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.
Types of liver damage
The liver is the main filter of the body. This organ primarily takes a hit from low-quality or toxic food products. There are two main types of gland lesions:
- Primary, caused by direct toxic or mechanical action (leptospirosis, parasites, pathogenic fungi).
- Secondary, the result of diseases of other organs (heart pathologies, injuries, hypoxia, the effects of toxic substances).
In the described case, we are talking about a possible secondary pathology that arose as a result of eating food that is not suitable for the dog’s body: salted herring contains an excess of salt and preservatives. In addition, any fish contains protein and phosphorus in huge amounts for the dog’s body, which puts a lot of strain on the liver and kidneys.
Dog treatment
To diagnose a dog for this disease, you need to do an X-ray examination or ultrasound. In addition, you will need to submit your urine for analysis. It should be remembered that with a certain diagnosis of the dog, the doctor must inform you about the names of the types of stones.
If a breeder observes dark-colored urine in an animal, then the first step is to take it to a specialized clinic, where the dog will be examined. The diseases listed above are characterized as difficult to diagnose, therefore, “by eye” and without a preliminary examination, the doctor will not be able to make an accurate diagnosis. After conducting a diagnostic study, the veterinarian will be able to determine the causative agent of the infection and the cause of this symptom, and then prescribe therapy and inform you about the necessary course of treatment.
If a pet is diagnosed with piroplasmosis, then the dog’s owners should be patient, because the treatment of this disease takes a very long time. Experts call four stages of therapy. Which is necessary for effective elimination of parasites.
In the first stage, treatment is aimed at eliminating mites and their larvae that are inside the body. The veterinarian prescribes medications and instructions for their use. After the parasites are destroyed, there is no need to stop treatment, since the dog’s body will be infected with toxic substances. All subsequent stages are carried out to completely cleanse the body. It is recommended to give your dog vitamins and medications to help restore and maintain health. Afterwards, specialists perform diuresis. This procedure eliminates the risk of relapse of the disease. At the end, the blood is completely cleansed.
Treatment for cystitis
If the cause of dark-colored urine is cystitis, then medications are used for treatment, the purpose of which is to relieve inflammatory processes. In advanced cases, the dog's bladder is washed. During the therapy period, it is recommended to provide comfort and coziness to the dog so that it does not move excessively and is not subjected to heavy physical activity, which can cause complications. Also, special attention should be paid to the animal’s nutrition; the best food is milk soup, which does not cause irritation in the body and restores the coat.
If a dog has been diagnosed with urolithiasis, then the treatment method is chosen individually. Sometimes doctors resort to surgery. But in most cases, the urinary tract is washed. This procedure makes it possible to drive stones into the bladder.
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How to diagnose liver disease in a dog at home
An accurate diagnosis is established using ultrasound and biochemical tests. If it is not possible to contact a veterinarian, you will have to try to diagnose the disease yourself. At home, 2 diagnostic methods are possible:
- Clinical picture. In addition to the above symptoms, the development of liver failure will be indicated by: thirst, yellowness of the mucous membranes (conjunctiva, oral cavity, skin), shortness of breath. Frequent urination, vomiting, increase or decrease in body temperature are alarming.
- Palpation. The liver in carnivores fits tightly to the costal wall and is located in the anterior abdominal cavity in the center. If, when palpating the liver area, the dog is worried and whines, this indicates pain and inflammation of the organ. In healthy dogs, the organ is not palpable, but upon magnification, the posterior edge can be clearly felt. You need to palpate with the animal standing or lying down, tightly folding the fingers of the leading hand.
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.
Differential diagnosis
To select the correct treatment regimen, it is necessary to exclude hepatitis of infectious origin. Leptospirosis, for example, has similar symptoms. To make a diagnosis, you will have to answer the following questions:
- Is the animal vaccinated? If yes, remember what pathogens are included in the vaccine used.
- Has the animal been treated for ectoparasites? Some dog diseases are transmitted through insect and tick bites.
- How much time passed between eating low-quality food and the first symptoms?
