250 – Veterinary Voice: Prostate Problems, Prevention and Solutions | Pure Dog Talk

Summary: Prostate Problems, Prevention and Solutions<br> Dr. Marty Greer gives us the low down on male dog prostate and reproductive issues. Additional discussion on emergency semen collection, dogs whose semen doesn’t extend well and more.<br> <br> “This is an area that is often misunderstood by the general practitioner vet,” Greer said.<br> Symptoms<br> Symptoms of a prostatic complication include blood in the urine or ejaculate, straining to pass stool, blood dripping from the penis, Greer added.<br> Diagnosis<br> Prostate cancer, benign prostatic hypertrophy, prostatitis are the most common complications. Dogs over five years old are the most commonly affected.<br> <br> Greer advises that neutering is not absolutely necessary for dogs with non-cancerous prostate disease.<br> <br> Dogs with a prostate infection are very sick, typically run a fever and clearly don’t feel well, Greer said.<br> <br> Prostatic cancer manifests in two different forms. Which type the dog has needs to be confirmed with a biopsy.<br> “Both kinds of prostate cancer are quite serious,” Greer said. “Counterintuitively, it is almost always a neutered dog that has these cancers.”<br> Treatment<br> Benign prostatic hypertrophy (enlarged prostate) is a hormonal disease, Greer noted. Dogs don’t need antibiotics, neutering isn’t required. The condition can be successfully treated with hormone therapy.<br> “Neutering will cure BPH and prostatitis. However, it is very difficult to breed neutered male dogs, unless they have had semen frozen. The best time to freeze semen is when a dog is between 2 and 5 years of age. The dog should be healthy and producing great quality semen. It will cost you a lot less money to freeze a canine’s semen when he is young. If he later turns out to have a disorder that you don’t want in your breeding program, you can either wait until a DNA test is conducted to determine how you can use him in your breeding program or discard the semen.” -- <a href="https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/prostate-disorders-in-male-dogs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Marty Greer</a>