Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 8/31/2007

Question
I have a 5 year old black lab/springer spaniel who had occasional blood in his urine. He has been to see a
Vet and he took x-rays to check for stones which he had none. He gave some antibiotics and things
cleared up after a few days. However, after a few weeks to a month it came back. It comes and goes and
doesn't seem to bother him. He is in good health and gets plenty of exercise and isn't over weight. I got
him some urine acidifier from Foster& Smiths on the internet and that took care of it. I give him two
tablets 500 mg DL-Methionine twice/day. However, it has returned again. There were 2 or 3 days lately
where I have forgotten to give the tablets twice/day as recommended. I just want a professional opinion.
The Vet I took him to didn't seem very interested after he determined that there were no stones.
Thank you very much for your time and thank you for being an all-expert.
Chris

Answer
There are many reasons for blood in the urine.  Stones are only one of them.  If the vet took regular X-rays and did not see any stones, then they didn't rule out radiolucent stones.  These are bladder stones that don't show up on a regular X-ray, but can show up on a contrast study of the bladder or on an ultrasound. Antibiotics and urinary acidifiers help smooth out some rough stones. Did your vet do a bacterial culture to see if there really is an infection? Also, prostate problems can cause occasional bleeding into the urine.

If your vet is not helping, then you may need the help of another vet that will take an interest in diagnosing your dog or you can ask your vet for a referral to a board certified veterinary internist.