struvite bladder stones

[akita1]

Good morning all has anyone had a pooch that has been diagnosed with struvite bladder stones? My 8 year old Akita has after a scan been diagnosed with these I have had a chat with my vet who seems to think that surgery will be the best option in the long run he is weeing fine at the moment so thankfully no blockages the problem is that they always seem to return even after surgery they want to put him on a special diet which he will not eat and the cost of a small bag is ridiculous and would not last very long I would be interested to hear of any ones experiences of this many thanks.

[jmsgld]

If he is still well and passing urine normally etc, struvite stones can often be dissolved with a dissolution diet over 2-3 months.
Struvite are often associated with an infection, which will need to be ruled out / treated.

If you have surgery and do not change the diet, then you can expect the stones to return within months to years.

You can buy the foods online, you may need a prescription. Some of the foods carry a money back palatability guarantee, ie if the dog won't eat them you can have a refund, you need to adhere strictly to the manufacturers instructions though.

[Thevet]

jmsgld said:

I

If you have surgery and do not change the diet, then you can expect the stones to return within months to years. .

this for sure, 1st longterm question is why stones appear, then how to treat them and finally how to prevent recurrence. Diet is the most important aspect of control of this problem. Never seen a dog starve itself to death but I have seen dogs die/get put to sleep from overriding urinary problems.

[akita1]

Morning thanks very much for the replies he did indeed have a bad urinary infection which has now been sorted out he is pretty much back to his old self eating as per normal etc he is passing urine ok with a good stream ( i am keeping a close eye on this) I do not really want to put him through surgery unless absolutely necessary .