# Cystine Stones



## sal101011 (Jan 17, 2010)

Help, i have a friend who has a lab, this poor dog has been crying from what seems to be stomach cramps, she took him to the vet, and vet told her he has cystine stones, vet recommended that the dog be on flagel indefinitely (which i thought was inappropriate) has anyone come across a similar situation. After my research, i realized that high protien diets ignites crystalization which will eventually form into stones and also dehydration. Thus far, the recommendation i gave her was to have the dog be put on a low protein diet and make sure he has plenty of water by his side. Hopefully this will limit the crystalization from forming, but not sure what to do about the existing stones since they need to be dissolved / removed. Any ideas?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

It was probably recommended to start the dog on antibiotics because of secondary infection associated with the stones. These stone form from a genetic defect in renal tubule reabsorption of cystine so it becomes highly accumulated in the urine forming stones. Typically this is a sex-linked trait that affects male dogs. Stones most often need to be removed surgically or disloved, but I think surgical removal is a better and more effective way to get rid of them. 

What kind of food was this dog getting?


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## Ruudog (Jul 16, 2010)

I had this issue with my Dalmation years back. The stones had to be removed surgically. I changed his diet to raw and ever since I feed nothing else to my dogs. Giving large amounts of water to the dog with these stones are not a good idea. The stones could gather up and cause the dog problems. My dog had these and his bladder kept retaining water as when urinating he was unable to release all the urine. The stones gathered and caused a blockage. It could become serious if not taken care of or kept a eye on.


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