Crystals in dog urine can also be an indication of bladder or kidney infection.
Canine urinary crystals pictures.
Urinary crystals are usually found within the bladder but can form in the kidneys or surrounding tubes called ureters or the urethra.
Crystals in dog s urine may be caused by one of the following.
The crystals shown in the image on the right were seen in the urine of a cat with acute renal failure due to melamine toxicosis.
Your veterinarian may be able to palpate the stones or may need to perform imaging studies such as a bladder ultrasound or a contrast radiographic study.
Our dogs develop these painful and dangerous conditions too.
Other medications that can cause urine crystals to form include indinavir intravenous acyclovir and triamterene.
But much of what is stated and done about canine urinary tract stone disease also called bladder stones urolithiasis urinary stones ureteral stones urinary calculi ureteral calculi or urinary calculus disease including its causes and treatment is either.
These crystals were highly characteristic of melamine and facilitated diagnosis in affected animals.
Urinary crystals are commonly referred to as bladder stones or urinary calculi in dogs and the condition which causes them is called urolithiasis.
Crystalluria in individuals with anatomically and functionally normal urinary tracts may be harmless because the crystals are eliminated before they grow large enough to interfere with normal urinary function.
We aren t the only ones who get kidney and bladder stones.
Timing of sample collection.
Cystine bladder stones appear to be the result of a genetic abnormality that prevents a dog from reabsorbing cystine from the kidneys.
For instance a sample taken after a meal may have higher concentrations than a sample taken during fasting.
What causes lower urinary tract problems in dogs.
A diet of highly processed dog food and or foods high in grains and other fillers.
The presence of crystals in dog s urine does not necessarily mean that the dog has or will develop kidney stones.
Incontinence bladder stones or crystals in the urine bacterial infections cancer trauma or even obstruction of the urethra the tube that allows urine to pass from the bladder to the outside of the body can occur.
Urinary crystals can also be seen in patients taking certain medications.
Dogs prescribed antibiotics will typically use the drugs while consuming the therapeutic dog food and possibly longer if needed.
It also doesn t necessarily call for medical treatment interventions such as medications.
There are many problems that can affect a dog s lower urinary system.
These crystals appear as striated shells or shocks of wheat a sulfadiazine crystal is shown on the left.
Allantoin crystals were identified in a urine from a dog with acute myeloid leukemia meichner et al 2015.
They were colorless to yellow brown long rectangular thin needle like crystals clustered together in a fan or sheaf of wheat like arrangement.
Still the crystals can be an indication of kidney stones or bladder stones or a urinary tract infection.
However they still represent a risk factor for bladder.
