If I smell urine on a dog or cat, there are often a couple of causes that might generate the less-than-pleasant smell. The first, is that the pet may have a urinary tract infection. Typically, these are female dogs or cats and the urine that is collecting on the hair around the vulva has a very powerful odor. It is reasonably normal for a little urine to collect on the hair after an animal urinates and often you don’t even smell it. However, when the urine is concentrated or has an infection, it can create a pretty powerful odor that should not be ignored.
The second reason may be due to urinary incontinence, which is when an animal while they sleep may loses control of their bladder and urine can leak out. This, again, can cause urine to collect in the hair and on the skin and create a pretty powerful smell.
If you are smelling urine on your dog, I would strongly recommend that you make an appointment with your vet and have the urine checked to rule out any underlying health issues. To get the odor out of the hair, there are some wonderful shampoos with oxygen technology that work great at beating the stink!
– Dr. B