Tell me about bladder stones?

[Taqroy]

And spay incontinence please. Mu was laying on the sofa last night and she peed a TON and didn't even notice. She's going to the vet today but I'm really worried. She seems normal (active and as even tempered as she ever is) but something is clearly wrong. She was spayed at six months and tbh I don't even know if that's too early, that's when my vet recommended I do it and this was prior to me joining Chaz or learning to second guess my vet. Any info you guys can give me would be appreciated.

ETA: I'd really appreciate this not devolving into the craziness that is the spay/neuter dewclaw thread. I already feel terrible knowing that I might have caused this with the spay so....be gentle? Please?

 

[smkie]

All I can remember is a dog we had at the kennels named Chalk Talk. You could feel teh bladder stones if you reached up and gently squeezed, it felt like a bean bag. When they removed them she had so many it filled a quart jar. I still have one 20 years later, I don't know why. My son handed it to a friend of his and told him to lick it..and his idiotic friend did then he told him what it was and they guy turned green. Round and smooth, it looks just like a stone you would find in the creek. SHe had blood in her urine is how we knew. I wish I could remember if she strained or leaked but it was just too long ago.

Victor wet the bed for about his first 2 years. He slept so deep it just dripped dripped..dripped. He didn't do it all the time, but once in a while my bed was wet.
Hasn't happened for a long time.
IT can happen for other reasons too.My brother had a dog with a birth defect. THe ureter was wrapped around the spine .Even after surgery she leaked. AN infection can certainly cause leakage.

Don't think any of that will help you, sorry. Poor Mu, I hope there is an easy fix.

 

[MPP]

I hope the vet finds a deal-with-able problem. Poor Mu.

 

[Taqroy]

Thanks smkie and MPP. I just talked to the vet and they're going to squeeze in an appointment for her after Murphy's tonight. I felt her stomach last night and I couldn't feel anything but I have no idea what I'm feeling for. I don't think she has blood in her urine, but I'm going to get a sample to take in. I just...I'm kind of at a loss. I feel terrible for her but honestly she doesn't even know what she did. Usually she gets really embarrassed when she has an accident in the house but she didn't react at all this time. I think that scares me more, the fact that it didn't even register for her.

 

[smkie]

worries with you.

 

[stardogs]

Ziva had similar issues in August. When we went to the vet they found a UTI and crystals. Treated for the UTI, urine came up clear for UTI but still positive for crystals and she was still having accidents in her sleep. Our vet suggested feeding a food with more moisture so we went from kibble to HK Keen rehydrated with extra water. As long as she is eating the HK full time, Z has no crystals and no leaking. If she has kibble for more than 3 days she'll start leaking!

The only thing I can think of is that the crystals were irritating the bladder such that it created the incontinence and with the food preventing the crystals she no longer has irritation.

 

[Taqroy]

I just looked up the HK food and it would be the same price or maybe a little cheaper than what they're eating now! I've been thinking about trying her on something different for awhile so thank you TONS for the recommendation! I've been soaking her kibble but I don't know how effective it is. I'm (kind of) hoping that it's another bladder infection, or that the same one just hasn't been eradicated yet. Much less scary than bladder stones and not as long term as spay incontinence.

I feel terrible for her though, she's either had one after another since December, or the same one the whole time. And she's scared senseless of the vet so we're probably going to have to sedate her tonight since I haven't had enough time to desensitize her to tables/people in white coats. I feel like we're going through cycles of sickness/stress. Ugh.

 

[JessLough]

No advice, just (((hugs))) and <<<vibes>>> for a fixable problem.

 

[stardogs]

I did try adding water to Z's kibble first, but it didn't seem to help. I could only get about 1/4 cup of water into the kibble without it being a bit too floaty, but the HK absorbs about 3/4 cup if I make it soupy.

 

[Taqroy]

No advice, just (((hugs))) and <<<vibes>>> for a fixable problem.

Thanks.

