Enlarged prostate?

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benelli
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Enlarged prostate?

Post by benelli » Fri Jul 08, 2016 8:34 am

I took my 4-year-old intact GSP to the vet yesterday for his annual check-up/shots. The tech and vet were pushing to neuter him, which I fully expected; before the vet came in, the tech mentioned as one of the reasons the possibility of an enlarged prostate. He said one of the signs of that is the anal opening not being as "tight" as it should be, and having a larger-than-normal area without hair there. He glanced at my dog and said he was already looking that way a bit.

The vet said nothing about that when he came in (he pushed for neutering, mentioned testicular cancer, etc., but didn't say anything about visually noticing symptoms of a prostate problem).

Last night I looked online at symptoms of prostate enlargement, since I'm not really familiar with it, and it mentioned straining to poop/having thin poops as being a symptom. My dog has a mix of "good" poops and ones he has to strain for (but that's been the case off and on his entire life).

Should we be concerned? Since he's fully grown, we're not opposed to neutering him if there is a reason to do it, but we don't want to do it just because the vet likes to neuter dogs.

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by shags » Fri Jul 08, 2016 11:08 am

Did your vet actually check your dog's prostate?

My males are intact and a prostate check is part of their annual exam, and it's also checked if I bring them to the vet because they seem sore or stiff behind. I can only remember maybe twice that any of them had a little enlargement. It resolved itself with no treatment. Last time he checked my 12 year old, he mentioned that the dog had a little 'extra' tissue below his bum, an effect of testosterone. But it's just a sign, not a symptom or a problem. It looks like slightly puffier skin below the anal opening.

My dogs also strain from time to time, but it varies with diet, exercise, etc and is not anything chronic. There is also difference between their bums, some are kinda big others small. My vet has never mentioned if one is better than the other :)

My vet and I have discussed neutering vs leaving intact, and he knows I'm an anti-neuterite. I know he recommends neutering to most pet owners. He doesn't ever nag me about neutering, and if he ever thought it was necessary for my dogs' health and well-being ( specific problem), I'd certainly consider it. Otherwise, I don't see subjecting my dogs to unnecessary surgery.

benelli
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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by benelli » Fri Jul 08, 2016 11:38 am

No, he didn't do any physical check of the prostate.

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by shags » Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:27 pm

Then how does he know? Or the tech?
Kinda sounds like the lady on America's Got Talent, who claimed she could tell a person's characteristics/future by looking at their butts :roll:

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dog dr
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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by dog dr » Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:51 pm

i think the "vet tech" is a moron. only way you can definitively tell an enlarged prostate is to perform a digital rectal exam.

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by MonsterDad » Fri Jul 08, 2016 7:29 pm

An enlarged prostate in a 4 year old dog would be highly unusual, especially in a GSP.

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Spy Car
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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by Spy Car » Fri Jul 08, 2016 7:51 pm

Sounds fishy.

*If* the dog really had an enlarged prostate that presented a risk of impeding urinary flow, then neutering (a poor practice otherwise) would rapidly solve the problem.

But to do it "just because?" No way.

No rectal exam? Morons is right.

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mm
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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by mm » Sat Jul 09, 2016 4:56 am

Time for a new vet. If you are worried get a second opinion from a vet who is not preaching the government neutering line. It took me 4 vets here in NY to find one. I have 4 dogs and was told each one would die of an assorted group of cancers that I could prevent just by fixing them. During this time I was lucky enough to have a good vet where I go hunting once a year. All my dogs visit that vet where I am told they are fine an no fixing speech is given. I finally found a decent vet here in NY who is honest and does not preach. This guy is even a hunter now the only thing is I hope he does not retire.
mm

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by oregon woodsmoke » Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:42 pm

benelli wrote:....... before the vet came in, the tech mentioned as one of the reasons the possibility of an enlarged prostate. He said one of the signs of that is the anal opening not being as "tight" as it should be, and having a larger-than-normal area without hair there. .....
I'm not opposed to neutering but, really, that is a crock of hooey. What you want to watch out for is that an enlarged area around the anus and a puffy damp look is a sign of anal furunculosys, which needs to be treated, but it isn't treated by neutering and it is uncommon in dogs who carry their tails high.

