My poor Shih Tzu has bladder stones again. Its his 3rd time :(
He first got them when he was about 4 years old, and had a lot of complications that time, and needed 2 operations. Then he got the stones again a couple of years ago, but I wasn't keen on putting him through another op as it took a lot out of him the other time. So the vet agreed to dissolve the stones with Hills tins. Luckily it worked. But now they are back. I've just noticed the symptoms today. So its off to the vets tomorrow with a pee sample. I hope he doesn't need an operation, but on the other hand, it might be better to get rid of the stones quicker. He's at a new vets now where they use a special anesthetic which is supposed to be easier to recover from. I can't remember the name of it now, I read about it on their website a while back. So I've to ring tomorrow morning at 8.30 to get him booked in. Hopefully they'll be able to squeeze him in early.

He's still able to pee quite well, but the stream of pee has slowed down, so he's holding his leg up for ages but not getting a big puddle done.  He seems to have started dribbling a tiny bit as he's licking his legs tonight, but nothing on the floor yet.

I'll keep you all updated tomorrow.

poor little boy hope you can sort him soon

Here's the update on Bobby. They kept him in on Friday evening, and he's not getting home til Monday morning. They took an xray. He had 22 bladder stones so they operated to avoid them obstructing anything. They're sending the stones off to Hills lab (who test them free), the vet says the food he's on now isn't working any more.

They found that his prostate gland was 4 times the size it should be, but they don't think there's anything suspicious in that. So they're going to neuter him so it will shrink naturally. Apparently an enlarged prostate can have an effect on bladder stones, or maybe it can cause dribbles too. I got a bit mixed up when I was taking note of that when I was speaking to the vet on the phone.

I spoke to the vet again yesterday. He said they did both operations and he's recovering well now. But he can't come home yet as its 'major surgery', and they want to make sure he's still able to pee properly. They said he's done that so far, and no blood when he went. They topped up his pain relief, and his heart rate and temperature are good. He said Bobby's nice and cosy, and had a comfortable afternoon. He said Bobby ate a bit of chicken, and that it would do for now because the other food wasn't working anyway, and they have to wait for the test results on the stones. Then they'll know what his new food should be.

Glad to hear Bobby is doing well. Bet you can't wait to get him home tomorrow.

He's back home!! He's got antibiotics to take, and he has to get his stitches out in a week. The vets looked after him very well, they even washed him and gave him new pony tails. He seemed very content when we met him, not stressed at all. They said he was very well behaved. They're sending the stones to a lab in the USA for testing to see what food he should eat. The lab has some sort of link/deal with Hills so the test is free. The results will be back in 3 or 4 weeks. So glad to have him home :)

They said to expect a little dribble for a few days. What is the best sort of bedding for him to use? I'd like something disposable and/or something easy to dry. I want him to be able to lay on something soft but don't want him to be laying on damp material with dribbles.

I would say a piece of vet bed with a puppy pad underneath to catch the dribbles is your best bet. Have a few peices then you can was and change them. But vet bed is easy to wash and drys quickly.
Glad you have your boy home and best wishes for speedy recovery.

I got Vetbed in Pets at Home, its great. He stayed nice and dry, and he loves it. The dribbles are gone now. He was due to get his stitches out today but had a bit of swelling around the site of the operation, which was fluid. The swelling went down as the fluid has gone away. But there is still a bit of swelling which has turned out to be a hernia. So he's staying at the vets again tonight, they're going to open the stitches and fix it. He's getting home tomorrow. I'm waiting on a phone call from the vet tonight.

I got a phone call from the vet. All went well, and I'm to ring them tomorrow morning around 11.00.

Thats great news, pleased to hear your boy is on the mend. Thanks for coming back and giving us an update. Hope everything goes smoothly from now on and your dog is back to full health soon.

Your poor little boy certainly has been through a lot hasn´t he.  I do hope this is the end of all his problems and ops and that he can now continue to enjoy his young life.  Please let us know when you get the results of the stones tests.

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Thanks. I'll keep you all posted on the results. He'll be 12 in April.

Seems the bladder stones are back. He's dribbling, and has damp back legs and tummy. Well when I say damp, its a bit more than damp really. Might have been happening a few other days on and off but with it being wet outside I was thinking it might just have been that as his legs have been trimmed so I thought might have been easier for him to get wet from puddles.

Anyway there was no doubt this morning. The thing is the dribbles on his hair have not made any smell - so a bit strange. He's eating and has plenty of energy and seems happy.He's able to pee properly too.

He was neutered too recently when he had his bladder stone operation, if that makes any difference.

He's booked into the vets for this evening.

Anyone come across this before?

What sort of stone did Minnesota tell you they were?

Stones will usually recur if the conditions they formed in originally don't change; treatment is ongoing.

They were struvite stones. But the vet said it might be a different sort of stones this time because the diet doesn't seem to be working any more. He's had stones twice since originally moving onto the Hills CD, and no other food gets past his lips.

Sorry to hear about your lad.  My TT bitch had them from a similar age & went through 3 operations & was on various diets for quite a few years.  Eventually I did let her eat what she wanted as at 15 I felt that having a happy life eating what she wanted for a short period of time left was the best thing.  I hasten to add that she had chronic bronchitis, a heart murmur, was blind & deaf by the time she went to Rainbow bridge so she lived with bladder stones for some years.

I hope that they give you some answers, not sure my post is at all helpful, just wanted to post some hugs for you.  You say no other food passes his lips, if only i could say the same about my little madam, she was still catching rabbits at 14 lol!

Update: another trip to the vet today. I left in his pee sample, the vet tested it and said it was high alkaline. She showed me the chart and his was at the highest level possible. So he's moving onto a Royal Canin prescription diet, I think its called SO. He's going to eat that for 2 weeks, then another pee sample, if the alkaline level is still too high, then he'll have to take some vitamin c.

The dribbling has stopped now but he has to finish the antibiotics. I took him and my Jap Spitz puppy to the beach yesterday and they had a great time :)

New update :

The results of the bladder stone tests have arrived. He had calcium oxalate stones and is now eating Hills UD. Hopefully this might be the end of his bladder stones