Dark urine in dogs is the cause of piroplasmosis and cystitis

Liquid gold... Do you think that’s what ancient healers called it? Maybe honey? No. This is the nickname for urine. That is what it was called in all the great schools of healing of antiquity. And this is no coincidence, since even by the appearance of this liquid one can say a lot about the health of the patient, be it a person or an animal. Color is especially important. It can vary from golden to brown and even black. Since dark urine in a dog is a hallmark of many dangerous pathologies, we will try to expand on this issue in more detail.

Normal urine characteristics

The normal color of a dog's discharge is yellowish. The easiest way to compare it is with the shade of fresh straw. The best way to accurately determine the color is to pour the urine into a glass beaker and place it in front of a white piece of paper.

Now let's talk a little about physiology. As you know, urine is a normal physiological “waste” of the body, which is obtained after filtering and purifying the blood by the kidneys. Normal urine is sterile and may change color depending on what your pet has recently eaten or drunk. By the way, why is yellow her normal color? It's simple. Urine contains urobilin, a derivative of bilirubin. By the way, the latter compound is very toxic, and therefore its excretion by the kidneys is a vital process for the entire body.

The intensity of the yellow color in normal, light-colored urine indicates the concentration of the latter. Simply put, the intensity of the shade indicates “wateriness.” "Diluted" urine will be almost colorless, while very concentrated urine will become bright yellow, amber, or honey-colored. Minor changes happen every day, and there is nothing wrong with that.

But if your pet's urine suddenly changes color, and this effect has lasted for several days, you need to contact a veterinarian as soon as possible. Not only the dark color of a dog’s urine can be a sign of illness! In some cases, even completely clear urine may indicate pathology.

Monitoring symptoms

Brown urine is not actually a disease that is harmful to your dog - it is just one of many signs to look for to recognize that your dog has a problem. By keeping an eye out for other symptoms, your veterinarian can help diagnose your dog's problem faster and with fewer tests.

Other signs and symptoms to watch out for:

Heavy urination may indicate problems with the bladder, urethra, or prostate.
There is an excess amount of water, many systems need to be studied. One type of hormonal disorder causes your dog to become dehydrated even when he drinks a lot.
If your dog has pale or yellow limbs (jaundice), he may have blood loss or destroyed blood cells somewhere in his body.
A weak or painful back or legs may mean that her muscles are damaged.

If the color of the urine seems suspicious, nothing prevents a visit to the veterinarian and consultation. Perhaps the diagnosis will be made right away, while at other times it may be that the dog needs a detailed diagnosis and a series of tests (often laboratory tests) that will determine what is going on with his health.

Other color options

Red or pink urine is often caused by a urinary tract infection. But things are not always so bad. Hematuria is very typical for the postoperative period, and this is not considered a pathology. Of course, only in cases where the red color is observed for only a couple of days. If your urine turns dark red, you should call your veterinarian immediately, as such changes are highly likely to indicate serious internal bleeding.

In addition, red urine may be due to injury. For example, if your dog had a serious fall or was hit by a bicycle, his kidneys could be damaged. In most cases, this is relatively “normal”, but if the bleeding continues for several days, the intensity of the red color increases and the dog becomes lethargic, this is a serious reason to contact the veterinarian.

How to collect dog urine for analysis

Without a urine test for hematuria, an accurate diagnosis cannot be made. When complaining of blood in the urine, the veterinarian will definitely ask you to collect it for analysis. How can this be done practically? Let’s say right away that the procedure is not easy – it often looks funny and strange.

It is highly advisable to wash the outside of the genitals with warm water before the procedure.

Even better - treat with an antiseptic solution, for example, Chlorhexidine.

If you have a male, we collect urine as follows. While walking, we carefully approach the animal from the side/back. When the dog begins to mark, place a wide-necked jar or bottle under the stream. This should be done at any “stop”. Don't be angry, don't be nervous - everything will work out. If you fail immediately, the process is repeated the next days - so the dog will get used to it, and you will get used to it.

