kidney failure in dogs urine color

What Does Your Dogs Urine Color Mean?

Liquid gold. Thats the nickname for urine I was taught in veterinary medical school. We learned urine could provide us with such valuable insight into a patients health, that it was worth its weight in gold. We also learned that the color and consistency of urine, from light yellow to black and clear to cloudy, signaled health or illness. If youve ever pondered what your dogs pee color meant, heres a description of your dogs urine spectrum.What is normal urine color for dogs?The normal color of urine from a healthy dog or cat is transparent yellow. Veterinarians sometimes refer to this color as straw yellow, pale gold, amber, or clear yellow. The most accurate way to assess urine color is to examine it in a clear plastic or glass container against a white background. Urine is made as a normal result of metabolism and removal of cellular wastes. Normal urine is sterile and the color can vary depending on what your pet has recently eaten or drunk. If youre wondering why urine is yellow, its due to the presence of a substance called urochrome which is excreted by the kidneys. What do different shades of yellow mean?The intensity of yellow color in normal, clear urine indicates the concentration or dilution of urine. In simplest terms, dilute urine is associated with increased water excretion and concentrated urine correlates with less water. Dilute urine will be almost colorless while highly concentrated urine is bright yellow, amber or honey colored. Minor daily variations in yellow shouldnt alarm you. Persistent color changes lasting more than a couple of days should be brought to your veterinarians attention. Colorless or bright-yellow urine can also be associated with certain medical conditions. In general, yellowish urine is normal. What if my dogs urine is dark yellow?Its not unusual for a dogs urine color to be dark yellow. However, if your dog has dark or bright yellow urine, especially after a long day outdoors, it could signal a need to consume more water. What if my dogs urine is dark enough to look orange?Dark yellow is typically normal in most pets. If the urine is more orange, it may be associated with a condition known as icterus or jaundice. Orange urine may be the result of:

• Damaged red blood cells
• Liver disease
• Severe dehydration
• Bile duct problems
• Gallbladder problems
• Pancreatic problems

If your pet has orange colored pee, additional blood and urine tests need to be performed immediately.What if my dogs urine is red, pink, red/brown, or red/orange urineRed or pink urine is often caused by a urinary tract infection. Many times you will also notice the urine is cloudy or turbid. Other reasons for reddish urine include feline lower urinary tract disorder, cystitis, bleeding or clotting diseases, trauma and cancer. Red urine clearly indicates your dog needs additional diagnostic tests to determine the cause of color change. What if my dogs urine is brown to black Brown to black urine can signal something serious has happened. The dark color can be due to blood cell damage releasing hemoglobin, muscle damage from trauma, or toxins such as onions, garlic, zinc, or acetaminophen (Tylenol). If your dogs urine changes color, seek veterinary help If your dogs urine changes hue, call your veterinarian. A simple urinalysis will determine if your dog requires additional tests, and appropriate treatment. Youre most likely to observe color changes associated with uncomfortable urinary tract infections (UTIs) and painful cystitis. The sooner you treat, the less discomfort your loved one will suffer.

Next learn why your veterinarian might want a urine sample from your dog >>

If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian -- they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets.

References:

1. Clinical Veterinary Advisor Dogs and Cats Third Edition, Etienne Ct DVM, DACVIM Editor-in-chief. Elsevier 2015 pp. 1272, 1440-1441

Kidney Disease in Dogs: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment

Your dogs kidneys are essential organs that filter waste products from the bloodstream. When the kidneys are weakened, either by acute or chronic kidney disease, your dogs health could suffer. Because kidney disease progresses over time, its important to learn the common symptoms so tha you can recognize them. If you catch kidney disease in dogs early on, treatment can slow down the progression and allow your dog to live longer.

What Is Kidney Disease in Dogs?

Kidney disease in dogs is sometimes called renal or kidney insufficiency because it occurs when a dogs kidneys stop doing their job as efficiently as they should. The main job of the kidneys is to help clear and excrete waste products from the blood and convert them to urine, says Dr. Jerry Klein, Chief Veterinary Officer for the AKC. If the kidneys are not working properly, these waste products can build up in the blood, causing detrimental effects.