Symptoms of pharyngitis
The first signs of the disease may differ depending on the type of pharyngitis. They are both local and general in nature. But there are common signs that are characteristic of any type of pharyngitis: sore throat, bad breath, stuffy ears and difficulty swallowing. With an active inflammatory process, an increase in body temperature above 38° can be observed - this is how the body fights a foreign infection. General signs: sweating, poor appetite, weakness, dizziness, fatigue, fever, chills. Some complain of pain and noise in the ears, and discomfort when exposed to loud sounds.
- During acute catarrhal pharyngitis, swelling and redness of the mucous membranes of the larynx appears. Also, red follicles may form on the back wall of the throat, and clear and slightly cloudy mucus may accumulate. There is swelling and redness of the tongue.
- In the purulent form of acute pharyngitis, ulcers with an accumulation of purulent masses appear on the surface of the posterior pharyngeal wall.
How to treat an animal
If all signs point to liver pathology as a result of dietary errors, treatment must be started quickly.
The toxic product – herring – is completely excluded, and a diet is recommended. It is permissible to use special lines of food for sick animals. If the pet is fed natural food, the basis should be high-carbohydrate foods (rice) and high-quality proteins in limited quantities (eggs, cottage cheese). Fractional feeding 5-6 times a day. If the dog completely refuses to eat, he will have to be force-fed.
Hepatoprotectors are used as drug treatment: Hepatovet, Hepatoject, Hepatonic. Dosage according to instructions.
To relieve symptoms of intoxication and dehydration, saline solutions are used - sodium chloride, Ringer's solution, disol. Ideally, they are administered intravenously, if this is not possible, it is permissible to administer subcutaneously (but in smaller quantities!).
If the dog is experiencing severe pain, it is suggested to additionally give analgin in tablets (1 tablet per 20 kg of weight). To relieve spasms - No-spa (1 tablet per 10 kg of weight).
After recovery, a course of vitamins for dogs.
If there is suspicion of an infectious nature of the inflammation, treatment is carried out with penicillin or streptomycin antibiotics.
What causes dog urine to turn dark?
There may be several reasons why a dog's urine becomes dark in color. They are caused by various diseases and infections. These include the following:
Piroplasmosis
Piroplasmosis - this type of disease is especially critical for the health of your dog, since the body is affected by one of the most dangerous parasites - ixodid ticks. In the process of sucking blood by ticks, the infectious agent enters the body directly and infection begins. After which this pathogen begins to actively lay larvae in the body in the blood of the animal. In this case, the owner may observe the following symptoms in the pet: loss of appetite, high temperature, excessive fatigue and drowsiness, including dark urine.
The clinic carries out a comprehensive diagnosis of the animal; if the disease piroplasmosis is detected, the first thing specialists can ask is leading questions to the breeder: could a tick get on the pet’s body, have blood tests been taken previously, have signs of jaundice been observed.
If a dog is diagnosed with piroplasmosis, then it is necessary to urgently take measures to save the animal, because in most cases, ignoring the first signs leads to the death of your pet. In addition, very often this type of disease also affects the functioning of internal organs. After experiencing the disease, the dog may develop problems with the heart, kidneys and brain.
Cause of dark urine cystitis
Another reason why a dog has yellow or dark urine is cystitis. With this disease, the animal's bladder becomes inflamed. It may begin to develop due to prolonged hypothermia or infection in the body. Cystitis can also appear due to an unfortunate bruise, injury or fight. Cystitis can be manifested by the following signs: the dog has difficulty defecating, a small amount of dark-colored urine comes out.
The dog cannot regulate urination and can start defecating at any time of the day, right in the room. In addition, the pet may begin to eat poorly, have a fever or fever, and fatigue, but usually such signs tend to appear in advanced cases of the disease.
If an animal is subjected to severe physical stress in the hot summer, this is also fraught with consequences. Extensive physical activity can also cause dark-colored urine. In dogs of sporting breeds, a disease such as rhabdomyliosis occurs quite often. In this case, the animal’s urine becomes bloody, swelling of the body is observed; these symptoms most often occur if the pet is very tired during training. Regular overexertion is the cause of many diseases, and ultimately death. To diagnose such an infection, you need to have your dog's urine tested.
