Dog Cystitis with Bladder Stones Symptoms

1. Struggling to produce any urine.

2. Going to the toilet allot more often than usual.

3. Small amounts of blood in the small amount of urine that is produced.

What Causes Dog Cystitis with Bladder Stones?

The cause for bladder stones (otherwise known as urolith) in your dog's bladder is small crystals that form on blood cells and old bladder lining cells. There are six different types of bladder stones that can form inside your dog's bladder and they are caused by either a high acidic level in the dog's urine, a low acidic level in dog's urine, or in some cases they will form irrespective of your dog's urine pH levels.

There are many normal chemicals which are in every dog's urine that form these crystals but they will only form when the pH levels (acidic levels) in the dog's urine are right, and when they have something to attach to and grow on.

The lining of the dog's bladder constantly makes places for crystals to form by continuously getting rid of dead cells as new ones are made. It is on these dead cells and on blood cells that crystals can grow. To begin the crystals will be microscopic but as they grow they may become as big as golf balls in some bad or untreated cases.

When these crystals form they will have sharp edges much like a grain of salt or sugar that aggravates and scratches at the bladder lining causing inflammation and a burning and uncomfortable sensation for the dog.

This aggravation and burning sensation in turn causes the bladder to contract and move into a state of spasm causing the feeling of needing to urinate but with little or no urine in the bladder, and the inflamed muscle may rupture blood vessels to cause blood in the urine.

In the case of a male dog there is further risk of larger bladder stones travelling from the bladder down into the urethra where it may become stuck on a cylindrical bone that the urethra travels through. This will then cause a very painful obstruction of urine for the dog which will need urgent help to remove the bladder stone before the toxins in the urine kill the dog or the bladder bursts having the same effect.

What Your Vet May Say or Do

When a vet suspects a condition such as this they will normally ask first for you to bring a sample of urine which will then be tested for glucose, blood, and acidic levels.

From these samples your vet will be able to determine if inflammation is the problem by finding blood cells in the urine, weather your dog is slightly diabetic and will be prone to cystitis if glucose is found as it helps bacteria grow and needs separate treatment, and weather there is enough or too little acidity levels to combat bacteria.

After the initial testing to confirm inflammation and cystitis are present they will then either give your dog the correct antibiotics or further these tests by checking for bladder stones with a microscope and abnormal cells (tumor cells) by using x-ray, ultrasound, or inserting a small camera to look around in the bladder.

If bladder stones are the problem then judging by the pH levels in your dogs urine they should be able to narrow down which type of bladder stones are present or removing larger ones by surgery and then sending them for further testing.

In the case of a bladder stone moving into the urethra in male dogs the vet may need to remove some urine to ease the pain and discomfort by using a needle to push through the abdominal wall and into the bladder and syringe the excess urine out. With the first procedure done the vet may then attempt to push the bladder stone back into the bladder by flushing it with water through the urethra using a catheter, and then operating on the bladder.

If this fails then a more risky form of surgery will be performed on the urethra itself to remove the bladder stone blockage.

After all the surgery and appropriate medical treatment has been used the dog will be put on a special type of food to correct pH levels, and antibiotics will be given in accordance with the previous test results.



Other Possible Conditions

Dog Stranguria (Straining to Pass Urine)
Dog Bacterial Cystitis Bladder Problem
Dog Bladder Tumor
Dog Prostatitis (Prostate Gland Infections)
Dog Prostatic Hypertrophy (Enlarged Prostate Glands)
Dog Prostatic Tumors
Dog Penis and Vagina Infections and Inflammation