Symptoms of a Urinary Infection in a Male Dog

Most urinary tract infections in dogs are caused by a bacterial infection. If detected in the earliest stage, the infection can usually be treated quickly. If left undetected, it can spread to the animal's bladder, genital tract or kidneys. Both male and female dogs get urinary tract infections, although the female's shorter urethra make it a more common target. If your dog shows signs of a possible urinary tract infection, such as pain while urinating or blood in its urine, it should be examined by a veterinarian.

  1. Constant Urination

    • Recurrent urination is usually the first sign to a dog owner that something is wrong. The dog whines to go outside but soon wants to come back in. Minutes later, it wants to go out again, with the same results. Sometimes the animal pass a lot of urine, but more often it passes only a small quantity.

    Evident Pain When Urinating

    • If a dog is in obvious pain when urinating or appears to be straining, it may have an infection. Dogs usually reveal they are in pain or stress by whimpering or panting heavily.

    Frequent Licking of Genitals

    • A dog instinctively tries to alleviate pain by licking the afflicted area. If the dog licks its genital area after every urination, that is a sign it feels a burning sensation in that area.

    Urinating in Odd Places

    • Dogs tend to be habitual. If a dog unexpectedly urinates in places where it would not normally do so, or has unexpected accidents in the house, it is showing a common symptom of a urinary tract infection.

    Blood or Pus in the Urine

    • Blood in the urine, or even a pink coloration, is a sign of infection. Cloudiness in the urine may indicate the presence of pus. This is usually accompanied by a noticeably foul smell.