Well at least for boy dogs anyway. Let's talk about your dog's prostate.
Did you know dogs can get prostate cancer? Well unfortunately, just like men, our little fur-boys are just as susceptible to enlarge prostates and prostate cancer. I found this out when my mother's dog was diagnosed with it. Poochie is 14 year old miniature schnauzer who bounced through a few homes before landing at my Mom's. He's a cutie but lately has been having a bit of a peeing problem.
It seemed he was straining to empty his bladder and right at the end would have a little bit of blood. After a round of tests and antibiotics, we just got word that he does in fact have prostate cancer. So I did a little research on the subject to see what we are dealing with.
For starters, what the heck is a prostate? Well the smart people at www.peteducation.com have a great description of the prostate and what it is good for. In fact, they have this great illustration below that shows you where that little gland is located.
According to their website, the prostate is an accessory sex gland that's sole purpose is producing the fluid to transport and nourish sperm. For most dogs, the gland is rendered fairly useless early on in the dog's sexual prime through the process of neutering. Not only does neutering prevent unwanted puppies ('cause a dog's going to do what a dog's going to do), it also reduces the size of the prostate tissue, and thereby reduces the incidence of prostate cancer. Neutering also reduces the risk of testicular cancer later on in life. Incidentally, this also works for male cats.
Most dogs are neutered around 6 months old. And just to clarify what neutering is - it is the removal of the testicles, also known as castration (but that just sounds bad). Yep - gives a whole new meaning to "has anyone seen my ..." well we'll keep this as a family show but you get the point. The removal reduces the hormone testosterone, and testosterone affects the size of the prostate. The earlier the boy toys are removed, the less prostatic tissue develops. So if you are not planning on breeding or showing, there is no reason to delay. You are not protecting his manhood. Get him a studded collar for that. Get 'em out of there. Use it or lose it!
As you can see from the picture, an enlarged prostate causes a few problems. Most notably, the prostate pushes up against the colon causing constipation and pain when the dog tries to defecate. One thing that you can do to ease the pain is to change up the food. If you aren't doing it already, you can feed a home-made concoction of meat and veggies or some good quality canned food. The more digestible the food, the less that has to come out the other end. This is no time for filler. Digestible proteins includes any real muscle and organ meat (no meat meal, feathers, etc), cooked eggs and egg whites, cottage cheese and fish. Kibble has a low moisture content and usually has filler. Ease up on your dog's bowels with some veggie fibre - pumpkin, peas, spinach, carrots and sweet potato plus the moisture from wet food all work well to reduce constipation.
So what else can be done to deal with the prostate? Well in Poochie's case, because of his age, surgery is not a great option so he's on some anti-inflammatories and a good diet. The anti-inflammatories will help reduce any swelling and pain, although it was caught fairly early so he's still in good shape. I didn't notice a thing the last time he came to visit. Anti-inflammatories can be a bit rough on the tummy so they are best administered with food as a buffer.
In other cases, surgery may be quite successful. It is important to discuss your options with the vet to ensure you are doing what is best for your specific situation.
Symptoms to watch for are:
- difficulty urinating e.g. straining
- difficulty defecating
- walking funny - stiff legged; trying to prevent the prostate from "rubbing" on his innards
- discharge from the penis may be the result of a secondary infection
If you see these signs, take your boy in for a check up. Other conditions or infections could be causing the same symptoms.
As for Poochie, I will continue to search for other remedies that may help. Although saw palmetto can be used to help men (of the two-legged variety), it may not be suitable for dogs. In fact, it just might be toxic so don't try to self-treat quite yet. I will check back in when I have more info.
And again, for those with young fur-boys, if I haven't made the point clear enough already - early prevention helps so this is no time for delay.
Hope you are feeling better Poochie. I'll be bringing out a fresh batch of home cookin' when I bring the other old timer, Curly, for another visit.
Good to know. Good info there.
Posted by: Kal Barteski | July 11, 2007 at 08:59 AM