I did try adding water to Z's kibble first, but it didn't seem to help. I could only get about 1/4 cup of water into the kibble without it being a bit too floaty, but the HK absorbs about 3/4 cup if I make it soupy.

Yeah I don't see any difference for Mu either. She's not getting very much food right now either cause she's getting chubby.

 

[SarahHound]

Poor girl, keeping her in my thoughts.

 

[Locke]

Hope everything goes well tonight.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Sending Vibes for nothing serious!!!

I'm really interested to hear if it has anything to do with an early spay because my vet, too, wants to spay Violet early. She said it will be easier on her, and cheaper to do before she gets a certain weight. I trust my vet, and have never heard until now about being spayed too early could cause problems (I'm talking like 5-6 months +), so I'm interested as to what all the hubbub is about.

 

[elegy]

I'd take a urine sample in to have it tested and make sure she doesn't have an infection. A simple infection can cause that in some dogs.

Luce was spayed by the shelter as a young adult and she's been incontinent since she was like three. She takes a chewable tablet of PPA twice a day thrown in her food bowl and it's a non-issue.

 

[Taqroy]

Thanks for the vibes and good wishes everybody. We're heading to the vet in about 15 minutes, I'll update when I get back.

Dixie - my parents dog had spay incontinence. It's the only reason I know what it is but I'm definitely going to ask about it. I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[Taqroy]

I'd take a urine sample in to have it tested and make sure she doesn't have an infection. A simple infection can cause that in some dogs.

Luce was spayed by the shelter as a young adult and she's been incontinent since she was like three. She takes a chewable tablet of PPA twice a day thrown in her food bowl and it's a non-issue.

She WILL NOT pee. I've been stalking her around the backyard for half an hour and she still will not pee. She is a bratdog. I'm going to try again before her appointment (Murphy's is first). Hopefully it'll work. *crosses fingers*

 

[elegy]

She WILL NOT pee. I've been stalking her around the backyard for half an hour and she still will not pee. She is a bratdog. I'm going to try again before her appointment (Murphy's is first). Hopefully it'll work. *crosses fingers*

doesn't it figure! dogs can be soooo uncooperative!

 

[DogKisses]

I hope it's nothing serious, keep us updated!

Dixie's Mom, check out the Dew Claw thread on why early (as in, before the dog is done growing) spays can cause a few issues. Start with about page 20, lol, it got a littttttle off track.

 

[Cesarmonkey]

I was thinking along the lines of bladder infection as well......do keep us posted about the vet visit, and I hope that it is nothing serious!

 

[Taqroy]

I have good/bad news and I have bad news.

The good/bad is that Mu doesn't have a bladder infection and there were no crystals in her urine (she FINALLY peed for the tech) so the vet doesn't think it's bladder stones. She feels pretty strongly that it's spay incontinence and I agree but we decided not to do meds yet. Since she's only had one "leaking" incident, where she was unconsciously peeing, I don't want to put her on meds unless it's a recurring problem. Which it probably will be. But that's ok. At least I have a good idea what's going on now and it's not the end of the world if she has to be on meds for it. I'm just super relieved that we found the issue.

The bad news is that Murphy has a rotten tooth. He's been crabby lately which is really unlike him and has been drooling a lot (for him) which is also unusual. I figured I was being paranoid but I made an wellness check appointment anyway. The vet took one look in his mouth and was like, rotten tooth! I feel terrible. I noticed that **** tooth a couple months ago and I thought it was just tartar or plaque build up. If I'd had it checked out then he wouldn't be in pain now. I feel like a bad mom. We're getting the tooth pulled next week on Friday so that I can keep a close eye on him afterwards.

On the plus side, I <3 this vet. She's really great. She outlined alternate anesthesia and pain meds for Murphy since regular ones do funky things to him, she listened to everything about Mu, she didn't push me to get meds for Mu in fact she recommended against it. She's freaking awesome. And the front office staff is soooooo nice. They offered me cookies because I had to wait an extra half hour lol.