why do struvite crytals form in canine bladders?

why do struvite crytals form in canine bladders?

Because some dogs can't process the food they are eating. I take it maybe that your dog had bladder stones?

It can be either metabolic or diet related (typically diet), as some breeds for unknown reasons are more prone to stones than others. Ultimately they dont maintain proper pH in there urine.

Struvite crystals form most often bcause of a combination of certain bacterial infections, urea and an alkaline environment. They are common in dogs and cats.These types of crystals are more common during bladder infections, but they are not unusual in normal urine as well. Some breeds of dogs are more prone to these types of crystals, and in rare cases they can form as a metabolic problem. However, they are more often formed as the result of a bladder infection with certain types of bacteria. Not all dogs or cats with struvite crystals in their urine form stones, but the longer the crystals remain, and the greater the concentration, the more likely a stone will form.Struvite crystals form more readily in urine that is alkaline (pH greater than 7/neutral.So what is struvite? Struvite is the name given to the crystal composed of Magnesium, Ammonium, and Phosphate. It's also called Triple Phosphate, but this name isn't really accurate.As I said before, struvite requires an alkaline environment to form. Urine contains many biochemicals. One very important biochemical excreted in urine is urea. When urine is infected with bacteria that are able to digest urea, urea is broken down into ammonia (NH3). Ammonia in water ionizes into NH4+ (ammonium). Ammonia is toxic to the cells of the urinary bladder, and this sets up an inflammatory reaction along with the inflammation caused by the infection itself. This inflammatory response causes the release of proteins which form a matrix that the struvite crystals use to "clump" and form a stone. This reaction can only take place in an alkaline environment, but the ammonia generated by the breakdown of urea creates just the alkalinity (pH) needed to start the crystals/stones forming.Typically, when I find a urine chemistry on a cat or dog that has a high pH and indicators for infection (positive for nitrates, WBC's/blood and/or protein), I run a sediment test. For that I spin down an aliquot of the urine sample and pour off all but a drop or two of the liquid. Then I resuspend the remaining drop (tap it on the counter or thump it with my finger) and look at it under the microscope. Very often, I'll find struvite, bacteria and maybe some red or white blood cells. At that point, the vet will prescribe antibiotics like amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (Clavamox-tm) or clindamycin and an acidifying diet to lower the pH. Then we recheck a few weeks later to make sure the crystals are going away. If we find a very large number of crystals, we will do an X-ray to rule out a stone. Even if we do find one, we can sometimes resolve it with a diet like Hill's s/d or an acidifying medicine. We also check to make sure we haven't developed the "opposite" problem... oxalate stones and crystals from too LOW a pH!!