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Does your dog’s urine have a strong almost chemical-like smell to it? This will usually happen when your dog’s urine contains a particular waste product. Even though urine in general will have a hint of ammonia in it, which means that it is normal up to a point, some particular cases will warrant further investigation.
What Could Be Behind Causes a Dog’s Urine Smelling So Strong?
A strong ammonia smell coming from your dog’s urine could be caused by all kinds of dietary, lifestyle, or medical factors. You will find the most common ones below:
The Dog Might Be Dehydrated
Dehydration is one of the most common conditions that lead to the dog’s urine changing its smell to a strong ammonia-like one. This is because the lack of enough amounts of fluid inside the body would cause the urine to have a higher amount of waste products. Less diluted urine will also be much darker in color.
A Specific Diet Can Contribute to the Strong Smell
There are a few food types that when combined, will accentuate the smell of your dog’s urine. A recent change in your dog’s meals, like the introduction of fish or asparagus, can be the thing that made the urine smell weird.
You might also like my articles about why isn’t a dog urinating properly, Cushing’s disease in dogs, and if neutering a dog changes his personality.
A UTI, or Urinary Tract Infection Could
No, UTIs, or urinary tract infections, aren’t medical conditions that only affect humans. Dogs are also susceptible to developing this infection whenever bacteria gets inside the urethral opening and travels upwards. This bacteria can come either from feces or from other debris your dog gets in contact with. Urine with a stronger smell isn’t the only symptom to look out for when dealing with a UTI. A lot of the affected dogs will either lick the urinary area constantly or have issues urinating properly.
A Possible Kidney Disease
This is one of the worst-case scenarios, but it is possible that your dog is suffering from kidney disease or even kidney failure if other severe symptoms can be noticed. When a dog suffers from kidney disease, his kidneys aren’t properly filtering the waste products, which ultimately will get in the urine, making it more concentrated. This will make the urine have a strong ammonia-like smell.
Can You Stop a Dog’s Pee from Smelling So Bad?
There are some things you can do to make your dog’s urine smell less bad, as long as the strong ammonia smell isn’t due to an underlying health issue.
Ensure Your Dog is Always Properly Hydrated
Give your dog a lot of fresh drinking water. Make sure your dog has easy access to enough water, especially when you’re at work or away from home. Drinking water is not only healthy, but it will also solve many of the problems related to the dog’s urinating by keeping the waste product concentration to optimal levels. Your dog’s urine should usually have a transparent yellow color.
Keep The Dog’s Lifestyle as Healthy as Possible
The best way to ensure this is by giving your dog enough mental and physical exercise on a daily basis. A lot of dogs will develop medical conditions that will make their urine smell bad just due to the boredom and high levels of stress they have to go through.
Keep Your Dog’s Diet in Check
Always make sure that your dog is eating healthy and that his diet is balanced. Try to prevent your dog from eating any foreign objects or junk food. A lot of dogs will end up eating weird objects like socks and plastic bags due to their curiosity. Some of these can make the dog ill to the point that his urine becomes more concentrated and smells way worse.
Can You Get Rid of The Dog Urine Smell From the House?
Do you have a dog that constantly marks his territory with urine? What could you ever do to eliminate that strong ammonia-like spell from your house? Actually, there are a couple of things you can do.
Use an Enzyme Cleaner
Using a professional enzyme cleaner can be of great help in your attempt to remove the strong smell of ammonia from floor surfaces like hardwood and carpets. These products have activated bacteria that basically do all the work for you, by breaking down the odor-causing particles and consuming them.
Use Odor Removing Bags
There are some types of odor-removing bags that will help clean dog urine smell from around the house. Inside these bags are non-toxic minerals powerful enough to absorb all kinds of smells. These bags can be placed close to the spots where your dog urinates and after a couple of days, the smell should disappear by itself.
