Intact male dripping blood
Intact male dripping blood
Family member has an older male Lab that was occasionally dripping blood from his penis over a few days. The dog is around 10 years old, and intact. Other than this recent issue, he is healthy, and eats and drinks well.
After a trip to the vet, the dog was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and given antibiotics. The best guess is that the blood came from passing a stone? The vet encouraged them to get the dog neutered if he is not going to be bred.
OK, aside from the usual recommendation for neutering, is there a reason related to this issue that the dog should be neutered?
I'm guessing that testicular cancer or prostate cancer is a possibility for older dogs? At this point, is there a good reason to neuter this older male?
After a trip to the vet, the dog was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and given antibiotics. The best guess is that the blood came from passing a stone? The vet encouraged them to get the dog neutered if he is not going to be bred.
OK, aside from the usual recommendation for neutering, is there a reason related to this issue that the dog should be neutered?
I'm guessing that testicular cancer or prostate cancer is a possibility for older dogs? At this point, is there a good reason to neuter this older male?
- isonychia
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Re: Intact male dripping blood
I think you will get a mixed bag of opinions on this one. Assuming the blood was a stone and not bladder cancer or something more serious may not be the 100% best approach though, I would still be very cautious. At 6 years old, my vet told me not to worry about neutering, as long as I was responsible with my dog and everything else was fine, even given the fact that he would not be bred at that point, he recommended not doing it. I don't know the statistics, but there are a million cancers dogs can get that have nothing to do with their testicles. There is also the risk of the surgery. 10 years old? I would leave the "bleep" dog alone. I also would not feel like I did him any harm if he DID get testicular or cancer or another associated disease. 10 years is a decent run with a dog anymore, with cancer rates so high. FYI round-up may not be proven to be cancer causing in humans (yet), but it HAS been proven in peer reviewed scientific studies to cause cancers in dogs. I bring this up because nobody is talking about that, certainly not your vet. Why the EXTRA motivation on neutering?
Re: Intact male dripping blood
Castrating a dog without a very good cause can lead to increased risks of cancers and it generally undermines their health. Not optimal.
There is one leading reason to castrate older intact dogs and that is if they develop a large prostate. Ask your vet to check for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, if he/she has not already done so. Blood in the urine can be a sign of BPH (but the blood can be caused by other conditions, as you know).
BPH is testosterone dependent, so the prostate generally shrinks significantly after castration. Advanced BPH is risky for dogs, so if it is BPH it needs to be monitored.
Otherwise, avoid unnecessary castrations.
Bill
There is one leading reason to castrate older intact dogs and that is if they develop a large prostate. Ask your vet to check for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, if he/she has not already done so. Blood in the urine can be a sign of BPH (but the blood can be caused by other conditions, as you know).
BPH is testosterone dependent, so the prostate generally shrinks significantly after castration. Advanced BPH is risky for dogs, so if it is BPH it needs to be monitored.
Otherwise, avoid unnecessary castrations.
Bill
Re: Intact male dripping blood
See and listen to link! This is an interesting and highly informative interview with a vet who specializes in this very thing and mentions that generalist vets are frequently uninformed on this subject. We should ALL listen to it.
https://puredogtalk.com/veterinary-voic ... -dog-talk/
https://puredogtalk.com/veterinary-voic ... -dog-talk/
Re: Intact male dripping blood
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Steve007 wrote:See and listen to link! This is an interesting and highly informative interview with a vet who specializes in this very thing and mentions that generalist vets are frequently uninformed on this subject. We should ALL listen to it.
https://puredogtalk.com/veterinary-voic ... -dog-talk/
Do you bother to read your own links? If you did, you'd see this:
Neutering will cure BPH and prostatitis.
Which is correct. If you read my post, you'd see that I said BPH should be "monitored." Advanced BPH puts dogs at risk.Understand the difference between mild or moderate BPH and advanced BPH.
Bill
Re: Intact male dripping blood
Follow up: dog took his meds and now seems to be fine.
- isonychia
- Rank: 5X Champion
- Posts: 773
- Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:35 am
- Location: Southwestern Colorado
Re: Intact male dripping blood
Thanks for the follow-up!nanney1 wrote:Follow up: dog took his meds and now seems to be fine.