Health
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.
Caution. A male straining and passing only drops or nothing, a dog with a temperature and vomiting, an unspayed bitch drinking heavily a few weeks after her season, red urine with clots: see your own vet today. For the blocked male, within hours.
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.
Your spayed seven-year-old bitch has been asking to go out every hour for three days. On the walk she squats ten times and manages a few drops each time, and this morning the patch on the snow was pink. Or you have a male who stands with his leg cocked for ages and produces very little, keeps licking himself and has started weeing indoors, something he has not done since he was four months old. Everyone thinks "urinary infection" first, and quite often that is what it is. The trouble is that bladder stones give exactly the same picture, so does the prostate in entire males, and in older dogs so can a growth in the bladder. This page covers what to watch for two days, how to bring a sample worth testing, and what your own vet will do with it.
Simple cystitis is sore and miserable, but it does not kill overnight. A handful of situations look the same in the first few hours and are something else entirely:
When you ring, say what you have seen and when he last passed urine normally. If you already have a sample, take it with you.
"Peeing a lot" covers two quite different things, and which one you are seeing decides which tests come next.
Often, and only a little. The bladder is irritated. The dog feels the urge every few minutes, squats and passes a small amount, sometimes with effort. That is how cystitis, stones and an inflamed urethra look.
Often, and plenty of it. Here the body is making a lot of urine because the dog is drinking a lot: big puddles, the water bowl empty twice a day, accidents at night. That is how diabetes, kidney disease, some hormonal problems or an infected womb tend to show. There can be an infection on top, but it follows from the main problem rather than causing it.
Two days of watching will tell you which camp your dog is in.
Count and measure. How many trips a day and how much each time: drops, a small puddle, a puddle the size of a dinner plate. Measure what he drinks over 24 hours with a measuring jug. For a 10 kg dog, more than a litre a day is a lot.
Colour. Pale yellow and clear is normal. Pink, red, brown, cloudy, with strands or sediment: write it down every walk. Take a photo of the patch on snow or concrete with something beside it for scale.
Smell. Cystitis urine usually smells stronger, heavy and slightly sweet, and you notice it from the doorway.
Posture. Squats and stays down, gets up and squats again, whimpers, looks back at his belly. If a male holds his leg up for 20 seconds and nothing comes, note the time.
Licking. More attention than usual to the vulva or prepuce, drips on the bed, red skin around the area.
Leaking without knowing. A wet bed in the morning, drips when he gets up from sleep, no squatting at all. That is incontinence. It is common in middle-aged spayed bitches and it can be treated, just not the same way as an infection.
History. When he last had something similar and what he was given, whether he is neutered, when her last season was, what he eats, whether stones or crystals have turned up on previous tests, whether he drinks from puddles.
Your vet wants fresh urine. At home, take it on the first walk of the morning with something clean and shallow (a small plastic tray, a ladle washed with no detergent left on it), slipped under the stream once it has started. Pour it into a clean jar with a lid, write the time on it and get to the clinic within the hour. If you cannot, keep it in the fridge for a few hours, never the freezer. Nothing scooped off the floor, and nothing left standing in a bowl since last night. For some tests the vet will want to take the sample directly from the bladder anyway; more on that below.
| Possible cause | What you usually see | Who gets it more often |
|---|---|---|
| Bacterial cystitis | Often and little, straining, cloudy or pink urine, licking | Bitches, especially spayed or older ones |
| Bladder stones or crystals | Same signs, sometimes more blood, repeat episodes | Some small breeds; males can block |
| Enlarged or inflamed prostate | Straining to wee and to pass faeces, drops of blood between wees | Entire males over 5–6 years |
| Growth in the bladder or urethra | Blood that keeps coming back, straining, an "infection" nothing clears | Older dogs, some terrier breeds |
| Incontinence | Wet bed, drips during sleep, no straining or licking | Spayed bitches, old dogs |
| Illness that drives thirst (kidneys, diabetes, hormones) | Drinks a lot, wees a lot in large amounts, loses or gains weight | Middle-aged and older dogs |
| Infected womb (pyometra) | Drinks a lot, flat, sometimes discharge, 4–8 weeks after a season | Unspayed bitches, usually over 6 |
Before you leave, ask when the urine test should be repeated. With many infections the post-treatment check is the only way to know it has really gone.
Fresh water in several places around the house, and trips out often enough that he is not holding urine for hours. A bladder that empties regularly looks after itself. In long-coated bitches, keep the hair around the vulva short and wipe the area after wet walks. If he has had stones, stick to the food your vet recommended with no "just this once" from the table, and plenty of water, because dilute urine is half the prevention. And ask for a urine test at the annual check-up even if you have noticed nothing. Crystals and silent infections show up there months before they show up on the carpet.
Signs started today, and the dog is bright, eating and passing urine, even if often? You have time to collect a decent sample and go first thing tomorrow. With a male straining and nothing coming out, you do not have that time. If you do not have a regular vet yet, our page on related services will help you choose a practice.
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.
Weeing little and often, squatting again and again on a walk for a few drops, straining. The urine is cloudy, darker or pink and smells stronger, he licks himself a lot and may have accidents indoors. Most dogs stay bright and keep eating. A temperature, vomiting and lethargy mean the infection has gone beyond the bladder, so get a same-day appointment.
Look at how much comes out. Little and often means an irritated bladder: cystitis, stones, an inflamed urethra, the prostate in males. Lots and often, with the water bowl emptying fast, means the body is making a lot of urine: diabetes, kidneys, hormonal trouble or, in unspayed bitches, an infected womb. Count the trips and measure the water for two days; those notes tell your vet where to start.
It needs looking at, but it is not automatically serious. Most often it comes from cystitis or stones, in entire males from the prostate, and in older dogs it can be a growth in the bladder. Take a photo, collect a fresh sample and book in. A lot of blood, clots or a male who cannot pass urine means going the same day.
The signs sometimes settle, but the bacteria stay and the infection comes back or climbs to the kidneys. On top of that, stones cause the same signs and never clear by themselves. An appointment with a urine test takes a quarter of an hour and saves weeks of back and forth. Do not give leftover antibiotics: they spoil the culture result and do nothing about the cause.
On the first walk of the morning, with something clean and shallow (a small tray, a ladle washed with no detergent left on it) slipped under the stream once it has started. Pour it into a clean jar with a lid, note the time and get to the clinic within the hour; otherwise a few hours in the fridge, never the freezer. For a culture, your vet will prefer to take the sample straight from the bladder using ultrasound.
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.
You take him out, he stands in the grass for ten minutes, you come in and he goes on the rug. House-training takes set times and a real fuss when he gets it right.
He sniffed the bowl and walked off, twice running, yet he's drinking and wagging. With a bright adult you can wait a day. With a puppy or an old dog, you can't.
He paces at night, stands with his nose in a corner, waits at the wrong side of the door, wees indoors. Some of it is age. Some of it can be treated.
The wet slurping every evening, rusty paws, a bald patch on the wrist. Licking is a symptom, and "he's bored" is the diagnosis that comes last, not first.
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.