At the end of the article, there are several paragraphs about Bichon health that need to be considered as a part of the total picture in treating Bichons with bladder infections and stones. In uroliths, these minerals may occur singly or in combination. In the past decade, an increased occurrence of calcium oxalate urolithiasis has been recognized in several breeds of dogs and several breeds of cats. The causes associated with this increased occurrence of calcium oxalate uroliths are currently under investigation. To date, studies indicate that multiple genetic, environmental, dietary and drug related factors may be involved.
Calcium oxalate is more likely to form in males, struvite is more likely to form in females .
These percentages refer to stones removed from Bichons and therefore they do not apply to all Bichons. Calcium oxalate uroliths are increasing in occurrence. Multiple factors are associated with this change in prevalence of mineral types in stones and studies are underway to identify risk factors. In dogs, struvite uroliths are primarily associated with a diagnosis of infections caused by urease producing bacteria. Although other factors may predispose a dog to struvite uroliths, bacterial infections with staphylococcus and other urease producing pathogens are clearly the most important.