February 14, 2001
Prepared by Kennalea B. Pratt

Kennalea Pratt and Bob Baws, the AMSC Urinary Health Committee, are unable to attend the 2001 Chicago board meeting and are submitting this report for the board’s approval.

Our committee’s initial efforts are twofold: gathering confirmed veterinary information from vet centers specializing in canine stone forming, including that of Miniature Schnauzers, and preparing educational material so breeders and owners have access to the latest, most updated treatment and prevention of urinary stones. We have chosen stones as our primary thrust because it has been a well-known and unresolved historic problem in our breed. Current statistics (spanning the past 25 years and 88,000 canine stone cases, including those of Miniature Schnauzers) from the two U.S. centers specializing in canine stone forming show that our breed’s numbers of stones are alarming! These two centers have developed splendid specialized methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention, often without surgery; however, these advances are not well known among miniature schnauzer breeders and owners, nor their general practice veterinarians.

We have been in contact with the three nationally acknowledged veterinarian specialists in canine stone forming: CARL A. OSBORNE, DVM, PHD, CHIEF, Minnesota Urolith Center, Dept. of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University Of Minnesota Veterinary School; JOSEPH BARTGES, DVM, PHD, Dept. of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee; and GERALD V. LING, DVM, CHIEF, Urinary Stone Analysis Laboratory, U. California Center at Davis, Dept of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University Of California at Davis. Both Dr. Osborne and Dr. Bartges have indicated a desire to assist our committee and to discuss researching stones in Miniature Schnauzers. They have also stated an interest in less invasive treatment of stones, especially methods to avoid surgery.

We are in frequent contact with Carroll H. Weiss, Director of the Study Group on Urinary Stones, Health & Research Committee, Dalmatian Club of America. We feel particularly fortunate to have Carroll as our committee’s mentor, as he has spearheaded a most successful effort to address stone problems in Dalmatians during his 10 years tenure as committee head. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Dermatology at the University of Miami School of Medicine, and his lifetime education and career in the medical sciences have made him especially understanding of the scientific reasons for canine stone forming. Carroll has requested that all contacts and questions be funneled to him through Kennalea alone so that assisting us does not interfere with his own work.

Very briefly, Miniature Schnauzers are predisposed to forming three types of stones: struvite (usually due to urinary tract infections to which Miniature Schnauzers are predisposed), calcium oxalate (more common in middle-aged to older dogs - especially males), and urate (most common in puppies and/or young adults, usually in association with a portal vascular anomaly where an abnormal blood vessel bypasses the liver). Miniature Schnauzers are cited in the databases of both the University of MN and the University of CA at Davis as one of the top four small-type breeds at risk for stone formation. There is thus confirmed statistical breed wide evidence that urinary stone forming is a serious and out-of-proportion problem in our breed. The statistics from the two U.S. centers specializing in this canine health problem are unfortunately there and evident, much as we would wish otherwise.

In 1998 and 1999, a five-part series of articles appeared in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY RESEARCH, written by University of CA Stone Center specialists, reporting that of 11,000 stone-forming dogs in their study, 2568 were Miniature Schnauzers. In 1999, the University of Minnesota Stone Center (with 77,000 plus stone-forming dogs in their database) reported that Miniature Schnauzers account for 47% of stone-forming small-type dogs, with small-type dogs in turn accounting for 58% of the total stone formers. Struvite stones account for 54% of total stones (all types) reported, with Miniature Schnauzers accounting for 22% of the struvite stones. We are especially alarmed by data that Miniature Schnauzers account for 22.7% of the reported cases of stone development in the upper renal system (kidney & ureters) where treatment and prevention are extraordinarily expensive and less successful. Indeed, statistics clearly show that our breed is #1 in the number of upper renal system stones, with the #2 breed accounting for only 9.5%.

According to University of MN statistics, Miniature Schnauzers rank in the top four dog breeds forming both struvite and calcium oxalate stones. Of the total stone cases (all types) in Miniature Schnauzers, 67% were struvite. Struvite has been the #1 stone reported in all breeds and is now declining; however, an unexplained and increasing number of calcium oxalate is being reported. (The other types of stones are not discussed here for sake of brevity.) The point we wish to make is that according to all statistics available, Miniature Schnauzers have a very high likelihood of becoming stone formers.

It is important, with the shock of these confirmed veterinary statistics, to also realize that there have been breakthroughs in preventing the reoccurrence of stones, in treating stones non-surgically and/or with less invasive surgery than in years past. Since veterinarian education is generalized and does not cover extensive breed-specific information on stones, breeders must be proactive in seeking out information specific to Miniature Schnauzers and sharing it with their veterinarians.

There is an extraordinary amount of data now available on stones, as well as many recent advances to alleviate the problems of individual stone-affected dogs. Although this report is brief, we hope that you will remember these two things:

1. If urinary stones, gravel or sediment are obtained either by surgery or spin out during a urinalysis' centrifuging, they should be sent to one of the vet centers specializing in stone forming. (The Minnesota Stone Center does not charge for analyses.) There is a reported error rate as high as 85% in analyses by local laboratories! Many dogs develop more than one type of stone, with the treatment for one type being contraindicated for another thereby making it imperative to have each instance of stone occurrence analyzed. Because proper treatment is directly related to the type of stone/crystals the dog is forming, this identification of stones is very important and its accuracy essential for the success of preventative measures and/or treatment.

2. If your dog is forming sediment or stones, have your veterinarian contact one of the veterinarian specialists for breed specific information and the latest state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment of urinary stones. Do not contact them yourself! The veterinary specialists will need advanced technical information about the dog, and only your veterinarian has the technical knowledge to utilize their expert advice. The names and addresses of the three nationally recognized experts in the field of canine urinary disease are given below for your veterinarian’s use. We cannot reinforce too strongly that if these experts are to remain available for consultation, it is important that we leave all contacts to our veterinarians!

CARL A. OSBORNE, DVM, PHD, CHIEF
Minnesota Urolith Center
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
University of Minnesota Veterinary School
C-339 Veterinary Hospitals
1352 Boyd Avenue.
St. Paul MN 55108
Telephone (612) 625-4221
Fax (612) 624-0751
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Urology Laboratory for assay results:
Telephone (area 612) 625-1919

GERALD V. LING, DVM, CHIEF
Urinary Stone Analysis Laboratory
University of California Center at Davis
Department of Medicine
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of California at Davis
Davis CA 95616
Telephone (916) 752-3558
Fax (916) 752-0414
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JOSEPH BARTGES, DVM, PH.D
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Tennessee
P.O. Box 1071
Knoxville TN 37901-1071
Telephone: (423) 974-8387
Fax: (423) 974-5554
E-Mail: JBARTGES @UTK.EDU

We plan to report more data, statistics, information and advice in the near future. Feel free to contact us with your concerns and questions. Our combined efforts can improve the health of our breed and relieve suffering in stone-affected Miniature Schnauzers.

Sincerely,

Kennalea B. Pratt & Bob Baws
535 E. Woodland
Springfield, MO. 65807
Telephone: (home after 7:30 PM CST) 417-883-0570
(work-direct line) 417-895-7855
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