Urate Stones Information

RBTclub Urate Stones

Urate Stones- Testing 18th Feb 2009 DNA testing is now available in the UK for Urate Stones-Uric Acid Excretion (Hyperuricosuria). details at; http://www.aht.org.uk/ A.H.T. Animal Health Trust. All that is required to have your dog tested is to take a cheek swab sample from your dogs mouth. We urge all RBT owners to apply for the swab and then we can move one step further to eradicate this health problem out of the breed which can be only be achieved by sensible breeding programmes.The club is here for the RBT’s health and its well being. The breed is relatively small in numbers here in the UK so please test your dog When you have had your RBT tested would you please send your results to Pat Moncur patmoncur@btinternet.com or Hon Sec Janet Huxley Janet@robroyd.co.uk

More on Urate Stones Jan H; I wrote to friends as I knew their RBT was suffering Urate Stones and I wondered how he was after his operation. This is the letter I received. ‘We had the certificate back from the AHT on Friday confirming that he is affected with Urate Stone Disorder, but we already knew as much anyway as when he was referred to Davies Veterinary Specialists, they ran their own tests and scans which showed stones in his bladder and also stuck in his urethra. I will scan a copy of the certificate and e-mail it to you for your records’. ‘They have successfully removed the stones from his bladder, but unfortunately, they were unable to remove the ones in his urethra as the stones had fused with it. This meant that, eventually, he would be unable to pass water at all and the only solution was to carry out 2 further operations. The first was to tie off his urethra, which as you can imagine was a very delicate procedure. Following this, to enable him to pass water properly, they had to pass a tube from his urinary tract out below his urethra, which meant that he also had to be castrated to allow access for the tube’. ‘This means that he now passes water the same way a female does, from the rear by squatting. It was an awful decision for us to make, but after considering that if we didn't have this done, he would have been in serious pain and danger of death, we felt it was the right thing to do. He stayed in hospital for 2 weeks under 24 hour supervision and we have now had him home for 2 weeks. He is in brilliant condition and it does not seem to have affected him in the slightest so we now know that we made the right choice, albeit a difficult one’. ‘Please, please make sure you tell as many of the other owners as you can as, hopefully, they will be able to avoid the situation getting to this stage if they can catch it early enough. The specialist told us that there was no way we would have known any earlier, as he was still not showing any signs of discomfort, and hopefully that means he was in no pain beforehand’. ‘I hope I have managed to explain everything clearly, I'm sure you will probably understand it better than me anyway! Thank you so much for all your help and support, luckily we caught it in time to still be able to do something about it and he seems really happy and relaxed still!!! He doesn't seem to understand yet that our other dog (sadly died of cancer) won't be coming home, but we are hoping he will be ok. He is proving a great support with cuddles for us at the moment. Once again, please keep in touch as when we decide the time is right to get another companion for our big lad, we would really love it to be another RBT’...