Talk to me about bladder stones---and a husband vent

Cookie is having emergency surgery today. She had an accident in the house last night and there was blood in it. Took her to the vet today and she had a huge stone blocking most of her bladder.
I know she will have to be on special food, what else can we do to prevent this from coming back? Are there any foods she can have that aren't filled with corn and other junk?
Now for a vent:
My husband(who is deployed to Afghanistan) is pitching a hissy fit over the cost of the surgery but no way was I going to have an otherwise healthy dog put down. Willow's dog Ruby had to be put down a year and a half ago because she ate a pack of sewing needles...we adopted Cookie a few months later for Willow. No way could I put her through that again. Screw the $1200. He ordered me a Nook color for christmas/anniversary/birthday(which are all in the same week), I told him he could just f'n cancel it and skip next year too for that matter....I'm not any happier than he is to be dropping that kind of cash unexpectedly but what the hell else was I supposed to do? ARGH! Easy for him to say "I wouldn't have done that, I would have had her put down" when he is on the other side of the world and wouldn't have to deal with a heartbroken 7 year old!

You definitely did the right thing, Mel, and when he's thinking more clearly, he'll realize that too.

Thanks! He already messaged me back saying he was sorry and he knows I did what I had to. Thankfully we have savings so we have the money and it won't cause us any hardship. He said he was just in shock at the price tag. lol
Also just talk to the vet. They are getting ready to start on Cookie and will keep her in the hospital for the rest of the weekend to give IV fluids and antibiotics. He said he will call when she is in recovery to let me know how it went.

Baby girl is surely secretly worried about every thing living and dear to her not coming home. I am so glad that doggie will come home in one piece. Decisions made by you as you keep the home fires burning are the decisions that keep the home together. Hugs to all. (when my husband was deployed all those years ago, I paid off the bills, upholstered the car, finished college and kept my promises--two days before he flew in, the jeep seized an engine and we had to buy a new car to get to the next duty station)

Oh yes Ellen, between losing Ruby and her Oso...yeah I couldn't do it to her. Even if I was down to my last $1, I would have found a way.
I am sitting her on the chaise with three dogs on my lap, a bird on my shoulder and a happy little girl beside me reading a book. Some things are worth more than $$$.
Cookie made it though surgery fine and will be staying with the vet maybe until Monday but he said he will call me tomorrow and meet me at the clinic if she is well enough to go home sometime tomorrrow.

Mel--some of the diet stuff depends on what kind of stones they were--calcium oxalate, struvite or urea based. I'll put my bias up front and say that there is a ton of controversy about diet and stones and high protein/no grain food gets blamed for a lot. Most of the urinary diets are crap in terms of nutrition, but I have known dogs with stones to do well on them IF they don't have grain or chicken allergies. I'm of the opinion that kibble is the worst thing you can feed a dog prone to stones so canned might be the better option. The crucial factor with all the crystal and stone problems is water, water, water. Basically, the canine diets for UTI have a fair bit of salt--especially the SO diet. This encourages drinking, which flushes the system and prevents or reduces the chances of formation.

Whatever you feed--push fluids. Water or unsalted stock of some sort. When I've had dogs with crystal issues, I soaked their kibble in water until it was mush and added canned. Don't add any supplements until you know what kind of stones she had as the supplements for calcium oxalate are the complete opposite as the supplements for struvites.


I've been lucky not to have to deal with this issue personally--crystals of all sorts, yes, but so far, no stones. It would be worth a PM to Hilary (Pugpillow) as she has done a fair bit of research on this.

No advice to offer - but my support!! I understand the sticker shock for emergency surgery....however, I rather think $1200 is not a bad price. I paid more for LP surgery on my Ichiro. I am glad your hubby realized his error and apologized. Here you are, responsible for everything while he is deployed. He should trust your judgment.

I second what Blanche says about the diet issue. It is worth doing your own research! So many vets are not as knowledgeable about nutrition like they should be.

Thanks everyone. He is sending the stones to the lab to see what kind they are, then we will go from there on the diet and I will research to see what else I need to do. Cookie doesn't have allergies that we know of, of course I have had her on Earthsong Organics and Wellness since we adopted her so I guess we shall see.
I already pour warm water over all the dogs kibble since it makes them feel like they are getting a treat. lol I will up the water I add to hers until the lab work gets back and we know what she needs to be eating, to get extra fluids into her. I have always noticed she is not a big drinker.

northernwitch wrote:Whatever you feed--push fluids. Water or unsalted stock of some sort. When I've had dogs with crystal issues, I soaked their kibble in water until it was mush and added canned. Don't add any supplements until you know what kind of stones she had as the supplements for calcium oxalate are the complete opposite as the supplements for struvites.

I second this!

So glad Cookie doing well after the surgery.

Wow, just catching up with this post now. Sounds like you did a good job! I never thought about pet insurance until I joined PA and when I started reading about the things that can go wrong, I RAN to the phone and ordered up! Is it too late to get it for any future issues? Might be worth checking into.

Glad Cookie is doing well.

Cookie is home...quite drugged up on Tramadol. I know how she is feeling since that is what I have to take when my endometriosis acts us. lol
She seems to be doing well. She would barely eat for the vet but came home and chowed down after a bit of hand feeding of course. lol

Oh and I have to share my cutie of a vet! He is a sweetie!
http://stbethlehemanimalclinic.com/images/dr_wes.jpg

PinkLotus wrote:Oh and I have to share my cutie of a vet! He is a sweetie!
http://stbethlehemanimalclinic.com/images/dr_wes.jpg

hubba! hubba!

PinkLotus wrote:Oh and I have to share my cutie of a vet! He is a sweetie!
http://stbethlehemanimalclinic.com/images/dr_wes.jpg

hubba! hubba!

Just now catching this. So sorry poor little Cookie had this and that you guys had to deal with it :( No fun. My Dora has had some large stones but is allergic to EVERYTHING so we feed her the one food we've found that she does well on and just drown it in water.

so glad she's back home with you!!!

Mel, if they turn out to be calcium oxalate, let me know, as that is what E is prone to. Glad she's home with you!