Instructions
Collecting From a Dog
Know that your dog will likely urinate first thing in the morning, or shortly after a meal. These predictable times are good options for watching your dog closely and trying to get a sample.
Take a flat plastic container such as a margarine container, a tin pie pan or old frying pan to use as your collection tool. Wait until your dog begins to urinate. Once he or she has started, place the container into the stream. If this shape of a container proves difficult for collection from a male dog, try attaching a plastic cup to the end of a ruler. This tool may be easier with males. Remember, most testing will only require about a tablespoon of urine.
Keep your dog inside for an extended period of time if they are difficult to follow, or seem to have a high regard for privacy. If they have held in urine for quite some time, they are more likely to go as soon as they get outside to grass, making your job easier. Also, because they haven't urinated in a while, they are likely to go for a longer time, giving you more chances to catch it midstream.
Pour collected urine in a screw-top jar and immediately place in the refrigerator unless you are taking the specimen to the vet's office within 2 hours of collection.
Bring your pet into the vet's office if you simply aren't able to get a specimen for the dog. Make sure it's been a significant amount of time since the pet urinated. Leave the dog in the car and allow the vet personnel to come out to the car with a kidney dish. Your dog will likely have no problem urinating once in the vet's office where he or she can smell appealing scents in the office.
Collecting From a Cat
Replace your cat's litter in the tray using a non-absorbent kitty litter (available through your vet), or removing as much of the litter as possible. Move the remaining litter to the four corners of the tray.
Tip the cat's urine into a clean screw top jar once he has gone in the litter box. Try not to spill too much litter into the sample. It may be best to do this outside or over the laundry sink, since it could get messy.
Keep outside cats, or those from whom getting a sample proves difficult, confined to a kennel or cage and bring the pet into the vet's office. The staff should be able to easily express the urine as long as the bladder is full.
How to Collect a Pet's Urine Sample
Sometimes a vet requires a urine sample from your pet. This is usually a dog, but sometimes includes other pets as well, such as cats. The task can be difficult; but it can be accomplished with a few helpful tips. Read on to learn more.