How to collect urine for analysis from a dog

Video: How To Collect A Urine Sample From A Dog

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 3: Collecting urine
Part 2 of 3: Handling Collected Material
Part 3 of 3: Seeking Help
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

A urinalysis can provide your veterinarian with important information about your dog's health. For example, the test can determine if an animal has a urinary tract infection, diabetes, or kidney disease. If your vet asks you to have your dog's urine tested, try to do it as soon as possible. Fortunately, collecting urine from a male dog is not as difficult as it might seem. With a bit of patience and some preparation, you will be able to properly collect the urine and deliver it safely to the veterinary clinic.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Collecting urine

1 Decide when to collect your urine. It is likely that the dog will not be happy about your desire to collect his urine. To make it easier for both of you, try to prepare to collect urine when the dog's bladder is full, for example, in the morning or after returning from work.
- The material collected in the morning usually gives the most accurate analysis results.
- You can also try to collect urine after feeding the dog or during a regular walk, when there are lots of interesting smells around and the dog wants to mark his territory.
2 Find an airtight container. Your veterinarian can provide you with a small plastic container to collect your urine. If not, you can use any other airtight container for this purpose. The following options are possible:
- shallow bowl with a sealed lid;
- a disposable food container such as Tupperware®;
- empty margarine container;
- empty container from cream cheese.
3 Wash the container. To prevent contamination and food debris in the container from interfering with the urinalysis, wash the container in hot water and soap. Then let the container dry completely before collecting urine in it.
4 Take your dog for a walk on a leash. On the street, the dog may have some concerns, as you will have a container in your hands, and he may decide to stay away from you. To prevent this from happening, immediately take your pet on a leash. In this case, it is advisable to use a classic leash, not a roulette leash.
- If you walk your dog in your own yard, take him to a place where he used to go to the toilet. His scent will already be present there and will stimulate the dog to urinate in the same place.
5 Watch your dog closely while walking. Depending on how full your bladder is, your dog may want to urinate immediately after going outside. Watch him closely to be ready as soon as the dog lifts his hind leg.
- If you think the dog will lift its right hind leg, stand on the right side. If he looks like he will lift his left hind leg, stand on the left.
- At the same time, stay slightly behind the dog.
6 Place the container under the stream of urine. When the dog lifts its hind leg, promptly but carefully place the container under the stream of urine. Do not make sudden movements so as not to alarm the animal. Once your dog has finished urinating, remove the container.
- The hand holding the container may be slightly splattered with urine while collecting urine. To avoid this, you can wear rubber gloves.
- You can also attach a handle from a ruler to the container by wrapping it with tape. This will also help protect your hands from getting urine on them.

Part 2 of 3: Handling Collected Material

1 Close the container with a lid. Once the urine sample is collected for analysis, the container must be closed with a lid so that the urine is not contaminated or spilled. It would be best to close the container with its own lid.If you don't have a container lid, cover it with several layers of plastic.
- If you choose to cover the container with plastic, secure the plastic to the container with a rubber band.
- If urine stains the outside of the container, wipe it off with a dry paper towel.
- Remember to wash your hands in warm water and soap before and after closing the container.
2 Take the urine to a veterinary clinic. Urinalysis will be most accurate if a fresh urine sample (collected within a few hours before analysis) is used. When the urine container is securely closed, place it in a bag and write your dog's name on the bag. Then take the urine to a veterinary clinic.
3 Store the collected urine properly (if necessary). If you can't get your urine sampled right away, you will need to keep it cold before visiting the veterinary clinic. The container of urine can be refrigerated or simply chilled with ice.
- If you choose to put the container in the refrigerator, pack it in a bag first to prevent urine particles from entering the refrigerator.
- Storing urine in the refrigerator can be inconvenient. If so, you can place the container in a cooler bag or ice box.
- Do not store the urine sample for longer than 12 hours. After 12 hours, urine becomes unsuitable for objective analysis.

Part 3 of 3: Seeking Help

1 Find an assistant. Collecting a dog's urine for analysis will be easier if someone can help you. Ask a friend or relative to walk the dog with you to hold the leash or put the container under the stream of urine in time.
2 Seek advice from your veterinarian. If you are having trouble collecting urine, do not worry. Contact your veterinarian and explain the situation. You may be given additional guidance or asked to collect urine directly from your veterinarian.
3 Let the veterinary clinic staff collect urine for analysis. If you decide to leave the task of collecting urine to the veterinary clinic staff, then someone on the staff can try to walk your dog when you drive up to the clinic. If this fails, the veterinarian may resort to another method of urine collection - urocystocentesis.
- For the urocystocentesis procedure, several veterinarian workers will lay your dog on its back, and the veterinarian will insert a special needle directly into the dog's bladder to collect urine.

Tips

Collecting urine for analysis from males is different from collecting urine from females.
Urine collected by simple collection method is not always suitable for analysis. Some tests are best done by urocystocentesis (directly from the bladder) to keep the urine sample clear.
A urine sample taken under a stream is a simple collection sample. While it is easiest to collect urine this way, it can be contaminated.