Everything you ever wanted to know about uroliths in dogs

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An extensive article in a recent issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice presented the answers to 71 of the most common questions veterinarians, staff members, and clients might have about urolithiasis in dogs. The questions are divided into nine categories

• Urolith analysis

• Urolith types

• Diagnosis

• Treatment and prevention

• Urolith recurrence

• Urinalysis

• Diet

• Water

• Miscellaneous

For example, do you know--

Which treats are best for dogs with a history of uroliths?

How to distinguish among the various types of uroliths?

What diet to recommend for patients while you're waiting for the urolith analysis results?

Whether drinking hard water can contribute to urolith formation?

Which uroliths are good candidates for dissolution?

How to monitor patients for urolith recurrence and minimize the chances of recurrence?

Why persistent crystalluria occurs even though a client feeds the recommended diet?

Why postoperative radiographs showed that all the uroliths had been retrieved, but radiographs obtained four weeks later again revealed uroliths?

How strict dietary compliance needs to be?

What ammonium urate uroliths in non-Dalmatian breeds signify?

How to get patients to drink more water?

To find out just click on the link to the full text below.

Koehler LA, Osborne CA, Buettner MT, et al. Canine uroliths: frequently asked questions and their answers. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 2009;39(1):161-181.

Link to full text: http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/Medicine/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/588981