Bladder Stones
Shelties do get bladder infections
sometimes. But if your Sheltie gets one right after
another..... you need to worry about Bladder Stones. These are
stones that develop INSIDE the bladder. The pain is horrible,
and will often rattle around inside the bladder just tearing it up.
Click on this photo to see the stones we removed from "Holly"
The symptoms of Bladder Stones are
the same as a urinary tract infection. You will often notice blood
when your Sheltie urinates. Your sheltie may *strain to
go* quite often and not produce much. Your Sheltie may also
"leak" urine when they are lying down. This is a very serious
situation and need prompt attention!!
Take your dog to the Vet ASAP and
have them shoot an X-ray of the bladder. Most of the time,
stones will show up on X-ray. If they are large stones they
will, but if they are still very small, they won't. But
usually once you start to notice trouble... they are big enough to
detect on X-ray.
Besides being VERY painful, a stone
can easily block the passage-way of urine and the dog will die, a very
painful horrible death.
Bladder stones are removed by surgery, in which the stones are removed and
the bladder is flush out. Healing time is about 3 weeks.
Dogs make a full recovery,
Dogs that have had Bladder Stones
are at risk for developing them again..so you will need to watch for
stones for the rest of the dogs life. There is also special
food you can buy that will help prevent certain types of stones.
**This health hint is in
memory of Bach. A Sheltie who was given to us because he
"couldn't move" and the owner didn't know what to *do* with him.
(???) His bladder stones had "blocked" his urinary tract
and he was almost dead. We tried to save him...but it was too late.
His urine had backed up into his kidneys and his kidneys were so enlarged,
they were destroyed. We helped Bach pass on peacefully.