Dogs can get either acute kidney disease, which develops suddenly, or chronic kidney disease (CKD), which develops slowly and worsens over an extended period. Both involve loss of kidney function, but they result from different circumstances. Acute kidney disease is a sudden attack or injury to the kidney, whereas chronic kidney disease is a slow, degenerative loss of kidney function, Dr. Klein explains.

What Causes Kidney Disease in Dogs?

Dr. Klein warns that kidney disease could be caused by a lot of things, including infection (such as with the bacteria that causes leptospirosis), trauma, genetics, drugs, toxins, cancer, mechanical obstructions (like kidney stones), and degenerative diseases (where the job and form of the affected body part get worse over time). Anything that decreases blood flow to the kidneys, such as dehydration or heatstroke, can cause the kidneys to fail.

Acute kidney disease in dogs can be caused by exposure to hazardous materials, including toxic plants such as lilies, certain drugs, harmful foods such as grapes or raisins, or antifreeze. Puppy-proofing your home and yard can keep your dog away from potentially harmful items or foods that could be toxic.

Chronic kidney disease in dogs is also associated with growing older. Because kidney tissue cant regenerate once its damaged, the kidneys can wear out over time. As small-breed dogs often live longer than large-breed dogs, they tend to show early signs of kidney disease at an older age10 years old or more, compared to as young as 7 for the large breeds.

What Are the Symptoms of Kidney Disease in Dogs?

The earliest signs of kidney disease in dogs are increased urination and therefore increased thirst. Other symptoms dont usually become apparent until about two-thirds of the kidney tissue is destroyed. So, in the case of CKD, the damage may have begun months or even years before the owner notices. Because of this, its common for the signs of kidney disease in dogs to seem like they came out of the blue when in fact, the kidneys have been struggling for a long time.

Other signs of chronic kidney disease in dogs to watch for include:

Dr. Klein says there are some rarer symptoms of kidney disease in dogs to be aware of, as well. On occasion, there can be abdominal painurinary obstructions or stonesand in certain instances, one can see ulcers in the oral or gastric cavity. In extreme cases, little or no urine is produced at all.

What Are the Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease in Dogs?

Kidney disease in dogs is measured in stages. Many veterinarians use the IRIS scale, which has four stages. Blood work measurements like creatinine and SDMA (biomarkers for kidney function) allow your vet to assign your dog to a particular stage which will determine the exact treatment.

Dr. Klein explains, The stages determine how well the kidneys can filter waste and extra fluid from the blood. As the stages go up, the kidney function worsens. In the early stages of CKD, the kidneys are still able to filter out waste from the blood. In the latter stages, the kidneys must work harder to filter the blood and in late stages may stop working altogether.

How Is Kidney Disease in Dogs Treated?

Dialysis (a medical procedure that removes waste products and extra fluid from the blood) is far more common in humans than in dogs, although peritoneal (kidney) dialysis can be performed in some cases. On rare occasions, surgical kidney transplant is possible in dogs.

But Dr. Klein specifies that depending on the type and stage of kidney disease, the main treatments for CKD are diet changes and administration of fluids, either directly into the veins (intravenous) or under the skin (subcutaneous). The balancing and correction of electrolytes are extremely important in the management of kidney patients, he explains.

Proper nutrition is needed, and there are many available diets formulated for cats and dogs with kidney issues, some by prescription only. Your veterinarian can help guide you to the most appropriate diet for your pet.

Because kidney disease, particularly in the late stages, can cause a dog to lose their appetite, it can be difficult to encourage your dog to eat enough. Dr. Klein advises, There are medications used as appetite stimulators available, such as the prescription drug mirtazapine. Capromorelin has recently been FDA-approved for dogs to address appetite in chronic kidney disease.

When Do You Need to Call Your Vet?

The prognosis and expected life span for a dog with kidney disease depend on the type of disease, the speed of progression, and underlying conditions present in the dog. However, the more serious the disease, the poorer the outcome. Thats why its so crucial to catch the illness early on.

According to Dr. Klein, In chronic kidney disease, there are methods, such as diets and medications, that can be used to lessen the burden of work the kidneys need to do and may help slow down the progression from one stage to the next. In acute kidney disease, there is less time and fewer choices available to prevent further damage to the kidneys and to try to jump-start the kidneys to get them to function normally.

Regular veterinary exams, including bloodwork, are an excellent way to spot kidney problems before the outward symptoms become apparent. And if you notice any of the above signs, dont hesitate to get your dog to the vet for further testing. It can make a huge difference in preserving kidney function and your dogs well-being for as long as possible.

