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Dog peeing blood: Which tests are best, UA, bloodwork, or ultrasound?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cairn Terrier | Female | spayed | 9 years and 3 months old | 19 lbs

My dog has had frank blood after urination for 6-8 weeks now. Has seen her Vet twice and is on her 2nd round of antibiotics because they thought maybe the first one was not the right one and also they did an x-ray on the second visit and did not appear to have stones. They didn't do blood work or UA on either of the visits and are recommending ultrasound. My question is should I maybe take her for a second opinion and see if they will do a UA and bloodwork or would you recommend the ultrasound?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 13th, 2017

Poor Shelby. I personally would recommend a urinalysis and blood work to start, and an ultrasound if needed . You want to be able to differentiate where the blood is coming from. It could be coming from the kidneys or the urinary bladder. But so much information can be gathered from the urinalysis, such as any abnormal cells, bacteria, or crystals. Also you have to keep in mind that two types of urinary stones (Cystine and Urate) are not visible on an x-ray. I hope you get to the bottom of Shelby's condition soon!

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm sorry Shelby has been having blood after urinating for the past six to eight weeks! It's always recommended to have a UA and blood work done when a dog has blood in the urine, but I do think the ultrasound is a good idea as well. In a senior dog like Shelby, there is a possibility that this blood in her urine could be caused by a bladder tumor, which might be one reason why your vet wants to do an ultrasound. The ultrasound will help identify if there are any abnormalities in her bladder that could point to bladder cancer or another cause for the blood in her urine. In my opinion, I would speak to your vet about doing the UA and blood work in addition to the ultrasound. I hope this helps you, good luck!

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