My Bichon had bladder stones. How to prevent recurrence and manage pH?

Question

I am very confused. My 14 yr Bichon had 2 oxalate bladder stones pushes back into bladder and removed. Thevet at the emergency hospital recommended royal canin so to get ph to 7. It is staying at 6.5 and sometimes 6. primary vet says this is fine and did not recommend potassium nitrate. By adding water to his food , the specific gravity is .010. I know stones tend to reoccur quickly in this breed and would feel better with a snd opinion. It has been a month since his surgery. Goes out every 2 hr. Pet's info: Dog | Bichon Frise | Male | unneutered | 12 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, some of these dogs keep developing stones, & we just do not know the total reason & mechanism for this. So you are perfectly right to feel confused, & frustrated with this. The Royal Canin S/O has been one of the best options in terms of preventing stones through the diet, & of course, the more water he takes in, the more water there is to flush the oxalate elements out of his bladder before stones reoccur. Sometimes we do recommend potassium citrate, if urine pH is consistently lower than 6.5, & some newer thinking is to add hydrochlorothiazide if he does seem to be redeveloping urolithiasis frequently & he does not have high blood calcium levels. You could monitor his urine for blood with urine dip strips manufactured for this purpose ( your vet can help with this ). A full urinalysis should be done every 3-6 months to keep pH between 6.5 & 8 & to maintain urine specific gravity to 1.020 or lower. Imaging, with either ultrasound or x-rays every 6-12 months is useful to identify very small stones that can generally be removed without surgery.removed . Hopefully, Casper will remain stone free for a very long time. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My Bichon had bladder stones. How to prevent recurrence and manage pH?

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