Bladder Stones in Dogs

So yorkies are prone to bladder stones. I have heard this time and time again and I mean, I don’t care because I do not like yorkies nor do I own one. But it intrigues me. So. Bladder stones, I wanted to talk about.

I googled. Apparently they’re really common in dogs. I have never encountered a dog with bladder stones. My cat, however, did have a kidney problem he nearly died from. It was scary. But I googled ways to prevent bladder stones.

1. Make sure your dog follows a healthy diet.
This would be not free feeding your dog, making sure your dog is on a good premium dog food and getting an adequate amount of food. Do not over feed. Don’t overfeed period, but definitely don’t over feed if your dog is prone to bladder stones and other complictions.
I have discussed premium foods before and in lieu of having that conversation again, what I will say is this, simply – premium food is the best thing you can do for your dog if you have the money. The better food, the less problems in the long run.

2. Increase your dog’s calcium intake
Okay, I’m not going to flat out talk about the person I am referring to right now that talked about giving her dog a vegetarian diet. But. All I have to say is. CALCIUM COMES FROM BONES. So if you do not give your dog bones, aren’t you worse off than before? And someone will ask – but what about calcium in dog food. If your dog food bag has daily values on the side, Calcium and protein are related. Low protein, likely low calcium. How to increase calcium in dogs? You could give them lactose products. I do not because lactose causes gas and one of my dogs is evil when it comes to gas, evil I tell you. So we do not do lactose products. You can buy calcium supplements from Petsmart in the vitamin aisle or you can purchase it from a regular vitamin store. Or, like me, you can give your dog uncooked bones.

3. Keep Apple cider vinegar handy
Apple cider vinegar normalizes acid levels in the stomach which eventually prevent bladder stones from forming. The simpliest thing to do for this, I should think, would be giving your dog a tablespoon daily. Putting it in the dog’s water and letting the dog grow used to it. It may take effort, but slowly get them up to this – slowly.

4. Provide your dog with adequate water
This is a given. I don’t think I need to elaborate on this. On average, water goes by weight of the dog. It’s about one cup per 5lbs of body weight. So my dogs would need about two cups of water daily. Now, it is far easier to provide dogs with water and let them monitor it themselves than to hover over them and make sure they drink enough water. They’re not stupid – they can do this part on their own.

5. Consider a wet dog food diet
I do not like wet dog food. I just don’t. It’s no good for the teeth, it usually has added salt, it stinks and it makes the poo stink even more. There would be no problem, however, with mixing both wet and dry. I think the wet is only to increase the dog’s overall water intake, anyway. Dry food makes dogs thirstier.

www.Bladderstonesindogs.com is where I got my information