[LotzaBassetsmom]

This is my first post. I spent a lot of last night going over the UTI advice that was on this board. I took Twinkie in a week ago, and they prescribed amoxicilin, which she stayd on for a week. She had blood in her urnine, and was havnig a very hard time going, squating for 15 minuntes at a time, and not gettng var. She didn't seem to be getting any better.
So, today (Sunday) we took her to an emergency vet in Gainsville, and they took an exray. Seems she has a bladder stone nearly the size of her bladder. My vet doesn't know it yet, but he is doing emergency surgery tomorrow on my baby.

Has anyone gone through this before? Any advice? I feel so badly that I didn't know about it before now. It must have taken time to have gotten so big. As soon as I saw her straining, I took her to the vet, but it must have been going on for much longer....poor baby. Any one out there had a similar experience, or any advice?

Thanks
Twinkies Mom
Lotzabassetsmom

 

[Scully]

Oh, poor Twinkie!! That can't be comfortable. I don't have any advice for you because thankfully, Scully hasn't had stones, but wanted to say we'll send lots of drool along for Twinkie's surgery (which has probably happened by now) and recovery afterward.

Don't feel bad about not knowing anything was going on with her bladder...I've learned that sometimes they really don't show any symptoms until things have gotten really bad! You took your baby in as soon as you noticed something was wrong, and that's the important thing!

 

[copsmom]

I don't have any advice but I do wish her well and a speedy recovery.

 

[LotzaBassetsmom]

Twinkie is Recovering-Still at vet

Twinkie is still at the vets, but came through the surgery just fine. She was also spayed at the same time. (She is 3 years old). They are going to send the stone off for anylasis, and then tell me if it is heredity factors, or diet factors so that we can make sure that she, or my other two houndies don't have the same problem. I was soooo worried. Thanks for all the kind words and wishes. This group is great. You understand what it is like to go through something like this.

 

[biscuit]

how odd. my sister's going through something similar with her Chichi, The Obese Rebel Chihuahua, and i was on here last night combing the archives for the very same info.

Chichi has multiple stones, not a single huge one. and this has happened before with her. she has a combination of struvite and calcium stones. .

there is a food by Hill's called s/d which dissolves the struvite stones. but calcium stones always require surgery.

but with a stone the size you describe, your pup needs surgery ASAP.

Chichi has had problems before, and my sister thinks what happened is she got very busy after having been out of town for a few weeks --- and Chichi didn't get enough drinking water or the right food to drink during this time.

she's prone to UTI's and has had problems with stones before. once there have been problems with stones, you need to be careful about diet (your vet will tell you which way to go with that) --- and you need to make sure she has lots of water to drink at all times and lots of opportunities to potty. and watch for UTIs.

good luck. those UTIs are awful and the stones just make it so much worse. but she'll feel a million percent better after your surgery, and your vet will be able to tell you what to do afterward.

 

[LotzaBassetsmom]

Stones

Thank you for your reply. We took Twinkie to the emergency vet on Sunday, it was pitiful. I observed her straining and straining, trying to go, and only getting little droplets for her efforts. A week prior, the vet had put her on antibiotics when the problem first arose. (or when I first noticed). She didn't get better. When Sunday morning rolled around she was lying on my bed just exhausted, listless....I thought I was going to loose her. Not ONE vet in my town has weekend hours, so we had to drive 40 miles to an emergency vet. He was terrific.

I couldn't reach my regular vet, but just made sure I was at the animal hospital bright an early, without even a phone call proceeding it. (no answering machine, either). They KNEW we were coming! The emergency vet had faxed all the information to my vet, and they knew I would be there even without a call.

I think our problem is multiple dogs, and a doggy door to a dog yard. I don't always observe the comings and goings from the house to the yard and back again. They eat out of the same dish, and all share the same huge water dispencer. So, I don't keep track of them like I would a single dog that I would take out on purpose. I feel so guilty! I know a stone that size didn't form overnight. I'm also sure that some changes are going to be necessary.

