Monday, June 24, 2013

Gigi's Battle With Bladder Stones

We never know what ailment our dog will have. All that we do know is we hate to see our dogs having any pain or discomfort whatsoever. Over the past month, Gigi (pictured with Fancy above), was diagnosed with bladderstones.

What are Bladder Stones?

Bladder stones are crystals that form in a dog's bladder when there is a ph level imbalance. Most bladder stones have an excess buildup of alkali caused by a bacterial infection. In Gigi's case, it was a staph infection. As a result, dogs who suffer from bladder stones will urinate more frequently and may have accidents in the house. They will also strain when trying to eliminate holding themselves longer than usual.

After the dog is diagnosed with bladder stones, the veterinarian will examine a urine sample to see if there are any crystals floating around. By pinpointing what types of crystals are existing in the urine, the vet will determine whether or not the bladder stones can dissolve on their own or they need to be surgically removed. Vets will x-ray the area to better see the bladder area. In Gigi's case, there were no crystals at all so the results were inconclusive. So we took the conservative route to try to dissolve them by giving her a combination of food and antibiotics. It did start to make a difference because Gigi had more of an appetite with her new food and was having fewer accidents in the house.

When Gigi had her first x-ray done, her bladder looked like they had a handful of marbles inside. An example similar to what Gigi had is included in the photo on the right. Today, I just took her to the vet to get a second x-ray because I spotted blood in her urine. Many times, bladder stones will irritate the lining of the bladder while the process is dissolving the stones. As a result, blood in the urine is a side effect of this. After Gigi received x-rays a second time, it seems like the stones that didn't dissolve much.

Photo Source: Wikipedia
However, there were a few on the bottom that were smaller. The doctor also informed me that in some dogs, it takes longer to break down the crystals.

Looking Down The Road

It seems that surgery is probably going to happen. Gigi has been undergoing this treatment for only three weeks. I'm going to wait and see if more crystals dissolve in order to do surgery as a last resort. My vet advised not waiting longer than 6 to 8 weeks so by then, it should be around six weeks. I'll keep you guys posted as time goes by.

Let's Discuss!

If any of you have had a similar situation with one of your dogs, like I did with Gigi, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks to all of you who stop by.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Orijen Lamb Freeze-Dried Treats Review


Recently, I received a package of freeze-dried dog treats from Chewy.com.

I was familiar with freeze-dried dog food and was more than willing to give freeze-dried treats a try. When I first opened the treats, like all freeze-dried items, they reminded me of the astronaut's snack treats that were released in the 80s.

It really is all about taste though. The dogs absolutely loved them. Even Harry, our Chinese Crested pooch who can chew hard foods, gobbled these up wi What I liked about the treats was the fact that they had only three ingredients. On my bag that I received, only had three ingredients: lamb, lamb liver and tripe.

This simplicity is what makes these easy to digest and irresistible to dogs. As far as a downside goes, there wasn't one. I highly recommend the Orijen freeze-dried treats for dogs. They are a great healthy alternative to many commercially- produced treats that contain artificial colors, flavors and fillers.


Let's Discuss!

Please share what types of treats your dog loves to eat below.

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