To take material for analysis from the “girl,” prepare a special device. Wash and dry a regular empty plastic bottle thoroughly - its size should be adjusted to the size of your pet. Close the lid tightly and cut off the bottom from the top. While walking, quietly approach the animal while urinating and place the device under the stream. In bitches, you can try collecting urine for analysis in a flat container.

general practitioner

The owner’s duty is not only to feed and walk his pet, but also to monitor the slightest changes in his health. The process of urination, its frequency, volume and appearance of urine does not escape the eyes of an attentive owner.

The parameters of urination and the properties of urine, which we can evaluate with the naked eye and determine using the sense of smell, are called the physical properties of urine. The study of this group of properties is an integral part of a general clinical urine analysis - one of the important diagnostic tools of a veterinarian. A general clinical examination of urine can provide a lot of diagnostic information about the functioning of the organs of the urinary system and the general condition of the body. With the help of this study, it is possible to dynamically track changes in the course of many diseases and evaluate the response to treatment. An important condition is the correct collection of urine for analysis.

The first thing that it is important for an animal owner to pay attention to is the pattern of urination.

. Let us dwell on this section in more detail, since the doctor cannot obtain this information on his own at the first appointment (unlike assessing the appearance of the urine itself if you bring it with you), he can only draw the appropriate conclusions from your words.

Changes in the frequency of urination and the amount of urine can be an important symptom indicating the disease. They are expressed in an increase in the amount of urine (polyuria), a decrease (oliguria), or absence (anuria) of urine. And it is important not to confuse polyuria with urinary incontinence or frequent urination (pollakiuria), and oliguria and anuria with stranguria - difficult, frequent and painful urination. All this data can be obtained by direct observation of the animal during urination.

An increase in the amount of urine (polyuria) can occur with increased thirst (polydipsia), such animals feel a frequent urge to urinate and produce more urine per day. Very often, these two symptoms are associated with each other and appear with purulent inflammation of the uterus and other intoxications, diabetes, and renal failure.

A decrease in diuresis (oliguria) occurs with insufficient fluid intake, diseases accompanied by an increase in body temperature, vomiting, diarrhea and other pathologies. A sharp decrease in diuresis, up to the complete cessation of urine output (anuria), is observed in diseases that cause acute renal failure (kidney disease, impaired outflow of urine, heart failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, piroplasmosis, leptospirosis, poisoning, etc.).

Frequent urination can occur with cystitis, prostate diseases, vaginitis, and in an excited state. In addition, various neurological disorders, both local (for example, herniated disc, Cauda equina syndrome) and central origin, are often accompanied by both urinary incontinence and difficulty urinating, from rare involuntary urination to a complete inability to empty the bladder independently.

Urine color

- another important sign that can indicate to the owner that there is a problem. Normal urine is straw-yellow in color. The color is influenced by the concentration of urine (darker with diarrhea and vomiting, slightly colored - with increased fluid intake, while taking diuretics, with a decrease in the ability of the kidneys to concentrate urine), the use of medications that change the color of urine (see instructions for use), some products (this mainly concerns vegetables - carrots, beets) that animals can theoretically eat.

With various pathologies, the color of urine can change to pale yellow (with polyuria), dark yellow, yellow-orange, up to the “color of beer” (with liver diseases), milky white (with an increased content of leukocytes, for example, with urinary infections paths). With such changes, it is necessary to undergo an analysis and establish the cause of the pathology.

The most common change in urine color is red, brown, brown-black. This can be observed when blood is released in the urine (macrohematuria) or hemoglobin (microhematuria), which appears when red blood cells break down. It is possible to distinguish these two conditions only by laboratory methods. And since the cause of hematuria can be a very dangerous, fatal, acute disease (for example, poisoning with hemolytic poison, piroplasmosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, renal bleeding), you should immediately consult a doctor and submit a urine test to the laboratory.

Normal urine is clear

. Cloudiness can be caused by the presence of salts, cellular elements, mucus, bacteria, and fats. Changes in urine clarity may be one of the first signs of urolithiasis or urinary tract infections. The cause of the turbidity is determined by microscopic and chemical examination.

Change in smell

urine is a fairly rare occurrence, foul-smelling (the smell of “meat slop”) can appear when there is a large number of bacteria, sharp - when urine stagnates for a long time in the bladder, for example, when the urinary tract is blocked.

If you see any changes in the nature of urination, the color of urine, or a deterioration in the general condition of your pet, you must definitely see a doctor, tell about all your observations and conduct laboratory tests.

