Puppy Care Tips

Blood in Dog Urine: What Should You Do?
Key Takeaways:
Two of the most common reasons that blood might show up in your dog’s urine involve kidney and bladder issues like infections, stones, and other problems.
IMPORTANT: It’s generally recommended that a dog with blood in their urine should be seen by a vet within 24 hours.
Monitoring your dog’s urinary habits is an important part of checking on their overall health.
If you’re a dog parent, you might find your dog peeing blood at some point. But, while blood in dog urine is a scary sight, it’s often treatable. A simple urinary tract infection or a benign prostate problem can be the cause.

Hematuria is a term used to describe when blood appears in a dog’s urine. This is often due to inflammation or infection in the urinary system which could include the upper or lower urinary tract. The presence of blood in the urine or hematuria should be evaluated by your veterinarian to identify the cause and provide recommendations to help your dog.

Here are common causes of blood in dog urine, what you should do if it affects your dog and the treatments your veterinarian may recommend.

Upper Urinary Tract Causes
As in humans, a dog’s upper urinary tract contains two kidneys. Blood in urine originating in this part of the urinary tract tends to affect the kidneys. Some causes for bleeding in the upper urinary tract include:

Idiopathic renal hematuria: This is blood in the urine that results from the kidney for an unknown reason. It could be due to medicine, an infection or an issue with the immune system. This is generally considered a benign condition with a hereditary element.

Kidney infection: If your dog is peeing blood, one or both of your dog’s kidneys could possibly be infected.

Kidney stones: While uncommon, kidney stones can affect one or both kidneys resulting in the presence of blood in the urine.

Kidney cancer: While uncommon, kidney cancer can affect dogs and cause blood in dog urine. The cancer can remain in the kidney or spread to other parts of the body.

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Renal telangiectasia: Some dogs, including Welsh corgis, have a genetic predisposition to this spontaneous widening of blood vessels in the kidney, which can lead to blood in their urine.

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