Crystals in my dogs urine

Question
My 20 month old Pug, Daisy, was diagnosed with a bladder infection and crystals in her urine.  My vet is waiting for the test results to find out what type of crystals these are.  In the mean time he has prescribed clavomox and Hill RX S/D Diet.  She seems to have some constipation.  Is this normal? Is my vet's approach to this ailment ok?

Answer
Hi Norma,

There are several different kinds of kidney/bladder crystals. Your vet is correct to wait for all the test results to come in before proceeding with a treatment.

Urine that is saturated with excess amount of certain minerals are prone to form bladder stones. These minerals commonly include magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, and ammonia. Most stones consist of an organic matrix of protein surrounded by crystalline minerals.
Diet can have a major impact here, and is one of the primary methods used to treat and prevent uroliths. Having your dog drink more water can also help, as it will help dilute her urine, and minimize crystal formation in the bladder. If you can't get her to drink more, adding a little water to her food is a good way to get extra water in her.  
Make sure your dog has plenty of opportunities to empty her bladder throughout the day. She'll need this with the extra water intake, but holding urine in for too long can lead to urinary problems.

Make sure your dog gets plenty of water to drink. Give her filtered water instead of tap water because tap water can contain a lot dissolved minerals. Fresh, filtered water will help your dog flush out the toxins and crystals that have accumulated in her bladder. Make sure she has an unlimited supply of clean water to drink at all times.

The Hills s/d diet is for the management of urinary tract disease. It has highly reduced levels of magnesium, phosphorus and protein, and also produces an acid urine pH, to aid in the management of struvite crystals and stones. The s/d diet must be the only food fed for this treatment to work.

Once all of your dog's tests come in, just confirm with your vet that your dog does indeed have struvite crystals. Struvite
crystals is diagnosed in almost half the cases of dogs with bladder stones, and the fact your dog has a urinary tract infection also points to the Struvite form of crystals. It's just good to confirm and know for sure.

Calcium Oxalate is the second most prevalent type of urolith after struvite. Another form of bladder crystals is Urate and Ammonium Urate, but this kind of crystal usually doesn't accompany a urinary tract infection.

The clavomox is for the bladder infection.

Your dog's constipation probably doesn't have anything to do with the bladder crystals. Try feeding your dog a baby carrot or two, or an apple wedge. The extra fiber in these non-fat treats can help with that problem.

You can read more about struvite bladder stones here:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_struvite_bladder_stones.html

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti