Pee: All About It!
Do you have questions about the color of your dog’s pee or wondering what you can do to see if your dog has ketones or a possible UTI? Well, urine luck…today we are going to talk about all of that! I monitored Lucy’s urine output, tested for ketones and possible urinary tract infections, and monitored the amount of water that she drank. Monitoring blood glucose levels AND urine are important steps in managing canine diabetes, so let’s jump right in to learn all about pee!
The color of your dog’s urine can give you some useful information, the following chart represents urine colors.
(click on graphic for a printable version)
Clear urine can indicate over hydration. If your dog continues to drink too much water a vet visit may be in order.
Pail straw yellow and straw yellow are good colors for your dog’s urine.
If your dog’s urine is dark yellow or amber you should increase water consumption to help with dehydration. There are many reasons for dehydration but a couple of common issues are vomiting, diarrhea, and high blood glucose levels. If your dog has any of these symptoms a call to your vet is warranted.
Brown urine indicates possible internal bleeding, very dehydrated, liver disease or side effects of specific medications and requires vet care.
Red or pink urine requires vet care as this can indicate a urinary tract infection, kidney infection or other illness.
If your dog’s urine is green there is a possibility of kidney problems and requires vet care.
Cloudy urine also requires vet care. Dehydration, urinary tract infection, kidney conditions and chronic disease are possibilities. Cloudy urine with foam can be a serious issue.
Why do diabetic dogs pee so much?
Kidneys filter waste product from blood and produce urine. Whenever blood glucose levels are over 180 mg/dL the kidneys filter out the excess glucose. Since blood glucose levels are typically higher in diabetics, the kidneys dump urine into the bladder consistently and this causes them to urinate more often. It is common for undiagnosed or newly diagnosed diabetic dogs to have urinary accidents. The good news is that once blood glucose levels come down to better levels the accidents should subside.
Common issues with diabetic dogs and tests we can perform at home.
Diabetic dogs are prone to urinary tract infections due to excess glucose in the urine. Glucose breeds bacteria and the bladder is a “storage unit” which holds multiple urine dumps from the kidneys.
Testing urine for urinary tract infections is simple and can tell us if we need to make an appointment. You can purchase urinary tract infection (UTI) test strips for humans at most local pharmacies. PetTest offers urinary tract infection (UTI) test strips for pets as well and they are more affordable than the UTI test strips you buy at the pharmacy. Typically a three pack at the pharmacy is about $11.00 USD and the PetTest Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Test Strips are $24.95 USD for two packs of 50. PetTest Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Test Strips can be purchased below.
D-Mannose is a great supplement that can help with preventing urinary tract infections. D-Mannose is an indigestible sugar that sits in the bladder and binds to bacteria. This keeps the bacteria from latching onto cells causing infection. To purchase PetTest D-Mannose with Cranberry there is a link below. Bonus note: added cranberry makes D-Mannose more effective.
Ketones are a complication of high blood glucose levels and buildup causes diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a serious complication of uncontrolled diabetes. Any time your dog has blood glucose levels of 300 mg/dL (16.6 mmol/L) you should test urine for ketones and anything over trace requires vet intervention.
Ketone urine test strips can be purchased at most pharmacies and you can purchase them at PetTest as well. For further reading on ketones please click here and to purchase PetTest Ketone Glucose Urinalysis Test Strips there is a link below.
What can I use to catch urine?
This question comes up often and it is valid because some dogs do not like to be followed around while they are doing their business. I had to swoop in the last second of Lucy peeing to get a sample otherwise she would stop and move away from me; the girl liked her privacy. Here are some aids for getting a urine sample:
- Pee pad upside down (if your dog uses a pee pad this works well!)
- Ladle
- Urine catch pole
PetTest offers pee pads and an i-Catch Telescoping Urine Specimen Collection Pole and the links can be found in the supply links below.
USA links to PetTest products:
PetTest Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Test Strips:
https://shoppettest.com/pettest-urinary-tract-infection-test-strips-for-pets-2-packs-of-50/
PetTest Ketone Glucose Urinalysis Test Strips:
https://shoppettest.com/ketone-strips-for-pets/
PetTest D-Mannose with Cranberry:
https://shoppettest.com/pettest-d-mannose-supplement-90-capsules/
PetTest i-Catch Telescoping Urine Specimen Collection Pole:
https://shoppettest.com/icatch-collection-pole/
Pee Pads:
https://shoppettest.com/pee-pads-200-count/
Canada links to PetTest products:
PetTest Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Test Strips:
https://pettest.ca/pettest-urinary-tract-infection-test-strips-for-pets-2-packs-of-50/
PetTest Ketone Glucose Urinalysis Test Strips:
https://pettest.ca/ketone-strips-for-pets/
PetTest D-Mannose with Cranberry:
https://pettest.ca/pettest-d-mannose-supplement-90-capsules/
PetTest i-Catch Telescoping Urine Specimen Collection Pole:
https://pettest.ca/pettest-i-catch-telescoping-urine-specimen-collection-pole/
Pee Pads:
https://pettest.ca/pee-pads-25-count/
I hope that you found today’s content informative! Thank you for taking the time to read the blog, and I hope you continue to find value in the content shared.
If there are any specific topics or areas you would like to see covered in future blogs, feel free to let me know. Your feedback is valuable in shaping the direction of the content and ensuring it remains engaging and informative for the audience. For a printable version of this blog click here.
Until next week stay comfy, don’t stress and you got this!
Michelle Miller-Matlock
AAHA Certified Diabetes Educator
Founder/Administrator of DDO: Diabetic Dog Owners University
Administrator of Diabetic Dog Owners on Facebook
Want to learn all you can in a simple and easy to follow format? Please join DDO-U: Diabetic Dog Owners University , graciously sponsored by PetTest.
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Do you need a blood glucose meter kit for your diabetes arsenal? Click here to purchase one if you live in the USA. Click here to purchase a meter kit if you live in Canada.
PetTest USA link: https://shoppettest.com/
Link to PetTest Canada: https://pettest.ca/
If you live in Australia, Wantsa Medical offers PetTest products.
UK residents can purchase PetTest Supplies from Home Health UK.
New Zealand now has PetTest products through VetPost.
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