One of the best ways to stay on top of your dog's health is to pay attention to its urine. Urine color and odor in general are reflections of the kidneys' health. Since many kidney disorders such as stone formation, edema and infection often do not cause pain in the beginning stages, it might be a good idea to pay attention to your dog urine's color and odor. Urine color and odor are two of the most useful indicators of health or disease in terms of metabolism of macro-nutrients, acid levels, balance of interstitial fluids, and renal function.
Odor:
The greater the smell of urine, the sicker the dog. Normal urine has a slight, aromatic odor. If your dog's urine is foamy and smelly you need to contact your vet immediately. Such symptoms can reflect a medley of renal and metabolic disorders.
For example if the urine has a strong ammonia odor, it is a telltale sign that the dog's body is using an emergency system to keep going and that the essential electrolyte minerals needed to keep the kidneys healthy are depleted.
Color:
Normal healthy dogs have a urine color that is a straw color or pale yellow. Urine pigment reflects hepatic function and is derived from the breaking down of old, red blood cells into bilirubin. Concentrated urine continues to become darker. Acid urine is always darker than alkaline urine. Normal urine is perfectly clear and transparent. Acid urine sometimes reveals "brick dust", or urate deposits.
Dogs eating only canned and dried processed commercial foods usually have dark color urine because their diet is high in inorganic sodium, phosphates and hard to digest protein. When they urinate on grass, their urine will literally burn the grass.
What to do to address the problem naturally:
Feed your dog’s real foods high in organic minerals such as organic fresh fruits and vegetables. A quick fix to help your dog's kidneys is to include a few tablespoons daily of veggie juice from vegetables high in organic sodium like organically grown zucchini and celery. Within just a few days you can change the pH levels of the urine and you'll see that the strong odor will no longer be there and the dark urine color will change to straw color.
Not only will the urine color become clear and transparent, but when your dog urinates on grass, the grass will become greener. A healthy dog's urine is a terrific fertilizer for your lawn.
Conclusion:
So, for the health of your dog, pay attention to your dog's urine color and odor. When corrected, your dog could live a healthier and long life.