Dog Urine Color: What Does Your Dogs Urine Color Mean?

Understanding the meaning of dogs urine color is an advantage for dog owners to act quickly on possible conditions their pets may have. Urination can actually be deemed a dogs natural way of communicating what it feels.

A dog urine color chart is a handy and effective tool to assess your dogs health by examining its urine color. Each color provides an indication of an underlying illness and lets you prepare an early remedy for it.

This article should give you an upper hand in maintaining the well-being of your dog through insights on each urine color, what to do when you encounter these, and even how to properly collect and examine your dogs urine.

What Is a Normal Urine Color for Dogs?

The normal urine of a healthy dog has a pale or transparent yellow color. It should also be a clear liquid or without any particles in it. If it turns out to be of any other color or is cloudy, that is an indication that something is wrong, and you should seek veterinary advice immediately.

This transparent yellow color in a dogs pee is brought about by a pigmented substance produced by the dogs kidneys, called urochrome. The hydration level of your dog determines the concentration of this substance.

If your dog drinks enough water, the volume of the dog pee increases and dilutes the substance more, leading to a pale yellow color.

Consequently, less water intake gives more concentrated or dark yellow urine, which is unhealthy.

Hence, a light yellow color of your dogs pee should make you confident that your dog is healthy and void of any illnesses. However, it is a good practice to keep monitoring your pets urine for any changes.

Dog Urine Color Chart: Urine Colors, Causes & What to Do

A dogs urine color may range from transparent to dark yellow and, in some instances, even red, orange, blue, and black. Each of these colors is an indication of your dogs overall health status.

The table below gives an overview of each dog urine color and what causes it:

Transparent or Clear

A transparent dog urine color is an indication that your dog has been drinking a lot or also known as polydipsia. As an effect, it may cause frequent urination or polyuria.

This overhydration may result in dilute urine and blood consistency. In dilute urine, the urine volume is doubled, and this causes the urochrome to dissolve almost totally, giving your dogs pee a colorless appearance.

When blood is diluted, it can impact how electrolytes and other chemical compounds are distributed all over the body.

If this condition persists, it may further lead to chemical imbalance and blood pressure problems.

Even worse, when the dogs red blood cells become overhydrated, it can trigger high blood volume, leading to kidney problems.

Reducing your dogs water intake should bring your dogs pee back to a healthy color. If no change happens upon monitoring, the clear urine may be due to a kidney or liver disease.

If these organs are unable to filter toxins out of the dogs body properly, this is already fatal, and taking your dog to the veterinarian immediately should be the next course of action.

Pale Yellow

If your dog pees a clear pale or light yellow color, you can be confident that you have a healthy dog! This also means that you are doing a good job in giving your dog proper hydration.

It is also important to note that the normal color of urine may change throughout the day, which may not necessarily mean something is wrong. Urine in dogs may be affected by the dogs diet, hydration, and exercise.

Keep monitoring your dogs urine color, and so long as it goes back to a healthy dogs pee color, then no need to be alarmed.

However, if your dogs urine does not normalize after a couple of days, you should already check with your vet.

Dark Yellow

When dogs urinate a dark yellow color, that is a warning sign that your pet is dehydrated. The dark or bright yellow color is a manifestation of concentrated urine, and you need to give your dog more water.

If the dark urine turns to a clear yellow or a straw yellow color after proper hydration, then you dont need to worry too much.

However, if it doesnt return to a normal color, watch out for the possibility of liver or kidney diseases.

If you also notice that the dogs urine smells bad on top of its bright yellow or dark color, this signifies the presence of urea produced by the liver.

This means that the chance of your dog having liver or kidney disease is strong, and you need to bring your dog to the vet immediately.

Orange

An orange urine color is a cause of concern since this indicates a severe health issue with your dog that needs to be addressed immediately.

One such illness that causes orange urine is jaundice. This gives your dog a yellow discoloration in certain areas of its body due to a high concentration of bilirubin caused by the breakdown of hemoglobin in red blood cells.

Orange urine is also seen in dogs with chronic medical conditions, such as liver disease, pancreas disorders, and gall bladder issues.

Further, a dogs urine color will turn orange too when suffering from severe dehydration. This is due to the very high level of concentrated urine in the dogs bladder.

