A house-broken dog won’t start urinating in the house without a good reason.
Any change in your dog’s behavior or habits is an essential piece of information. What are your dog’s urinary accidents telling you?
Zaida is a perfectly well house-trained girl. When her parents found urine puddles in the kitchen, they were puzzled. They were trying to figure it out but seeing a vet did not cross their minds.
Then Zaida started squatting for longer than normal when going to pee.
Was she straining to urinate? You might suspect what came next–blood in Zaida’s pee. That’s what brought Zaida to a veterinarian.
A simple urine test confirmed that Zaida had urinary tract infection (UTI). She received antibiotics and a follow-up appointment in five days.
By then, Zaida should have improved and felt better. But she was not.
Zaida wasn’t better, she was worse. She spent much of her days straining to pee and was in pain. This was not a garden-variety UTI.
Luckily for Zaida, her veterinarian decided to take x-rays to see if it can provide answers. Surely enough, there was the answer.
Zaida had a giant bladder stone.
Symptoms of bladder stones in dogs include:
- urinary accidents
- frequent urination
- attempts to urinate with no or little urine
- straining to urinate
- discolored urine
You can see how these symptoms are similar to those of urinary tract infections. One can look a lot like the other.
Further, chronic UTI can lead to the formation of struvite stones. And, on the other side of the coin, bladder stones increase the risk of urinary tract infections.
Treatment of bladder stones in dogs
Treatment options depend on the type and size of the stones. A therapeutic diet can sometimes help dissolve urinary stones or crystals.
Sometimes the stones can be broken up with ultrasonic shock waves. However, your dog might need surgery to remove them.
Zaida needed surgery.
The surgery went well, and Zaida felt better right away.
Related articles:
Changes in Urination/Urinary Accidents
Potty Accidents in Dogs: Incontinence versus UTIs
Further reading:
Bladder Stones in Dogs: What are Signs and How to Best Treat Them