Urolithiasis
Another reason for acquiring dark-colored urine is prolonged urination. If it is difficult for a dog to urinate and urination occurs after a certain period of time, then the urine becomes dark due to inflammatory processes inside the body. Stagnation and odor of urine can occur when a pet often endures a long period of time and cannot defecate, resulting in inflammatory processes in the kidneys and other diseases.
Urolithiasis is also one of the reasons why urine takes on a darkish tint. But in this case, the urine becomes dark not because inflammation occurs, but because a small amount of blood enters the urine and thereby turns it red or brown. With this disease, the dog's metabolism is disrupted and, consequently, bladder stones form in the body.
Associated symptoms that should alert you
If your dog has at least one of the following symptoms in addition to changes in urine color, you will need to consult a veterinarian:
- incontinence. If a dog, which previously could tolerate until the next walk, begins to make puddles in the apartment, this should alert you and be a reason to visit the veterinarian;
- rapid breathing without previous physical activity;
- bloody issues. They can be observed at the beginning of urination or at the very end, be in the form of dark clots or dissolved in the urine. All this should be paid attention to and voiced at the doctor’s appointment;
- vomiting for no apparent reason. If there has been no evidence of poisoning, but the dog begins to vomit for no apparent reason, you should also pay attention to this;
- increased anxiety and lethargy;
- abdominal pain and excessive salivation.
Incontinence in a dog
Normal urine characteristics
A dog has a hot nose: causes and what to do
Urine, or urine, is the product obtained after blood is purified and filtered by the kidneys. Its shade can be affected by the foods included in the daily diet. The reason why dogs have bright yellow urine is influenced by the urobilin content. This component is a derivative of bilirubin, a toxic compound that must be completely eliminated from the body. The higher its concentration in urine, the more red it is colored.
If your puppy has yellow urine, then this is normally colored urine.
The natural color of urine is yellow or straw. To make a more accurate determination of the shade, some of the liquid is poured into a transparent glass and placed in front of a white surface (you can use paper).
Every day, urine may vary slightly in color, but if it becomes dark or discolored over the course of several days, this may indicate the onset of many diseases.
Diagnostics
Before starting specific therapy, it is necessary to identify the root cause of the disease. The veterinarian carries out a set of measures to select an effective medicine for cystitis in a dog, which includes:
- Clinical, biochemical blood and urine tests.
- Urine culture to identify pathological microflora (BAC study).
- Urethral swab to detect genital infection.
- For differential diagnosis, an ultrasound examination is performed, which visualizes sand or stones (if any).
The color of your urine will tell you about your health status.
If the owner of a four-legged friend regularly monitors the color of his urine, he has every chance of recognizing diseases at an early stage of their development. This is due to the fact that the kidneys respond to the onset of the disease even before its first symptoms appear.
Urine color reflects health status
A change in the color of urine can mean various abnormalities in the body:
- dark yellow urine. Liquid of this color can be either normal or signal unfavorable external factors or individual characteristics of the animal. This color is characteristic of low fluid intake or excessive physical activity. To return the color to normal, it is recommended to give the animal enough to drink and reduce exercise;
- beet color. When you see such a shade, you should not immediately panic; you should remember what foods the dog ate the day before. If the dog could eat beets, then it was she who caused such changes. It is better to be wary if, in addition to the shade of the secreted fluid, the dog has poor appetite, bowel dysfunction, depression and other unusual symptoms;
- orange tint. Sometimes a change in the color of urine to orange occurs after the dog has tasted commercial cat food. However, this happens quite rarely, in other cases the reason lies in the development of jaundice, infectious diseases, as well as in early liver dysfunction;
- colorless. If the urine looks more like regular water, it is an indication that it is being over-produced. This symptom is typical at the beginning of the development of diabetes mellitus, especially if there is severe thirst;
- dairy. White urine in a dog warns of a high content of leukocytes. This symptom is typical for pyelonephritis and other inflammatory diseases;
- bloody urine. Blood in the urine often indicates the onset of prostatitis, cyst rupture, urolithiasis, piroplasmosis, tick bites and other problems.
Note! Red urine in mature females may indicate the onset of estrus.
