Veterinarian here: ask me anything!

[Deagle113]

Something that has always been on my mind is whether there is an advantage to using a Seresto collar as opposed to the topical liquid and if either of them actually helps. When I owned, she had the collar on and she would be a tick magnet. I was told that it doesn't keep ticks away, but when they try to feed they'll die from what is secreted through the blood and then fall off. It didn't seem to happen that way and she was positive for two of the three big ones and when I took her harness off one time I saw the largest bloated tick I had ever seen

Most of the products absorbed through the skin (like a Seresto collar and the ones you squeeze on the back) kill ticks anywhere from 4 hours to 24 after they attach. Just as an example, the two ingredients in Seresto—Imidacloprid and flumethrin—bind together as a polymer and spread their way down the animal. Both of these work on central and peripheral nervous systems of ticks to paralyze and kill them. Imidacloprid is synthetically similar to nicotine, all the tick’s nerves simply continue firing until it dies.

However! Though these drugs work well, you should still remove ticks after hiking—most tick borne diseases take a day or two of feeding to transmit, and on the off chance that you get a super tick say, that takes 24 hours to die (maybe you are at the tail end of the 8 months of Seresto so the dose is much less) in combo with a whopping dose of Lyme in that particular tick, you could theoretically get infection—though it would be pretty rare on prevention.

Just because your doggo popped up positive on the test didn’t mean she had an active infection. Those tests work by detecting antibodies, (proteins made by your white blood cells that stick to pathogens to detect and kill them) to the four major tick diseases in the US. Antibodies stick around even after clearing an infection, so a positive means the dog has been exposed to that agent at one time, but not necessarily actively infected.

Good medical practice involves always interpreting tests in light of the whole animal and clinical picture, and treating accordingly.

 

[Deagle113]

Doesn't the vet know?
He wants us to ask him questions, but he is silent.

You’ve got to give my fingers and considerable lack of free time time to catch up with the rate of galaxy expansion.

 

[Deagle113]

I'd like to ask about a controversial topic. Performing anal sex on dogs... many zoophiles consider it a morally wrong and abusive practice while others who perform such acts swear that their companions enjoy it. What is your moral and professional stance on this a matter?. Also, do you think dogs, specifically male dogs are able to experience pleasure from anal penetration in a similar way as human males can through prostate stimulation? Thank you.

I think navigating the morals of being zoo is very complicated, given that we ourselves would be instantly labeled as “immoral” by the wider population. In my opinion, You’ve got to build a philosophy that doesn’t require you to engage in cognitive dissonance and allows you to keep both your non zoo and zoo life as consistent as possible, or you will continue to struggle.

We’ve got the Zeta principles to help guide that initial question, but the way I practically think about animal intimacy is if it occurs as an expression of devotion and love, is mutually enjoyable and consensual for both parties (this requires you to understand a lot of the behavior and mannerisms of your partner as well as the science and ethology of that species and to make quite an effort to get to know them) and doesn’t involve medically unsafe practices, it’s perfectly moral.

Dogs aren’t small humans, and they don’t view sex with the collection of religious and cultural trappings that we humans do—the emphasis is on the human partner in the relationship to do their due diligence and maintain ethics—much as it is also on them to feed good food and provide medical care for their companion.

Stimulation wise, the neural physiology doesn’t work the same way. You can get a bit of physiologic arousal by stimulating the prostate due to the link between the pudendal nerve and the tissues it runs to (think of some of our male dogs who do so when pooping) since the colon lies directly on top of it.

That being said, the prostate is further back than you would think, and once you get above a certain size of canine a human penis wouldn’t be able to reach and provide even this.

The crucial part of the stimulation that is missing (and the part that is a whole lot more pleasurable for the dog) is pressure behind the bulbis glandis. Without that component you won’t reach orgasm, and I’d say not building to orgasm isn’t nearly as pleasurable or fun as doing so, from a canine perspective—and that’s what we want to maximize during intimacy after all.

 

[Deagle113]

Hi Deagle!

