i haven't experienced this particular problem but i've had dogs in the past who didn't drink enough water. definitely check with your vet but flavoring your dog's water with low sodium broth should be fine.

you could also make your own bone broth. i make it with chicken and my dogs go crazy for it. when it cools, it turns to a consistency almost like jell-o. i give them a dollop on top of their kibble and during the winter, i will microwave it to warm it up and make it "pourable".

another thing you might consider is a fountain. i have one dog who started drinking more water because she seemed to like the "moving" water from the fountain. you can also accomplish the same thing by putting a small submersible aquarium pump in a bucket of water. my second dog won't drink from the fountain but he will drink from a bucket with a pump in it.

i have great danes so the fountain and the pump in the bucket keeping the water moving eliminates drool floating on the surface. of course, i change the bucket water every day but the fountain has a filter so i only have to take it apart and clean it once a week or so.

Has your dog been seen by a specialist? If not, if one is available nearby, I would seek a second opinion consultation with a specialist vet with qualifications in Internal Medicine (the designation in their title is DACVIM, listed after their name and their vet degree) to confirm the diagnosis and approach.

Elmer is right about seeing a specialist. I follow a dog on Instagram, who had bladder stones that wound up blocking him from urinating, and the toxins were backing up into his kidneys. He had to have surgery. I am not saying that such an outcome always happens, but I wouldn't let it get that far without an expert opinion.

Yeah, I kind of vote for the surgery too. I would think the dog might be in pain. The vet will probably recommend the special diet from then on.

My miniature schnauzer had bladder stones many years ago. He had surgery and that solved the problem. No prescription food needed. He recovered easily.

Thank you for your recommendations! There is no internal medicine vet specialist where I go or in the area where I live. For the time being both my vet and I are comfortable going the therapeutic food and medications route and reevaluate in a month.

I was told that even with the surgery, bladder stones can form again and I read on it and it is a fact. My dog is a lot more comfortable with the medications and is back playing and running again. Faftris who mentions a dog who had a blockage and severe complication must be male because female dogs rarely have this problem. They can pass the dissolved or small stones in their urine. Thanks again and will be making chicken broth tomorrow and mix it with the food and put some in the water.

You are correct--it was a male! I didn't know that gender made a difference. Good luck to your "baby".

We’ve had 2 dogs who had surgery to remove bladder stones. Both required surgery with a quick recovery. I remember that for one we also gave him a daily dose of a urine acidifier.

So....the dissolution diet was tried and all the small stones were gone at the time of the last xray and only one big one was left but it had diminished in size. I was very optimistic it will dissolve entirely and was to go at the end of the month for an x-ray. Yesterday my female dog could not pee so I was seen urgently at the vet hospital and she has had a cystotomy last night. What happened is that the remaining stone had traveled and lodged itself in my dog's urethra thus blocking the urine.

I am picking her up tomorrow. Hope all goes well with her recovery and I want to thank you all for your input on this.