Bladder Stones

BoonDocks

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Boon has been having a problem urinating for the last week. Took him in today and sure enough he has bladder stones and they must be removed. They will be flushing his urethra tube to flush the ones that are causing the urination problem back into his bladder then open him up to remove the ones in his bladder. Doc said he will have to go on a special RX diet and this will help but Boon will have this issue again in the future.

Anyone else's bully had this problem? Doc says Bulldogs are notorious for this issue.
Anyone else have health insured on their bully? I am serious considering buy it.

Boon was hospitalized back in August for an erection that wouldn't go down. They had to knock him out, push it back in and sew it shut until it went down. We heard the tech say, "dude you've been on the computer took long'...LMAO That cost us $1k
 

Donnam

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Sorry to hear about Boon's bladder stones--ouch! I don't have any experience with that, but I do have health insurance for my dogs. From my experience with the insurance company, I would expect them to exclude anything to do with his bladder when you tell them about the bladder stones. This is my first time to have insurance on my dogs. When I adopted Jack, he had been hit by a car and had surgery on his hip. He was recovered when we got him. He also had a terrible ear infection in both ears when we got him home. When I applied for insurance for him, I told them about those two issues. When I got his policy, hips and ears were excluded. VPI/Nationwide Ins. Co. is my company. I don't know if all of them are like that--be sure to check it out.

The jury's still out as far as I'm concerned about the insurance. I'm paying about $140 a month for 3 dogs. I keep thinking if I would save $140 a month, I would have a lot of money by the time something bad happens. Of course, Winnie, my bulldog, hasn't had a single health issue--who would have thought?! Jack ended up having heart worms, and parasites are not covered, so that was about $1,600. Just be sure you know what is covered and what isn't.

Anyway, good luck. I hope Boon recovers from those nasty bladder stones in a hurry!
 

RiiSi

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So sorry this is happening for your bully, I have experience....

For one, if your vet said that bullys are notorious for bladder stones you could do with a smarter vet. Has the vet told you what kind of stones he has? cystine, urate, calsium oxalate, calcium phosphate or struvite, if not you cold do with a better vet. Each type of stone has its own different peculiarities as to which breed is most often affected and what factors affect the formation. Also the treatment varies.
My older boy has hyperuricosuria and has had urate stones surgically removed. Against all vets "knowledge" he is doing well with raw food. Almost all dalmatian have this affected HUU gene that causes this condition and unfortunately some bulldogs have it too. And some breeders don't test for it even though the test is available.

Insurance will not pay for anything that has been diagnosed (at least not in Finland), so if you have reason to expect more health issues, maybe it's worth it. I always take the insurance first thing when I get the pup.
 
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BoonDocks

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The vet said that he will send the stones to the lab to figure out what kind they are. As for insurance, I know that they won't pay for this surgery and possible repeat issues, but it's more for future issues.
 

jimmyjj

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This was the main reason my bulldog died. That and a slow acting vet. Please do everything you can.


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BoonDocks

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Surgery went well and the vet took out over 100 stones. He's still trying to wake up but all is good so far. Ext step to determine what kid of stones so we know if we need to change his diet.
 

dolphin

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over 100 stones! Happy it all went well, hope it will improve with the diet.
 

2BullyMama

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So glad is all went well .... Keep
Us posted
 
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BoonDocks

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I think we will stick to our vet. After much research, YES English Bulldogs are more susceptible to cystine bladder stones along with a few other breeds .

So sorry this is happening for your bully, I have experience....

For one, if your vet said that bullys are notorious for bladder stones you could do with a smarter vet. Has the vet told you what kind of stones he has? cystine, urate, calsium oxalate, calcium phosphate or struvite, if not you cold do with a better vet. Each type of stone has its own different peculiarities as to which breed is most often affected and what factors affect the formation. Also the treatment varies.
My older boy has hyperuricosuria and has had urate stones surgically removed. Against all vets "knowledge" he is doing well with raw food. Almost all dalmatian have this affected HUU gene that causes this condition and unfortunately some bulldogs have it too. And some breeders don't test for it even though the test is available.

