We have three dogs in the house with us. I have never had a problem with any of them doing their potties outside. Until the last four days that is. I kept finding spots where one of them was urinating during the night. I finally think I figured out which one it was. This morning...sure enough there was two little pee spots...but on looking closer there were two little things in the middle of the spot. I picked them up and they were very crystaline and sharp. It dawned on me that maybe this dog had been battling with kidney stones! Is there such a thing?

Boy..this sure sounds like a dumb question. But I do need some help on it. Thanks in advance. And Happy New Year to the board. Sher

-- Sher in se Iowa (riverdobbers@webtv.net), January 03, 2002

Answers

Yes, Sher, dogs, as well as cats, horses and several other mammalian species get kidney stones. Often they do not develop them until they get a bit older, but sometimes their diet predisposes them to develop them quite early in life.

Consult a good small animal vet and discuss their diet, there are several urine acidifiers that will prevent this from happening again in the future. Meanwhile, a vet will have to determine if a urinary infection is present as well as the stones, and decide best how to treat your dog's present problem. The whole thing is easily treated and "fixed", so don't worry too much.

Also, if the affected dog is an older spayed female, the vet might recommend bi-weekly doses of the drug DES to help with any bladder leakage problems the dog might have, DES is VERY effective for this use in older dogs and cats with bladder leakage problems.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 03, 2002.

Hi Sher, Dalmations especially seem to have a problem with kidney stones. Your veterinarian should be able to recommend special food which may help with this pre-disposition. -- Good luck,

-- Renee Martin (icehorse@altelco.net), January 03, 2002.

YES! They can. We lost our first male Lab to them. He was only 7 y/o. :-( But that was 28 years ago. Today they have ways to treat it. Definetly take your dog to the vet asap.

-- dottie in MD (mamma-duck@webtv.net), January 03, 2002.

Actually Dalmatians suffer from uric acid stones, which is a bit different than kidney stones. If it is a female, they pass them easily, but if a male, they can get blocked and need surgery to remove them. We had to do this with one of our Dals.

-- Joyce Dingman (FriendsPatterns@juno.com), January 03, 2002.

Sounds like bladder stones, not kidney stones. Sometimes a special diet helps keep them under control. Surgeryis also an option. Rule out a urinary tract infection first.

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.