The present study was aimed at developing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detection of canine adenoviruses from faecal or urine samples. Urine or faecal samples were treated with chloroform or activated charcoal to eliminate the PCR inhibitory substances and the total DNA was extracted. The PCR was optimized using common set of primers to amplify 508 bp or 1,030 bp DNA sequence within E3 gene of canine adenovirus-1 (CAV-1) and canine adenovirus-2 (CAV-2), respectively. The PCR assay could detect up to 0.016 TCID(50) viruses from CAV-1 infected MDCK cell culture fluid, 1.6 TCID(50) viruses from faeces and 16 TCID(50) viruses from urine. In addition, the PCR assay was validated using clinical samples. Based on the results, it is concluded that, the present PCR assay can be used for rapid detection of canine adenoviral infections.