Health
A pink patch in the snow, a reddish drop on the tiles, marks on the sofa. What matters is when the blood shows in the stream and, above all, whether urine still flows.
Caution. Straining to wee with nothing coming out, especially in a male: go now. Red urine with clots, vomiting, listlessness, bleeding elsewhere, or an unspayed bitch drinking a lot after a season: ring your own vet today. Don't give leftover antibiotics.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
The patch he left in the snow is pink. Or there is a reddish drop on the kitchen tiles after he came back from a wee outside. Or your bitch is leaving marks on the sofa and you can't tell whether it is blood in her urine or something else. It is rarely that obvious. Usually the urine is just darker, like strong tea, or turns pink towards the end, and sometimes the blood can't be seen at all and only turns up in a test. This page covers the signs that need a vet today, how to collect a urine sample without wrecking your morning, and what your own vet will look for. It won't tell you what to give him: that depends on the cause, and the causes are very different from one another.
The most serious case is the dog who can't get urine out at all. You may not see a single drop of blood.
A little blood in a happy dog who is passing a normal stream can usually wait for an appointment tomorrow or the day after. Ring today anyway, so you know how to bring the sample in.
This is the single most useful thing you can bring. Watch closely on snow, on white paper held underneath, or on light-coloured tiles.
Note whether he goes more often than usual, a little at a time, whether he is having accidents indoors when he never used to, and whether he keeps licking his genitals. Measure the water: fill the bowl with a known amount in the morning and see what is left at night. Describe the colour in your own words (dark yellow, orange, pink, red, brown) and the smell too: strong, ammonia, fishy. A photo on a white background beats any description.
With a bitch, the questions are when her last season was and whether she is spayed. In unspayed bitches the commonest mix-up is exactly this one: the blood is from her season, not from her urine.
With a male, what matters is whether he is neutered. In entire males an enlarged prostate often causes blood at the start of the stream or drops between wees.
Also write down what he eats, whether he has had urinary infections before, what medication he is on, whether he has had ticks, whether he could have got at rat poison and whether he has had a knock.
For some tests, especially a urine culture (which shows which bacterium is there and what kills it), the vet would rather take urine straight from the bladder with a fine needle, guided by ultrasound. It sounds unpleasant. In practice it is quick, dogs tolerate it well and the sample is clean.
| Cause | What else you usually see |
|---|---|
| Urinary infection | Weeing often and in small amounts, sometimes accidents indoors, strong smell; more common in bitches |
| Bladder stones | Blood at the end of the stream, infections that keep coming back; in males, risk of blockage |
| Enlarged or infected prostate (entire males) | Blood at the start of the stream or drops, flattened stool, straining |
| Season (unspayed bitches) | Swollen vulva, blood unrelated to weeing, interested males |
| Womb infection | 1–2 months after a season: thirst, listlessness, sometimes discharge |
| Bladder tumours | Older dog, blood that keeps returning, straining to wee |
| Clotting problem, poison | Blood elsewhere too, pale gums |
| Tick-borne disease | Coffee-coloured urine, pale gums, listlessness |
| Knock, accident | The history says it all |
Before you leave, ask when the urine test will be repeated. With infections and stones, the check after treatment is what tells you it is over. Not seeing blood any more doesn't.
Most cases of blood in the urine turn out to be infections or stones. Caught early and checked again at the end, they treat well. Your part is a clean sample and an exact answer to the question "when in the stream does the blood show?"
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
Most often a urinary infection or bladder stones. In entire males an enlarged prostate often causes blood at the start of the stream. In unspayed bitches, blood from a season is easily taken for blood in the urine. Less often it is a bladder tumour, a clotting problem, poison or a tick-borne disease. A urine test tells them apart.
First thing in the morning, with a clean container rinsed free of detergent: a food tub, an old ladle or a deep plate. Let him start, then slide it under the stream. Pour the sample into a pot with a lid and get it to the practice within an hour or two, or keep it in the fridge for a few hours. Never collect it off the ground.
When he is straining and passing little or nothing, especially a male, where a small stone can block the urethra; then you go straight away. Same-day visits also cover red urine with clots, vomiting, listlessness, bleeding from elsewhere, and an unspayed bitch drinking heavily one or two months after a season.
No leftover antibiotics and no human medicines. The wrong course, or too short a one, hides the problem and leaves resistant bacteria behind. Keep fresh water within reach, take him out often and bring a urine sample to your vet, who picks the treatment from the test and sometimes from a urine culture.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
He asks to go out every hour, squats and passes a little, sometimes pink. Cystitis is the obvious guess, but stones and the prostate look the same at first.
The bowl filled three times a day, requests to go out at two in the morning, a puddle in the hall. Sometimes it is just summer. Sometimes it is the first sign of illness.
She is drinking for two, licking under her tail and finished her season a few weeks ago. Pyometra is an emergency, even when you can see no discharge at all.
Drops of blood on the floor, male dogs at the gate, a restless bitch. The season itself is normal; the two months that follow are what you need to watch.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.