Reasons Why Your Dog May Have Blood in His Urine

Any good and responsible pet owner will naturally be alarmed to see blood in their pet's urine. There are a number of reasons why this happens and the most common causes are listed below. Whatever reason, visit your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Kidney or bladder stones

Stones are minerals or chemicals that have gathered and solidified over time in the urinary tract. Having these stones makes it difficult and causes strain in the dog during urination, especially of the stones are big enough to block the urinary tract. Medical treatments are available to break and dissolve these stone, surgery being the last option.

Infections

It could be infection of the urinary tract, bladder, kidney, or of the prostate. It could range from minor to serious infection, usually treated with antibiotics. Female dogs are more prone to urinary tract infections because they have shorter urethras (the canal from the bladder where the urine is discharged) than male dogs, easier for the bacteria to travel up the urinary tract.

Prostate inflammation for the male dogs is also caused by bacterial infection. Blood usually comes at the end of the dog's urination. The dog may also be feverish in this case. He will urinate more than usual, with strain. Other symptoms include swollen penis and testicles.

Bladder inflammation is similar, accompanied with a burning sensation that will make your dog want to urinate more than usual even if no actual urine comes out. There are cases when mucus comes out along with the blood in the urine.

Another type of infection is candida or yeast infection. This will have other symptoms like rashes or other skin problems, diarrhea, bad breath, and gas.

Tumors or Neoplasia

These abnormal tissue growths can be found in the bladder, prostate, kidneys, or the urethra. They can be cancerous or non-cancerous, both types of which can cause blood to show up in the urine.

Injury or trauma

Your pet dog might have figured in some accident serious enough to cause internal injuries, which in turn could cause internal bleeding of some of its organs. It is highly unlikely that any accident of this kind would have gone unnoticed by you as soon as it happened. Bring your dog to the veterinarian as soon as possible to have it checked.

Poisoning

Your dog could have ingested some poison and this can also cause blood in the urine to be present although other symptoms like vomiting, lack of appetite, obvious pain and discomfort will show up first.

Article Resource: Elena Bautista
Reference: Blood in Dogs Urine - Big Paws Only