Symptoms
Typical symptoms include:
- Straining to urinate (stranguria)
- Blood in the urine (hematuria)
- Urinating small amounts frequently (pollakiuria)
There might also be excess urination (polyuria), pain in the rear quarters, reluctance to jump or play, or even lethargy and a poor appetite. Some pets can have bladder stones without any apparent symptoms at all!.
The bladder stones can pass out of the bladder and lodge in the urethra, especially in male dogs due to the smaller diameter of their urethra. In some cases they can block the flow of urine, which is a medical emergency. This will cause problems with the kidneys, leading to the buildup of toxic waste products. Common areas for these urethral obstructions are the ischial arch near the pelvis and further down the urethra at the os penis. Both of these areas have small diameter urethras that do not expand to allow passage of a stone. You will learn more about this later.
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