Dark Colored Urine

Dakotazeb

Dakotazeb

Well-known member
Yesterday afternoon I noticed a spot or two in the snow where my spayed female Brittany had peed that were quite dark. I thought it must be blood in the urine. Took her to the vet this morning and her urine tested negative for blood. Also ran some blood tests and everything was normal. Urine is not dark today but is quite yellow. Without snow on the ground one would never have noticed anything. I had run her pretty hard earlier in the day yesterday and the vet thinks it might have triggered the darkness in the urine. Maybe some muscle breakdown. He was also concerned that it was from the liver but a liver panel was negative. Other than that she appears perfectly normal. Eating well, alert, not drinking excessive water or urinating too much. Anyone seen anything like this or have any ideas?
 
i have seen it before. Even watery blood in a spayed female. The heavy excercise could produce some cloudy and yellow urine, from a little dehydration. I was never in a position to have the Vet panels, off in the field, and it was gone after a couple of patches. There normally some vaginal fluid interspersed with urine usually which makes this brew. As I said no other repercusions.
 
I've noticed in my spayed female that after I hint her for a few consecutive days she will have dark urine but not dark enough to be blood just a dark yellow. I just have always thought it was dehydration and from being tired from hunting hard. Like you said she dose not act funny our have a lack of appetite.
 
dark urine

Yep my Setter gets real dark urine after hunting real hard all day seems to be no bother to him. also seems like if I try to make him drink more the urine wouldn't be so dark but not always. I noticed it when he was young and I have carried squirt bottles with me ever since.
 
I have had even males get it, any dog. I think it is a little dehydration, and also sometimes can be a urinary infection. For that you can get them to p on a floor, and suck some up with a syringe with no needle on it. And drop it off to test. But then, they seem like they want to p a bunch and no p too.
With the hard run she most likely just never drank enough water. Some food causes this too, if they screw with the formula.
 
I should maybe have been more specific in my color discription. The color of her urine was kind of Root Beer in color. Very dark, that's why I thought it was blood. I have a tough time believing it has anything to do with dehydration.
 
I think we have determined the cause but I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Hopefully it was just a one time thing. What we have come up with is:

exertional myoglobinuria: myoglobin is an oxygen bearing iron based pigment found in muscle tissue. It's what makes red meat red. Under extreme exercise muscle cells can become injured and "leak" myoglobin which is then excreted in the urine leading to a very darkened color. This phenomenon has been described in dogs undergoing sustained muscular exertion.

This is a brief description of the condition. There is a lot more on the internet if you do a search of "myoglobinuria in dogs". Sounds like it can be a potentially dangerous condition. I'm sure hoping that's not the case in my dog and that it just a "one and done" thing. Anyone have any experience with this or ever heard of it?

Elle did work extra hard in the field the other day trying to get through the crusted snow. She ran hard for the better part of an hour. That's usually not a big deal for her but the crusty snow put a lot more strain on her. But if she hadn't been urinating in the snow I would never have seen a thing.
 
Hi George,

Glad you found the problem...have you observed this before when winter hunting? Or at home after a winter outing? Wonder if this is breed - typical?
 
dark

Zeb,
Hopefully just high exertion related.
You could run her & experiment with easier / shorter runs
vs. longer, more strenuous runs & observe coloration. If Elle is basically sound & healthy I would not push any buttons yet.

If thi is not any illness related issue....you might consider tweaking her diet towards content (protein - fat ratios)
more complimentary to muscle stamina. There is a lot of data out there.
Elle is always in great shape. May just be something you haven't noticed before.
 
fourtrax said:
Zeb,
Hopefully just high exertion related.
You could run her & experiment with easier / shorter runs
vs. longer, more strenuous runs & observe coloration. If Elle is basically sound & healthy I would not push any buttons yet.

If thi is not any illness related issue....you might consider tweaking her diet towards content (protein - fat ratios)
more complimentary to muscle stamina. There is a lot of data out there.
Elle is always in great shape. May just be something you haven't noticed before.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not going to get over concerned at this stage but I am trying to find more info. Natty Bumpo on this site is a DVM and he's looking into it for me. As well as my regular vet here in Watertown. The condition of Myoglobulinuria appears to be common in horses but not dogs. I'm trusting it was a one time thing. I'll continue to exercise her in preperation for the upcoming NSTRA trials and monitor her urine. She has been on the same food (NutriSource Adult Formula, 26% protein & 16% Fat) for nearly 4 years and done very well so I have a difficult time believing it has anything to do with her diet. But who knows?
 
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