Given the severity of the medical conditions associated with the orange urine color, there is no other approach but to involve your veterinarian the soonest for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Brown or Black

If you see your dog pee black or brown urine, do not think twice about bringing it to the vet immediately.

This is a clear hint of critical medical conditions that need to be diagnosed through blood and urine tests and require immediate treatment.

Damaged red blood cells are one of the main culprits of the brown color of dog urine. This brown urine is due to the hemoglobin released in the breakdown of red blood cells.

Exposure to toxic substances will also cause your dog to pee in brown or black urine. Keep poisons or toxins out of reach from your dogs, such as onions and garlic, zinc, and acetaminophen.

If your dogs urine is dark brown to dark red, that may also be a sign of muscle inflammation or muscle damage. The dogs urine will contain myoglobin from the damaged muscles responsible for its brown color.

Other acute factors that may cause urine in dogs to be black or brown are urinary tract infection (UTI), internal organ damage, and severe dehydration.

Further, old blood can cause your dogs pee to turn brown. This may be due to previous conditions like bladder stones, bladder infections, kidney infections, and tumors.

Red or Pink

A red or pink color of urine means that blood is present in the dogs urine and is called hematuria. This condition should be urgently treated since some conditions leading to blood in dog pee are life-threatening.

Some critical illnesses that lead to red or pink urine in dogs are acute urinary tract infections, liver diseases, kidney stones, parasite infections, tumors, bruising, and blood clots.

A less serious cause of red urine in dogs would be because of what they eat. Certain foods like beetroots will give your dogs urine a reddish tint or a pinkish tint. This discolored urine should go back to normal after at least 24 hours.

Blue or Green

A blue or green dog urine is a sign of a serious condition in your pet, like chronic liver or kidney diseases, gall bladder issues, and urinary tract infections. These conditions require immediate attention from your vet.

Further, a common cause of green urine in a dogs pee is hemolytic anemia. The process of hemolysis produces a green pigment, giving your dog that green pee color.

Diet also plays a part in why your dog urinates a green hue. If your dog eats too much wild grass, or a plant-based diet rich in chlorophyll, expect a greenish tint in its urine, which should reverse to normal after some time.

How to Increase Water Intake in Your Dog

Dehydration in dogs is a serious health condition, which could lead to organ failure, loss of consciousness, and even death.

This health condition should be detected early, and you can do it just by looking at your dogs urine color. When your dogs urine is dark yellow, orange, or brown, it is time to increase your dogs water intake.

Here are effective ways to encourage your dog to drink more water:

• Exercise your dog to build up its thirst.
• Give it ice cubes to gnaw on. This should keep it busy while being hydrated.
• Give it a dedicated water bowl for familiarity and to encourage discipline in drinking.
• Add water to your dogs kibble or mix it with canned food to add moisture to your dogs diet.
• Include non-toxic fruits in your dogs water bowl to motivate them to drink.
• Occasionally switch your dogs water with meat broth or any safe and flavored alternative to add variety to its drink. However, avoid giving drinks that have excessive sugar to avoid health complications.
• If your dog is hard-headed, use a syringe to give it water.

As your dog drinks more water, expect it to have clear urine that has a light or pale yellow color.

How to Collect and Assess Your Dogs Urine

Assessing your dogs health status through its urine should be done properly to achieve the most accurate diagnosis. This begins with the proper collection of your dogs urine sample.

When taking urine samples, it is best to get the first sample of the day before all the bacteria and chemicals in your dogs urine are flushed out.

The most convenient approach to collecting a dogs urine sample at home is through the free catch method.

Using a clean container, simply catch the urine as the dog pees, then transfer it to a urine tube or glass container.

You can then quickly check the urines color by holding it against a plain white background. However, note that this is not the most sterile way of obtaining a sample.

This method has a high risk of contamination since the collected urine passes through the urethra, then the genital skin before it can be obtained.

Hence, the urine sample obtained through this method may be contaminated by bacteria unrelated to a bladder infection.

Alternatively, cystocentesis may be done to get a direct sample from your dogs bladder. This method uses ultrasound to obtain a sterile urine sample. This is a very accurate method but it needs to be executed by your vet.

Urine culture and sensitivity may even be done to identify the type of bacteria present in the urine so that the right type of antibiotic may be given to remedy the dogs bladder infections.