Insurance will not pay for anything that has been diagnosed (at least not in Finland), so if you have reason to expect more health issues, maybe it's worth it. I always take the insurance first thing when I get the pup.
 
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BoonDocks

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Boon was put on UD diet after the test came back as cystine stones and he loves it. We just have to watch him closely when he pees to make sure the flow is good.
 

RiiSi

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Well, I absolutely hate when vets talk like that. I'm sick and tired of them telling everything that a bulldog can have even if the the individual at hand doesn't have it or that they're "notorious" of any illness. I'm glad that you're happy with him and your bully is doing good. For advice on canine cystinuria you can get more info if you google "mastiff canine cystinuria".

I think we will stick to our vet. After much research, YES English Bulldogs are more susceptible to cystine bladder stones along with a few other breeds .
 

Daphnee

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100 stones?!?! wow, who counted?? First weekend we got our bully, 10wks old, she got bit by a spider in the yard and got bumps all over her. Took her to the vet where a good friend works. First thing our friend said was "I hope you have the pet insurance.".. We've had VPI for 10+ years and it's probably a wash.. BUT, unless you are very disciplined and can put money away, it'll come in handy if/when a big event happens. We had a $3,000 bill for TPLO, and it paid about $2,300ish.. Submit every bill and make them deny it.. There's a deductible of course..
 

sunkissedpr1ncs

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Boon was put on UD diet after the test came back as cystine stones and he loves it. We just have to watch him closely when he pees to make sure the flow is good.

Hi, I hope Boon is doing well now!! I just saw this and wanted to tell you about my EB, Barkley, who had cystine stones removed almost 2 years ago now. The vet also told us he had to eat the Hills UD but I refused since it has such bad ingredients and also is such low protein and I read that can be dangerous and cause heart disorders in large dogs. I did a lot of research and found out that in mastiff breeds like Bulldogs, the cystine stones are testosterone dependent and if they are neutered after then they shouldn't form again. We had Barkley neutered just a few weeks before we found out about the stones. Is Boon neutered?

Anyway, we have been feeding him quality food still, not the Hills UD and I add extra water to his food just in case but he hasn't had any problems since having the stones removed. When we moved to Houston last year and took him to a very knowledgable bulldog vet, he also told us the same thing about these stones being testosterone dependent and that if there hadn't been any issues in the first year after then he should be fine. He also said his urine looked great and everything was good! Just wanted to pass along this info since I know there isn't a ton out there on it and hopefully it helps out some!! [emoji4]


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My Otis

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PRAYING FOR BOON TO MAKE A FULL RECOVERY FROM ALL OF THOSE STONES, 100 IS ALOT OF STONES. GIVE BOON A HUG AND KISS FROM ME AND ELMO.
 

magoucher

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About three weeks ago my five year old Bully, Brutus, started throwing up one night every two hours. I thought he may have eaten something in the yard. The next day I could tell he wasn't feeling well and he wouldn't really get up to urinate so he was lying in it. He would get up to move around but he wasn't eating. The next day I took him to the vet and an xray revealed he had an enlarged prostate (he isn't neutered) which was blocking his ability to pee and poop. His bladder was REALLY enlarged. After talking to the vet and determining that surgery was the only thing that was going to save him, he had the surgery the next morning. I should note that the vet I use is considered a bull dog specialist so I have complete confidence in him. After the surgery, the vet told me that he had very large stones (determined to be struvite after lab analysis) and also some kind of grainy sludge that he had to scoop out. He said he had never seen anything like it. Luckily Brutus is feeling better now. I just received the lab results today so the vet is recommending a prescription dog food called Hills Science Diet CD. I had been feeding him Purina One Instincts (salmon version) and also putting coconut oil in his food. Since his surgery, I have been feeding him the same food but not using the coconut oil. Overall, he has been a very healthy dog with none of the "traditional" bull dog issues. My concern is the ingredients of the dog food and I am reading that dogs tend to gain weight quickly on that food and in all fairness, most of the reviews I have read about the food have been positive. Brutus currently weighs 65 lbs and has a gorgeous coat. Does anyone know or recommend a food that may have better ingredients than the Hills Science Diet CD?
 

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