 

[biscuit]

maybe or maybe not. it could very well be hereditary for something that large. i have a niece who has a hereditary disorder which causes her to form gigantic staghorn kidney stones. they say the stones for people like her are so gigantic when they're first found because they've been forming for years and years and years.

so it could be the same for Twinkie, given how large it was.

still, water is key for any critter, two or four legged, who gets stones. just make sure she has as much water as she could ever want, and then some.

and watch for UTIs because they can also cause them to form. and diet? maybe --- maybe not.

i'm so glad she's had the surgeyr and really, don't beat yourself up! you got her in, you got her the surgery and now you're looking for solutions. sounds like a perfect basset person to me! btw, LOVE goats, the little troublemakers! :lol:

 

[LotzaBassetsmom]

Goats in the Kitchen

I had to reply to the "goats" comment!! When I first got Einstein, he actually 'came" with my rescue horse...they had been together for years.... I didn't know what to do with him at first, so I put him in the dog yard.

The next morning, there was a goat IN MY KITCHEN!! He is HUGE compared to our doggie door, and I have no idea how he managed to get in the kitchen! (I have pictures!!) Well, we now know to just let him hang with his horse pal, Moxie, and all is well....No more goats in the kitchen for me!!! You should have seen my bassets reaction to that. Their baying is what got me out of bed that morning!!! It was the funniest thing you have ever seen!!!

Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it!

 

[biscuit]

ha! right now, my neighbor is pasturing his horses on my land. a week or so ago, i went out and saw the prettiest little pygmy goat in with his horses.

well, i was just thrilled! i had goats for a while, but had to get rid of them because i accidentally taught them to be even better championship jumpers and escape artists than they already are.

so i was planning on rescuing the poor little lost goat. then ... i found out ... the little goatie is runnin' with the horses. it is absolutely hilarious and the sweetest thing i've ever seen.

i don't doubt you found a goatie in your kitchen. they're clever!!

in any case, keep us posted on Twinkie.

 

[Guest]

Twinkie is Recovering-Still at vet

So glad the surgery went well. Have no advice (sorry). That is one thing Tummy hasn't have yet. Battling yeast infection with him for last 2 mo.s and no end in site. Take care. Tummy Boy's Mom. for U.

 

[corvuss]

First and foremost, I'm glad Twinkie is on the mend!

Second, if I my be so bold as to suggest, you should tell the "Goat in the Kitchen" story on the general board, esp. if you can post pics with it. It's hilarious!
So far as I can tell, it's very Basset-related!

 

[Beverly Anne]

My father and his parents were off the boat from Ireland and even though they lived right in the heart of Boston my grandfather kept goats for milk. (It was considered to be a cure for ulcers) My poor aunts were always grousing that the goats followed them down to the trolley stop every morning when they went to work.
My Grandaddy was a cop and my "Ma" worked at night and they had 9 kids. One morning Ma was sleeping in bed and when she woke up one of the goats was in the bedroom trying to climb onto the bed with her!
Ulcer or not, no more goats!
Not particularly basset related but while we were sort of on a goat thread... :wink:
I second the water advice, especially where you live in the Sunshine State and the humidity and heat can really dehydrate a dog!

 

[LotzaBassetsmom]

Twinkie is on the mend

Thanks for all the replies. Once I figure out HOW to put a picture on a post, I will post the goat story on the main page.

Twinkie is home. She is sore, and not yet acting totally normal. But, today she took a cookie from me, which she didn't do last night. I think that is a good sign.

I still don't know what the stone was caused from. The analysis of that huge stone should be back in a week or so. I just hope it never happens again, or isn't heriditary, as I have her daugther, Suzi-Q and her sister BeeBee to worrry about if there are heridiitary factors involved.

Thanks again!

Penny

 

[biscuit]

oh goody! goatie pics!

here's how to post pics --- first, upload pics to a service. i use Flickr.

resize pics --- my preference is to resize to small because i'm on very slow dial-up and it takes an hour or so for me to load larger pics. :roll: thumbnail, though, is too small.

grab the URL of the pic. the URL of the pic I'll post below is http://static.flickr.com/64/183803051_7763deebf9_m.jpg

go to menu right above the box where you write your post and hit the Img button. that will put something that looks like [ img ] (i added spaces to it so it doesn't actually do anything). put the URL for the pic in. then click the Img button again, which will give you something that looks like [ /img ]

for my pic, the result looks something like this, except i added spaces so it doesn't really post the pic --- [ img ] http://static.flickr.com/64/183803051_7763deebf9_m.jpg [ /img ]

take the spaces away, though, and mwalla ...