog, Wiggles, had a very difficult E. coli infection which took about 6 weeks to clear, as it was resistant to most antibiotics. We had the urine sample cultured to identify the bacteria and sensitivity to drugs. She had over one pound of stones (approximately 30 total, with one the size of a chicken egg) She's on Royal Canin Urinary SO 14, which most dogs seem to find much more palatable than Science Diet formulas.
If you keep the dog clear of UTI infections, you are much less likely to see stones. The bacteria provide an essential "building block" for the stone formations. An easy preventative is to get a urine sample at your dog's yearly checkup and have the vet check it for crystals & signs of UTI. If the dog strains to urinate or has frequent accidents that are out of character, have the dog checked for a UTI.
There may be a genetic component with Pembrokes being slightly more at risk than other breeds, but it can happen in any breed. All of our dogs are good drinkers, but we give them a 50/50 Low sodium V8 juice with water as a treat several times a week. We also use several ounces of water with their kibble for extra water and to slow down their eating.
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Sounds like increasing water intake is important. You can lead a dog to water, but can't make it drink... unless you mix a lot of water in with the food!
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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I was just about to start a discussion on Finnigan our 9 month old Cardi. This past week he has started dribbling in the house very frequently. Before now it had been a few months since he's had an accident inside. It's very unusual especially the way it happens. It could be any time. Whether we just took him out 30 minutes prior or hours prior, he'll be sitting, laying, playing or anything in between and start to dribble. He even started to pee twice while my husband was carrying him down the stairs to go potty. His ears go back and he looks very ashamed when he does it so it makes me think he had no choice. Besides the dribbling he acts totally normal. He runs and plays as usual. I tried to look online for possible causes and stones came up as one of many. I don't know if this is to do with the fact that he is still young or if something is indeed wrong. I feel like we are at the vets office every couple weeks so I'd hate to go back. We just got over his tummy problems within the last couple weeks and now this. Would it come on suddenly like this? Are these the right symptoms for stones? Does it sound like something else? He has no problem peeing when we take him out and his urine is not dark or stinky. We changed his food a couple weeks ago to fix his tummy problems but other than that things are the same. Any ideas?
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Hi Alice, autie started dribbling on frequent occassions as i look back, it started around christmas, then when she was playing, then to all the time, her pee became cloudy.. and she would hold a squat for a long time trying to empty out... since he's only 9 months old, his bladder might still be maturing, and i've known some males to "dribble".. has he been neutered yet? if not, that might help...
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Yes, he has been neutered. It was asbout 2 months ago. He dribbled alot when we first got him at 8 weeks thrn after a couple months it got better and the accidents eventually stopped. Now all of a sudden the dribbling is back. maybe we should give him a couple weeks and see if it goes away or if there are any changes.
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