Food to dissolve bladder stones.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Joan and thanks for your question. It sounds like Folkers has been through a lot! I'm sorry to hear that she had such a hard time with the anesthetic, but very happy to hear that she is still with us!

It sounds like the stones that she has are struvite stones. These are the type that can sometimes be reduced by diet. I would definitely give this a try. However, because of the size of the stones it may take a long time (i.e. a year or more) for the stones to totally shrink down.

The best diet for shrinking struvite stones is Hill's s/d. However, this is not meant to be a long term diet. So, if this were my case I would likely put her on a diet called s/o. Depending on where you live in the world the manufacturer is either called Royal Canin, Medi-Cal, Waltham's or VMD. (They are all the same company but have different names in different places.)

While the chance of a stone getting stuck in the urethra is possible it is extremely unlikely. We have more concern in a male dog because their urethra is smaller and longer. In my 10 year career (plus 12 years of veterinary clinic experience before that) I have seen one female dog with a blocked urethra and many males. And, realistically, any of the stones that are currently in the bladder could migrate into the urethra even now. So, I wouldn't let the possibility of blockage stop you from putting her on special food.

The other thing I would be doing if this were my case is repeated urine tests (urinalysis and possibly urine culture) every 2-3 months to make sure she does not have infection. Dogs with bladder stones will have inflammation in the bladder and are more prone to infections.

She likely does not have pain when the stones are in the bladder, UNLESS there is infection present. This is why she is feeling so much better after the course of the Cephalexin.

I hope that helps! I hope she does ok!

Have a great day!
Dr. Marie.

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Dr. Marie replied:

You're very welcome!
Dr. Marie.