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by oregon woodsmoke » Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:44 pm

benelli wrote:....... before the vet came in, the tech mentioned as one of the reasons the possibility of an enlarged prostate. He said one of the signs of that is the anal opening not being as "tight" as it should be, and having a larger-than-normal area without hair there. .....
I'm not opposed to neutering but, really, that is a crock of hooey. What you want to watch out for is that an enlarged area around the anus and a puffy damp look is a sign of anal furunculosis, which needs to be treated, but it isn't treated by neutering and it is uncommon in dogs who carry their tails high.

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by DeLo727 » Sun Jul 10, 2016 2:28 pm

mm wrote:Time for a new vet. If you are worried get a second opinion from a vet who is not preaching the government neutering line. It took me 4 vets here in NY to find one. I have 4 dogs and was told each one would die of an assorted group of cancers that I could prevent just by fixing them. During this time I was lucky enough to have a good vet where I go hunting once a year. All my dogs visit that vet where I am told they are fine an no fixing speech is given. I finally found a decent vet here in NY who is honest and does not preach. This guy is even a hunter now the only thing is I hope he does not retire.
mm
can I ask who you see? Im always curious about good vets in my neck of the woods(Ny)

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mm
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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by mm » Mon Jul 11, 2016 2:37 am

Ft Hill Animal Hospital, Huntington, NY

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by SubMariner » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:02 am

A few months back our younger GSP (had just turned 5) started having blood in his urine stream as well as it coming out of his urethra when he wasn't urinating. After a vet's exam & various tests, he was diagnosed with a prostrate infection and given antibiotics. While the infection resolved, he still was found to have a somewhat enlarged prostrate: Benign Prostrate Hyperplasia (BPH). He is on finasteride daily to control it. Eventually we may get him neutered, but at this point the medication is controlling his condition & he is asymptomatic.
=SubMariner=
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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by Steve007 » Wed Aug 17, 2016 12:34 pm

benelli wrote:Since he's fully grown, we're not opposed to neutering him if there is a reason to do it, but we don't want to do it just because the vet likes to neuter dogs.
No point in going into a rant -- I'm sure others have here in the past --, but many vets push this stuff because they honestly believe the irrational foolishness that we've all heard. My brother is a vet, and I well remember sitting in his waiting room and hearing him advise the owners of a Pug puppy to neuter the dog "to prevent future behavioral problems". Geez. Did he think the Pug would go crazy and kill the owners? Or steal the car keys and breed bitches in season on the street?

My big Gordon male had an enlarged prostate at 9 and he advised me to neuter him. The dog lived to 16 and as he got older would wake me up in the middle of the night (slept in the bedroom) to let him out (never an accident). I was happy to do it. He was entitled to his own male personality, and there was a time I was glad he had it. As i grow older myself, I know I made the right decision not to follow genuinely thoughtless advice. You will be,too.

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Re: Enlarged prostate?

Post by JONOV » Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:52 am

Steve007 wrote:
benelli wrote:Since he's fully grown, we're not opposed to neutering him if there is a reason to do it, but we don't want to do it just because the vet likes to neuter dogs.
No point in going into a rant -- I'm sure others have here in the past --, but many vets push this stuff because they honestly believe the irrational foolishness that we've all heard. My brother is a vet, and I well remember sitting in his waiting room and hearing him advise the owners of a Pug puppy to neuter the dog "to prevent future behavioral problems". Geez. Did he think the Pug would go crazy and kill the owners? Or steal the car keys and breed bitches in season on the street?
Probably. Most Vets probably see too many unwanted dogs out there from unintentional breedings. All of the behavior problems that I've heard neutering fixes are problems that I see just as often in neutered dogs. Marking, fighting, etc, everything except escaping to find a bitch in heat. There is the noticeable phenomenon of neutered dogs being aggressive towards intact males. Just this last weekend a vet tech who we was at a party said "when you get him neutered..." (I don't currently plan on it) and went on about how almost every fight she's seen in the office came from intact males.

And yet, when I went to a NAVHDA meeting with no less than a half dozen intact males, no one fought. Shocking!

I got lucky with my Vet I guess. She said "if you decide to netuer. A lot of hunters don't want to" and never said another word about it.

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