Changes in the health of your four-legged friend can affect not only his behavior, but also his physiological indicators. One of the clearest signals can be that it is important to determine in time whether this is the norm and what to do in such cases.

About cloudiness

What does severe cloudiness of urine indicate, even if it has a normal straw color? Most likely, this indicates the presence of cystitis, urethritis, nephritis, vaginitis, and other pathologies of the genitourinary system, including cancer. If urine remains this way for more than a couple of days, we advise you to consult a specialist. This is especially true in cases where the dog does not eat.

The danger of all inflammatory pathologies of the urinary system is that they can cause stagnation of urine. This is fraught not only with its clouding and other “tricks” with color, but also with the absorption of metabolic products into the blood. We are talking about uremia, a severe condition in which the animal’s nervous system is affected, numerous neurological phenomena and seizures are observed.

By the way, let's go back to the beginning of our article for a moment. Remember what we said about completely clear urine? For dogs, “crystal” purity of urine is uncharacteristic. This may indicate poor kidney function that does not secrete urobilin, or your pet may have polydipsia. Simply put, this happens in cases where the dog drinks constantly and continuously. This behavior often indicates problems with the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, or indicates some kind of poisoning. Well, or the dog just ate too much salty food.

My dog's urine is dark in color - what should owners do?

First of all, having discovered such a symptom, the owner should take the animal to see a veterinarian. All of the above diseases and factors that can cause dark urine in dogs are difficult to diagnose, so amateur diagnosis should be completely ruled out (even if the accompanying symptoms seem obvious to you).

After diagnosis, the doctor will determine the underlying cause of the disease and prescribe the necessary treatment.

1. If a dog has been diagnosed with piroplasmosis, owners should prepare for long and difficult treatment, which consists of four stages.

At the first stage, specialists are faced with one task, namely the destruction of all parasites. For this purpose, special medications are used, such as pyrosan, azidine, veriben, forticarb and many others. However, even after the death of the parasites, the dog’s body remains infected with the toxic waste of their vital activity.

Actually, the remaining stages of treatment are aimed specifically at cleansing the body. After the first phase, doctors prescribe hepatoprotectors, vitamins, heart medications, and other medications to the dog, whose action is aimed at maintaining the general condition of the dog’s body. Next, forced alkalizing diuresis is performed - this procedure allows you to prevent the occurrence of complications or eliminate them if such problems have already arisen.

Then specialists carry out blood purification - procedures known as plasmapheresis and hemosorption. They help cleanse the animal’s blood of toxic substances, damaged proteins, and broken red blood cells.

2. If the dog has dark urine and problems with urination, doctors will most likely diagnose cystitis. Treatment of this disease consists mainly in the use of drugs whose action is aimed at relieving inflammation and the use of antibacterial agents. In some cases, it may be necessary to rinse your dog's bladder with a disinfectant solution. If necessary, a course of antibiotics, sulfonamides and other medications is prescribed. In addition to drug treatment, the specialist often recommends that owners limit the dog’s physical activity as much as possible, and also advises applying warm compresses to the lower part of the abdomen. Moreover, during treatment the pet should drink as much fluid as possible and natural diuretics. Spicy foods and seasonings should be completely excluded from your pet's diet. The best food for a sick dog's diet is milk soup.

3. If the dog's dark urine is caused by blood getting into the urine, specialists will probably diagnose urolithiasis. As mentioned earlier, there is simply no universal treatment regimen for this disease. Treatment methods will largely depend on the type of crystal, its size and even location.

Most often, doctors remove cystitis and oxalate stones through surgery. If the male has a complete blockage of the urinary canal, another channel is organized to remove urine from the dog’s body. In some cases, pets are prescribed irrigation of the tract - this allows the stone to be driven directly into the bladder, from where it is much easier to remove.

If urates and struvites have been detected, you can try to dissolve them using a special diet and medications.

If urolithiasis is complicated by infection, a course of antibiotics is usually prescribed.

Thus, we can conclude that a similar symptom can occur in any dog in a variety of circumstances. The owner’s task in such a situation is to respond in a timely manner and further comply with all recommendations of the animal’s attending physician.

