Hematuria in Dogs

Hematuria (Blood in Urine) in Dogs

By: Dr. Bari Spielman

Section: Information In-depth

Hematuria (blood in the urine) can be caused by several different disorders. The most common causes of hematuria are:

  • Bacterial urinary tract infection

  • Stones in the urinary tract especially in the bladder or urethra

  • Cancer of the urogenital (urinary or reproductive) tract, especially cancer of the bladder or urethra

  • Urogenital (urinary or reproductive) disorders such as uterine infection and vaginitis in females and prostatitis in males

  • Normal heat cycle in sexually intact female dogs

  • Congenital abnormalities (those present at birth) of the urinary tract, most often an outpouching of the bladder called a urachus

    Less common causes of hematuria include:

  • Clotting abnormalities caused by low platelet count (called thrombocytopenia), warfarin (rat poison) ingestion, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (a systemic clotting problem seen
    in seriously ill animals)

  • Parasites of the urinary tract (the kidney worm Diotophyma renale and the bladder worm Capillaria plica)

  • Trauma to the urinary tract (kidneys or bladder)

  • Some drugs such as cyclophosphamide (a drug used to treat cancer and immune disorders) can cause hematuria by inducing a sterile (non-infectious) hemorrhagic cystitis

  • Bleeding from the kidney of unknown cause (referred to as "benign renal hematuria") is rare but when present can cause hematuria that is severe enough to lead to anemia

     
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