I know this topic has probably been covered on the interwebs many times over the years but are neutered large-breed dogs still able to ejaculate prostatic fluid, less the sperm (obviously)?
A friend of mine has graciously allowed me some alone time with his dog and during a handjob I noticed engorging of the bulbis, the tip of his penis flexing, and tail flagging, but not fluid. It's lovely feeling his throbbing shaft in his sheath but he only appears to have a dry orgasm...is it possible over time for him to have a wet orgasm or did that door close when he was neutered?

Strictly speaking, yes, as neutering only removes the testicles and sperm production. It’s very uncommon, though, and over time without the influence of testicular testosterone the prostate will get a whole lot smaller, and produce a lot less to none.

 

[Deagle113]

Now if only I could figure out how to keep the dogs out of the cat food the moment after I have my back turned...

Cats can jump quite well, and most dogs are pretty bad at it—elevation is your solution! Also at least for my cat he loves looking down at the dogs from his perch and mocking them. And also the ability to hop up on things and get away from all the wet noses

 

[moonlover]

So I want to ask you in your years of working as a vet.Whenever somebody brings in a male or female dog.No if the dog is having sex with their human companion Like for instance if my Dog is going through her heat.Or we're just fooling around that weak when they examine her for her check up.Are they going to be able to tell that my Member was in her

 

[GAThrawn]

Most of the products absorbed through the skin (like a Seresto collar and the ones you squeeze on the back) kill ticks anywhere from 4 hours to 24 after they attach. Just as an example, the two ingredients in Seresto—Imidacloprid and flumethrin—bind together as a polymer and spread their way down the animal. Both of these work on central and peripheral nervous systems of ticks to paralyze and kill them. Imidacloprid is synthetically similar to nicotine, all the tick’s nerves simply continue firing until it dies.

However! Though these drugs work well, you should still remove ticks after hiking—most tick borne diseases take a day or two of feeding to transmit, and on the off chance that you get a super tick say, that takes 24 hours to die (maybe you are at the tail end of the 8 months of Seresto so the dose is much less) in combo with a whopping dose of Lyme in that particular tick, you could theoretically get infection—though it would be pretty rare on prevention.

Just because your doggo popped up positive on the test didn’t mean she had an active infection. Those tests work by detecting antibodies, (proteins made by your white blood cells that stick to pathogens to detect and kill them) to the four major tick diseases in the US. Antibodies stick around even after clearing an infection, so a positive means the dog has been exposed to that agent at one time, but not necessarily actively infected.

Good medical practice involves always interpreting tests in light of the whole animal and clinical picture, and treating accordingly.

Thanks! Now I'm curious as to what the 4th disease is. I had only heard of Lyme, erlichiosis, and aneplasmosis. Is the 4th one region specific?

 

[LustyGSD]

I think navigating the morals of being zoo is very complicated, given that we ourselves would be instantly labeled as “immoral” by the wider population. In my opinion, You’ve got to build a philosophy that doesn’t require you to engage in cognitive dissonance and allows you to keep both your non zoo and zoo life as consistent as possible, or you will continue to struggle.

We’ve got the Zeta principles to help guide that initial question, but the way I practically think about animal intimacy is if it occurs as an expression of devotion and love, is mutually enjoyable and consensual for both parties (this requires you to understand a lot of the behavior and mannerisms of your partner as well as the science and ethology of that species and to make quite an effort to get to know them) and doesn’t involve medically unsafe practices, it’s perfectly moral.

Dogs aren’t small humans, and they don’t view sex with the collection of religious and cultural trappings that we humans do—the emphasis is on the human partner in the relationship to do their due diligence and maintain ethics—much as it is also on them to feed good food and provide medical care for their companion.

Stimulation wise, the neural physiology doesn’t work the same way. You can get a bit of physiologic arousal by stimulating the prostate due to the link between the pudendal nerve and the tissues it runs to (think of some of our male dogs who do so when pooping) since the colon lies directly on top of it.

That being said, the prostate is further back than you would think, and once you get above a certain size of canine a human penis wouldn’t be able to reach and provide even this.

The crucial part of the stimulation that is missing (and the part that is a whole lot more pleasurable for the dog) is pressure behind the bulbis glandis. Without that component you won’t reach orgasm, and I’d say not building to orgasm isn’t nearly as pleasurable or fun as doing so, from a canine perspective—and that’s what we want to maximize during intimacy after all.

