[ymorrison]

Hi

I have a 4 month old Giant Schnauzer and for the past couple of weeks we have been visiting the vet firstly because she was peeing everywhere all the time and they said she had ph in her urine as the weeks have gone on we have had numerous different anti biotic and seems to clear up then comes back, this time the urine test says she had blood in her urine, I am worried that at this age she is getting too many anti biotic and it will affect her later on and also why is this happening? Is this common in this breed? Could it be something more serious? Should I take her to another vet for a second oppinion?


Your suggestions would be most appreciated we love her to bits and dont want to do anything that will harm her.

Yvonne

[Celeste]

Sorry to hear that you giant schnauzer has this problem. There are a number of reasons as to why this is happening....


1. she may have a urinary infection


2. Your dog might have a uterine infection although not likely at such
a young age.
3. Your dog might have stones.

I have copied and pasted the following information for you:

Certain breeds of dogs including the miniature and the standard schnauzer are most likely prone to calcium Oxalate.
Calcium oxalate stones account for about 35% of all stones, while they account for 50-70% of feline stones. Stones from the kidney or ureter of cats have been diagnosed as calcium oxalate in 70% of the cases submitted. Breeds that are most affected in dogs include Miniature and Standard Schnauzers, Miniature Poodles, Bichon Frise, Lhasa Apso, Yorkshire Terrier and Shi Tzu. Burmese, Persian and Himalayan cats are the feline breeds most commonly affected. Older male castrated cats and dogs are more affected by calcium oxalate calculi. They may also be found more frequently in the kidney than struvite stones.

The cascade of events leading to calcium oxalate stone formation is completely unknown but there is some indication that normal postprandial (after a meal) increases in urinary calcium concentration could be involved in the stone formation. In cats, magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite) stones used to be more common than they are today, and oxalate stones much less fequently seen. Results of epidemiologic studies support the hypothesis that special diets developed to reduce the formation of struvite stones may have inadvertently increased the incidence of oxalate stones. Decreased urine concentration of natural body crystal formation inhibitors, and increased dietary intake of oxalate may also play a role in the calcium oxalate stone formation.



It might be a good idea for your vet to carry out some necessary tests so that certains problems from this list can be eradicated; sounds like your vet had hoped that it was a straightfroward case of a simple urinary tract infection but this doesn't look to be the case.

In order to diagnose bladder stones, x-rays can diagnose certain types of stones yet others can only be seen via an ultrasound. Surgical removal is usually encouraged in certain cases and especially so in dogs with CALCIUM OXALATE STONES. Dietary changes have to be implemented in the case of certain types of stones.

Good luck and I dearly hope that it isn't too serious.