Research of Cystinuria in Bulldogs Looks for Genetic Cause

Purina Pro Club, Bulldog Update - Vol 1, No 1 - July 2007

“Ralph,” was a handsome, happy-go-lucky white Bulldog. He loved being with people. When he was about

22 months old, Ralph appeared to strain when he urinated. His owner, Jennifer Joseph, who lives in northern California, breeds Adamant Bulldogs and is familiar with health conditions that affect Bulldogs. She recognized Ralph’s straining as a sign of cystinuria, a disorder that causes cystine crystals and painful uroliths, or stones, that can lead to kidney, bladder or urinary tract obstruction.

Joseph took Ralph right away to the veterinarian. Ralph had surgery to remove multiple cystine uroliths from his bladder. “The stones had a sandstone feel to them,” Joseph recalls. “They were sent to a stone analysis laboratory and confirmed as being cystine uroliths.”

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