Bladder stones

So back in June/July my dog had some xrays done and they showed she has developed stones again (has had 2 surgeries, on a special diet, but they keep coming back). They also saw some in her urethra and it showed her kidney was enlarged. I cant afford the thousands of dollars surgery to remove them from her urethra. Shes still peeing but with struggle. Sometimes small amounts sometimes huge amounts. Pees blood sometimes. You can tell shes in pain. I found this stuff called break it up and was wondering if anyone knows if it can break up the stones in her urethra. Ive seen great reviews about it breaking up the stones in the bladder but nothing about the urethra. Anyone heard of this or know?

Hello - I do not know the answer to your question (speculation to follow) but my biggest question is what made you ask this here? - given that you must have been consulting with some experienced vets who have found the stones.  My first advice would be to ask them for their recommendation.   In general: stones can cause blockages, which can lead to urine being unable to pass along tubes and this can be life threatening, because the kidneys will continue to churn out urine (rather like blocking the major water-waste pipe leaving a house - water will continue to come down the drains, even if there is a blockage somewhere below them).  Unfortunately, the back-pressure from all this fluid with no-where to go can be extremely problematic, leading to bladder damage or kidney damage if the blockage is in the ureter.  (I would also like to double-check that the stone is in the urethra, not one ureter, with your mentioning an enlarged kidney - there is little reserve between the ureter and kidney, so kidneys can be damaged extremely fast by back-pressure).  With all this in mind, a vital question for your vets - which you may have asked already - is whether there is time to try to dissolve the crystals, or whether they ought to be subject to more direct methods in the short-term.  Assuming that your vet thinks there is time, the next question is about the food and alternative foods.  Always run special diets past the vet first:  there is no regulation on dog-food in the UK;  nor are there rules about what goes into a stone-breaker diet - especially when it is written in inverted commas.  It is important to get this right for your dog and important that any food will help to break down the same sort of crystals are are in your dogs' bladder - error can be very costly in these cases.   I hope that something here helps.  Best wishes to both of you and please let us know how you get on.

NB checking my wording there;  whether the stone is in the ureter or urthera, back-pressure on the kidneys can be a real problem.