Silica Urinary Stones

by Tina
(Washington)

Hi Dr. Schonbeck,
I have a 2 yr old Cairn Terrier that just had surgery 2 wks ago for bladder stones. The stones turned out to be silica. I have read that no diet will break up these kind of stones, but that leaving out the grain in the diet may help keep them from forming again. He is currently on Hills Rx diet s/d which is supposed to make him drink more water, but now I have read that he should not be taking in extra salt. The recommendation from the urolith lab is to feed Rx diet u/d or Rx diet d/d, but I also noticed that they get donations from Hills and I believe they may be biased. I have read conflicting info on whether he should have high protein or low protein. By eliminating grains I dont really see much choice but to feed high protein. I would like to get him and his brother (as yet no health issues) both on a good diet as soon as possible. Both dogs have been eating Pruina Little Bites all their lives. And they both have a tendency to eat dandelions and dirt which I have read could be part of the problem too. If you could give me any direction on the best food choice for both of them to hopefully prevent any further stones I would appreciate it.
And if anyone has any input on getting them to stop eating the dandelions and dirt I would appreciate that also. Short of not letting them outside by themselves I dont know what else to do.
Thanks so much,
Tina

My Comment:

Hi Tina

I have done a little study regarding silica stones, as this is actually new to me.
Yes, new as I know that it could be a problem but never have sen one patient with this kind of stones.

In a study I saw silica stones being found in 1% of the material - So, it is not that often seen. Struvite and calciumoxalate are far more common.

I tried to find statistic for European dogs to see if there is any difference between USA/Canada and Europe. I haven't been able to find any numbers at all.

You are quite right that they cant be dissolved by a special diet. The causative factors are not know either but grains, maize gluten and soy has been linked as possible important factors as they contain silica.

So, my advice would be to give a food containing no grains, no maize gluten and no soy. This would be grain free dog food as the first choice.

Weather protein is an important factor or not I haven't been able to find any information about.

I think that nobody know really whats the best. So, feed a grain free dog food and it might be a good idea to have x-rays taken in the furture (months) to see if any stones have "returned" - Then you be able to act before any emergencies happens.

Best regards and best wishes

Per Schonbeck