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marking and bladder stones

19 17:17:01

Question
I have a female Pomerainian, aged 5 years who was a rescue dog. She has recurrent problems with bladder stones: first struvite and we changed her diet and then she develeped calcium oxalate stones. Any suggestions on managing the bladder stones so she does not have to have surgery again? She also marks excessively when whenever we go for a walks; she lifts her right leg but most of the time, no urine is visible.  How can I tell the difference between marking and a urinary tract infection? Is the excessive marking anxiety behavior?  

Answer
I do not have any personal experience with stones in my poms but from what I understand, it can be heredity; passed on in a certain line from one generation to the next.  Since she is a rescue then you can't really know her parentage and it may be something she just gets.  Your vet should have been able to explore that with you.
As far as the marking... females mark territory just as much as males.  If she is intact (not spayed) then her urge to mark will be more than an altered (spayed) female.  Spaying an older dog may make the urge to mark not go away.  So when she is lifting her leg and tring to urinate, she is placing scent markers for other dogs in the neighborhood to know who she is and when she was there.  She is also scent marking when she scratches the ground with her hind legs (like a chicken scratching the ground). :-)  Blood in the urine can be an indicator of a UTI but without her telling you it hurts when she urinates then it is hard to know for sure.  Sometimes you can tell if she IS trying to pee (just outside in the yard without obviously trying to mark) and she can't seem to go.
But, I have not had personal experience with my dogs having UTI.  Check with the vet that performed the surgery and ask how you can know if she is having one again.
Good luck.  And, thankyou for giving a loving home to a Pom in need of rescue!
-Trish Inman
Gemini Poms
www.geminipoms.com

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