Prostate Gland and Prostate Diseases

The prostate gland is a single gland found around the urethra at the neck of the bladder. A pet with an inflamed prostate gland can have difficulties whilst urinating, defecation, and experience discharge from their penis which increases the risks of developing a possible infection.

The prostate diseases include hyperplasia, infection, cysts, abscesses, and cancer. Severe diseases of cysts, abscesses, and cancer are treated by excisional and partial prostatectomies. All prostatic diseases, except cancer, can be prevented by castration during the first year of life. Castration (chemical or surgical) is used as a treatment of the most common prostate disease, hyperplasia as it reduces the size increase, discharge, and the potential for persistent infection.

The prostate gland completely regresses after castration and should not develop hyperplasia, cysts, or abscesses. An uncastrated pet may develop prostate problems secondary to the influence of the hormone testosterone. Symptoms may include infertility, impotence, incontinence, dysuria, haematuria, caudal abdominal pain, and faecal tenesmus.

How to diagnose a prostate problem?
The size and character of the prostate can be examined by palpation of the caudal abdomen or via rectal examination (palpation with fingertip). Radiography and/or ultrasonography are also useful and will be recommended if symptoms and/or examination results point in direction of prostate problems.

What can be noticed by you, the pet owner?
The majority of the prostate problems occur at an older age and what you notice might not directly ring a bell, therefore here are some tips of what to monitor in an older intact male:

• Your dog might have difficulty passing stool and walking around with an arched back as if trying to find a good spot. This can be due to arthritic issues, where squatting simply hurts and can’t be done long, but it can also be caused by difficulty passing stool past the increased prostate gland which blocks the pelvic canal. If your dog succeeds to pass stool, you will find the stool is not rounded but flattened in form as the stool is pushed against the pelvis and flattened before being expelled.
• Small amounts of urine, frequently expressed during the walk and maybe a sign or sound of pain whilst urinating. This is however a very difficult symptom to interpret, as most male dogs will cock their leg frequently during a walk, marking their territory.
• Other signs to look for are drops of blood on the floor, these simply fall out of the urethra/preputium and do not seem to cause pain, and therefore owners might not directly jump to action as they initially cannot find where the blood is coming from.

When you see these symptoms in your dog, bring him in for a consult so we can check the prostate gland and advise on the next steps. When a dog suffers from prostate problems it is important to investigate the reason behind this onset and to eliminate further progress. If diagnosed at an early stage the prognosis is good and treatment fairly simple. Removing the hormone source (testosterone) via removal of the testicles (surgical castration) or via injection (chemical castration) often is a sufficient initial step. The chemical castration is in general used for older dogs who are, due to other health issues, not ideal surgical candidates.

(Preventative) castration of the domestic dog is generally carried out at 8-12 months of age when the dog reaches puberty. Castration before puberty may fail the development of secondary sexual characteristics. In some male dogs, a change in metabolic rate may result in increased body weight. Castration after puberty together with correct dietary control eliminates the majority of problems associated with canine castration.

Castration of a cat is normally performed at approximately 7-8 months of age, just before puberty as cats tend to start spraying urine and this leaves a nasty smell in your house which is very difficult to remove. Castration is a pet surgery that may be carried out for therapeutic reasons (treatment of orchitis, perineal hernia, anal adenoma, testicular tumours, or prostatitis). Occasionally, castration is recommended to control behavioral abnormalities or difficulties such as spraying, roaming, excessive libido, or aggression. Get a 10% discount on check-up consult for male dogs with possible prostate problems during the month of November 2021.

Written by Mark Gutierez, ABVC Veterinary Nurse