Many thanks for that comprehensive response! very thought provoking.

 

[209Husky]

Good question!

Would you be getting this done after her second heat? Like I mentioned above, the risk increases for the first and second heats, probably due to mammary physiology, but let’s be honest cancer does what it wants.

So this is a difference in opinion between docs and where they choose to get their data on this as to the recommendation, lots of vets practice from a personal experience and opinion standpoint—but the incidence of mammary tumors is a firm 26% in the canine population if spayed after their second heat. It doesn’t go back down, so spaying later doesn’t decrease the rate of mammary cancer.

It does remove pyometra and ovarian tumors from the list, but both these things can be addressed when they occur, especially with the laser focused medical eye most zoos I know keep on their companions.

So this is super interesting. My vet had me spay my 10 year old GSD AFTER she developed mammary tumors. He said that it would reduce their chances of them coming back. So what you are saying is that is completely not true. So from what I understand now, if you have your bitch spayed BEFORE her heat cycle it reduces the chances of mammary tumors but greatly increases many other issues including the developement of bone growth and potentially brain development since you are removing hormones that play a role in all aspects of development and life. Am I off base here?

 

[YourBuddy]

Hey Doc and thank you. Question: with a spade dog, is there any harm to the dog with penal insertion?

 

[jgoldberg]

Howdy zooville!

I work as a mixed animal veterinarian, and am willing to answer any and all animal health questions you may have to the best of my ability. Keep in mind that I’m only one person, and my medical opinion is just that—an opinion, however well informed it may be.

Anything you’re curious about?

Edit: feel free to Dm me if needed!

I have to ask. Is the whole penis cancer thing true? That beast can lead to that?

 

[erphy]

I have to ask. Is the whole penis cancer thing true? That beast can lead to that?

Referring to this?

https://www.livescience.com/16903-sex-animals-bestiality-penile-cancer.html

 

[jgoldberg]

Referring to this?

https://www.livescience.com/16903-sex-animals-bestiality-penile-cancer.html

Yes!

 

[PonyTrot]

Oh well. Better to have lots of fun and go out with your penis in a jar then die with a shiny like new boring penis.

I shoulda known that crazy Arab mare was a pecker wrecker...

 

[erphy]

Oh well. Better to have lots of fun and go out with your penis in a jar then die with a shiny like new boring penis.

I shoulda known that crazy Arab mare was a pecker wrecker...

Yea I would give too much credence to that "study". The most disturbing part of it was that some men admitted to fucking chickens.

The theory is rough animal sex causing micro abrasions allowing the introduction of some yet to be identified pathogen that may trigger cancer much like HPV is known to have the potential. So keep clean and use lots of lube.

 

[GAThrawn]

Yea I would give too much credence to that "study". The most disturbing part of it was that some men admitted to fucking chickens.

The theory is rough animal sex causing micro abrasions allowing the introduction of some yet to be identified pathogen that may trigger cancer much like HPV is known to have the potential. So keep clean and use lots of lube.

Or be a bottom for a horny stud instead!

 

[Deagle113]

So I want to ask you in your years of working as a vet.Whenever somebody brings in a male or female dog.No if the dog is having sex with their human companion Like for instance if my Dog is going through her heat.Or we're just fooling around that weak when they examine her for her check up.Are they going to be able to tell that my Member was in her

Nope! Just don’t bring her in covered in lube and you’ll be good XD.

 

[Deagle113]

Thanks! Now I'm curious as to what the 4th disease is. I had only heard of Lyme, erlichiosis, and aneplasmosis. Is the 4th one region specific?

The 4th is heartworm!

 

[moonlover]

Nope! Just don’t bring her in covered in lube and you’ll be good XD.