Diseases and pathologies affecting the color of urine

Polyuria is a disease characterized by increased urination due to the inability of the kidneys to retain normal amounts of fluid in the body. Typically causes dogs' urine to appear pale yellow in color.

Liver disease, such as hepatitis, causes urine to turn dark yellow or even orange.

Elevated white blood cell count – causes milky and abnormally light-colored urine

Hematuria is a pathology caused by particularly dangerous diseases, for example, acute poisoning, piroplasmosis or renal bleeding, usually marked by the appearance of blood in the urine and the liquid turning reddish.

Gallbladder disease causes urine to be the color of strong black tea.

Glomerulonephritis is a kidney disease characterized by damage to the glomeruli of the kidneys. Provokes the appearance of a reddish tint to the secreted liquid.

Inflammation of the urinary tract usually causes cloudy urine. Flakes may also appear in the liquid.

We identify diseases by the color of urine

If you suddenly begin to feel not quite well, you are constantly unwell, but you do not know where to start the examination and which specialist to contact, pay attention to the color of your urine. He can tell you a lot. The color of the urine of a healthy person is yellow, in some cases – deep yellow, depending on the pigments it contains – urochromes, uroerythrins, urobilins, and so on. In addition, color saturation may depend on the concentration of urine - the greater its specific gravity, the more intense the color. It is noteworthy that the color of the urine of newborn babies (from several days to two weeks) has a reddish tint due to the fact that it contains a lot of urea.

What does color depend on?

As already noted, the norm is yellow urine. Sometimes clear urine color may be normal. However, in some cases, clear urine can be the cause of diabetes mellitus and some kidney pathologies.

To diagnose a particular disease, urine tests are carried out first. One of its main characteristics is the color of urine, which determines. What a person eats, what diseases he has, and so on.

Remember: unnatural colors of urine are not always an indicator of pathology! Sometimes it depends on the intake of certain foods and medications.

So, urine may take on a greenish color if, for example, you take certain vitamins. But it turns bright orange from carrots. In addition, some foods may contain artificial colors, which can also produce less-than-natural shades of urine.

But if symptoms continue for a long time, you should immediately consult a doctor. You may be developing a serious illness.

So, for what reasons?

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Microscopic research methods

After some time, the urine settles and a sediment forms in it.

Organic sediments:

The presence of red blood cells indicates a disease of the system of organs that form, accumulate and excrete urine.
Leukocytes - the norm is 1 - 2. If the number of leukocytes exceeds these figures, we can safely talk about kidney pathology.
Urine sediment always contains epithelial cells. This indicator is especially pronounced in females.
A high percentage of the number of cylinders is a sign of abnormal kidney function.

Inorganic sediments:

When the acidity of urine is higher than normal, it contains a lot of uric acid, potassium sulfate and calcium phosphate. This indicates possible tumors, pneumonia, uric acid diathesis, and fever.
If an animal's urine is brick-colored, this is a confirmation of diseases such as glomerulonephritis, renal failure.
Calcium oxalate is found in urine in small quantities. When the oxalate level is higher than normal, this is a manifestation of diabetes, pyelonephritis or calcium pathology. When a dog’s diet is dominated by plant-based foods, the presence of calcium carbonate in the urine is normal.
Fatty acids indicate atrophic changes in the kidneys.

How is the diagnosis carried out?

After studying all the information about the animal’s medical history, the presence of other chronic diseases, allergic reactions, heredity, etc., the doctor prescribes the necessary examinations, in his opinion.

These may include:

general or special blood and urine tests;
Ultrasound of the abdominal organs;
X-ray.

Some preliminary diagnostic procedures can be carried out at home:

Urine examination. To do this, the container with the collected urine should be left in a cool place for several hours. When examining, you need to pay attention to the presence of flakes and sediment in the liquid. If such signs are present, then an inflammatory process in the body is observed.
Using tests. Pharmacies sell testing strips for urine diagnostics. They do not have the same accuracy as laboratory ones, but they can determine the violation.

Important! An ultrasound of the bladder is performed with the organ filled. The dog should not be walked 4 hours before the test.

The listed actions do not replace a trip to the veterinary clinic; they can help the owner detect the presence of a problem when the first symptoms appear.