Using this method, the presence of bacteria in your dogs urine sample is a clear indication of bacterial infection in its bladder.

Here is a demonstration of how to properly collect sample urine for your vets assessment:

Other Signs of Unhealthy Urine

Color is not the only way to check the well-being of your dog through its urine.

Monitoring your dogs urinary habits and closely observing other aspects of your dogs urine can give clues to what your dog may be experiencing.

Here are other signs of unhealthy urine in dogs:

• Straining: Struggling to pee is a sign that there is an obstruction in your dogs urinary system or tract. Both male and female dogs are equally susceptible to having these blockages, such as scarring, kidney stones, tumors, or inflammation. In male dogs, this may also be due to an overly enlarged prostate.
• Dribbling: Dribbling isalso known as leaking urine, a possible sign of urinary tract infection. Though this may not be regarded as an emergency, this situation can be very uncomfortable for you and your dog.
• Frequent urination: Monitoring the urine frequency of your dog is an effective way to catch underlying health issues. Frequent urination is usually an indication of urinary tract or kidney infections, bladder stones, and liver failure. On the other hand, less serious causes of this condition may be due to overhydration and changes in weather.
• Insufficient urine production: If you notice that your dog is not peeing enough, its poor urine production might be caused by conditions such as dehydration, stress, diabetes mellitus, bladder rupture, and decreased kidney blood flow.
• Unusual odor in urine: A strong sense of smell can help you check abnormalities in your dogs urine. A chicken broth or fishy odor in the urine might indicate that your dog has UTI. At the same time, the scent of ammonia suggests the possibility of dehydration, kidney failure, and UTI as well in your dog. Further, a sweet urine smell might mean your dog has diabetes mellitus.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Color Is Dog Urine With Kidney Failure?

When a dogs urine has a dark yellow, brown or black, red or pink, and blue or green color, it might indicate kidney failure.

In such instances, do not take any chances and bring your dog immediately to the vet.

What Color Is Dog Urine With a UTI?

The color of urine in a dog with a urinary tract infection is usually either black and brown or red and pink.

Further, a dog with UTI would also have a strong urine odor. It might have a scent similar to chicken broth, fish, or ammonia.

When you observe these signs of UTI in your dog, bring it to the veterinarian so that proper antibiotics can be given to relieve its condition.

What Color Is Dog Urine When Dehydrated?

A dehydrated dog will produce dark or bright yellow-colored urine. However, if your dogs pee turns orange, black, or brown, this is an indication of severe dehydration. Give your dog fresh, clean water immediately.

If your dog is suffering from severe dehydration, make sure that you also consult with your vet for proper treatment. This condition is fatal when left untreated.

What Does Milky Dog Urine Mean?

The milky or cloudy urine in dogs usually means the presence of pus and indicates an infection somewhere in your dogs body.

This can be due to UTI or a problem caused by bladder stones and prostate issues in male dogs. Further, cloudy urine may also suggest dehydration and kidney diseases, like kidney stones and crystals.

How Do I Know If My Dog Has a UTI?

Some of the observable behaviors in a dog with a UTI are frequent urination, straining, crying or whining when urinating, urine leakage, and frequent licking of the genitals.

Of course, looking at the urine color and seeing a brown or red shade is also an effective way to detect the presence of UTI in your pet.

What Are the Signs of Kidney Failure in Dogs?

Dogs suffering from kidney failure would have very noticeable symptoms, such as weight loss, lethargy, seizures, a notable change in water drinking habits, decreased or increased urine volume, and loss of appetite.

Almost all discolorations of urine from the normal light or pale yellow may be a possible indication of kidney failure. Nonetheless, it is still best to consult with your doctor for an accurate diagnosis.

Final Thoughts

Nature has its way of telling us biologically how to take care of the needs of our dogs. In this case, the color of urine produced by our pets gives us a solid message of how they feel and what they need at the moment.

As you familiarize yourself with what each urine color means and what to do for each, you also grow a sense of ownership and responsibility in taking care of your dogs health.

Further, no matter how knowledgeable you become in determining what condition is indicated by your dogs urine, always ensure that you partner with your veterinarian to diagnose and treat your dogs health issues.

We hope this article has given you the skill to initially detect your dogs condition through a dog urine color chart. If you have started to monitor your dogs urine color, let us know about your experience in the comment below!