If anything. Would probably have some intimate time with her a day before her check up should be good then and I'm guessing a quickie that morning before the checkup is a no-go unless I clean her out

lol wouldn't want her to be on the examining table and have a bit of my semen dribble out of her while she's getting her temperature checked

 

[Deagle113]

So this is super interesting. My vet had me spay my 10 year old GSD AFTER she developed mammary tumors. He said that it would reduce their chances of them coming back. So what you are saying is that is completely not true. So from what I understand now, if you have your bitch spayed BEFORE her heat cycle it reduces the chances of mammary tumors but greatly increases many other issues including the developement of bone growth and potentially brain development since you are removing hormones that play a role in all aspects of development and life. Am I off base here?

Canine mammary tumors are very similar to human breast cancer. The reason the risk increases is by the second heat, the mammary tissue has fully developed, along with all of the risks. Before then, you don’t have fully developed tissue, and don’t get the same risk factors for unregulated growth and malignancy.

Here’s a nice retrospective study that indicates that spaying at the time of mammary cancer diagnosis doesn’t affect future development.

And like you mentioned, it’s a grab bag of pick your risks with spaying early vs spaying later vs not at all. It falls to the individual to decide what they are comfortable with—good vet guidance is also essential of course.

 

[Deagle113]

Hey Doc and thank you. Question: with a spade dog, is there any harm to the dog with penal insertion?

Depends on the size of the dog, but generally if she has had positive experiences with sex before, she will continue to enjoy it. Without any of those, it’s pretty difficult for the motivation to be there initially, but it can be done—most important thing would be to know and respect your individual companion, move at a pace she is comfortable with, and take no for an answer. There’s plenty to love about canines without necessarily involving actual penile insertion.

 

[Deagle113]

I have to ask. Is the whole penis cancer thing true? That beast can lead to that?

That study is tenuous at best, and not very well conducted, so I wouldn’t place much stock in it. As others have mentioned—good hygiene goes far, both for you and your companion!

 

[Deagle113]

Or be a bottom for a horny stud instead!

Highly recommend

 

[Deagle113]

If anything. Would probably have some intimate time with her a day before her check up should be good then and I'm guessing a quickie that morning before the checkup is a no-go unless I clean her out

lol wouldn't want her to be on the examining table and have a bit of my semen dribble out of her while she's getting her temperature checked

Yeah that’s not the best plan. And abstaining for a day or so will make reconnecting that much more fun afterward!

 

[erphy]

If anything. Would probably have some intimate time with her a day before her check up should be good then and I'm guessing a quickie that morning before the checkup is a no-go unless I clean her out

lol wouldn't want her to be on the examining table and have a bit of my semen dribble out of her while she's getting her temperature checked

Seriously you can’t wait a few days to hold off before the vet? Give me a break.

 

[erphy]

Or be a bottom for a horny stud instead!

That’s a hard no. No pun intended!

 

[moonlover]

Seriously you can’t wait a few days to hold off before the vet? Give me a break.

It was just a hypothetical dude.Did you not catch the lol ?

But I don't even have a female at this time sadly my girl passed about a year ago and I miss her everyday

 

[erphy]

It was just a hypothetical dude.Did you not catch the lol ?

But I don't even have a female at this time sadly my girl passed about a year ago and I miss her everyday

Sorry to hear that, it is terrible they can’t be with us for our lifetime.

 

[moonlover]

That's true I honor her memory Everyday I have a small little pendant with her name engraved on it.That I wear every day because whenever she was alive, no matter how hard I tried, I would always find one little strain of Her Fur on my clothes So no matter where it was she was always with me

And independent is a few strands of her fur in her ashes

 

[SultryHellhound]

Here’s a nice retrospective study that indicates that spaying at the time of mammary cancer diagnosis doesn’t affect future development.

Hey Deagle! You're a really awesome person for answering these questions! My 8 year old Golden Retriever girl has one large, soft mammary tumor. The vet thinks it could either be breast cancer or a lipoma, but won't know for sure until he sends it off to pathology for testing. My question is: my vet also wants to do a spay at the time of the tumor removal to prevent future instances of mammary cancer, just to be on the safe side. Based on the article you mentioned, would it make no difference if I decided to not have her spayed? Due to her age, I'm kind of afraid that recovery for a spay surgery will be a little more than she can handle, although her bloodwork indicates everything will be good for her in terms of being able to handle the anesthesia and surgery itself.