Veterinarian here: ask me anything!

[PNWSwampBull]

Bacterial Prostatitis;
I'm by no means a vet/med expert, nor qualified to recommend. I'm only adding my penny's worth, from past personal experience, of a couple treasured k9, of years ago.

I had 2 dogs diagnosed with prostatitis. After the infection was beat back with antibiotic's, & repeat occurrence, considerable discussion with vet, to avoid, &/or delay the alternative 'Off with his Nuts', we took a hard look at prostate health supplements, mainly human tailored at that time, with strong focus on any toxic or harmful ingredients. Finally settled on 1 product through Costco, 'Tru-Nature Prostate Support', once aday, for the rest of his life. End result, no more prostitis issues, & kept his jewels & vigor thur the rest of his 17+ yrs, which was considered very good for 70+ lbs Assy/Shepard, & later, 15 yrs with a 100 lb, retriever, at their time, early 2000's. Both stayed intact, & vigorous, throughout their lives on the farm. So impressed, I take myself.

However, Costco dropped the product a couple yrs ago, but yet still available, online, though @ twice the price.
Again, not meant to be a recommendation, just my 2 cents worth, from past experience. But a suggestion to look into, for the longevity of our Loved ones!

 

[nekdoneco123]

That's gigantic! Did you ultrasound it? Might help figure out the make up of the mass and whether it's normal tissue.

That's a fair assessment. Cancers can do what they want of course, but general enlarged organs typically have discrete size limit, while tumors just continue to grow as they ignore all the signals for the cells to stop dividing. Still, it could in fact be gigantic hyperplasia, and I wouldn't rule it out just yet.

You're looking at four possible causes:

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
By far the most common issue with the canine prostate is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is when the cells of the prostate continue to grow out of control, and is a natural part of aging in around 80% of intact dogs. The prostate requires testosterone to function and uses an enzyme, 5-alpha-reductase, to transform this testosterone into a hormone that causes its growth. Each individual dog's prostate will grow to different sizes, and if it stays small enough, you may not see any clinical signs or effects. In cases where the prostate is large enough to be causing issues, the two ways of treating this condition are via drugs that inhibit that enzyme or removing the source of testosterone via neutering.

These last three are much less common than BPH:

Bacterial Prostatitis
Bacterial prostatitis is caused by infection of the prostate by primarily E coli, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, all of which are found in normal amounts on and in a healthy dog. These bacteria can land there via the bloodstream in an acute case or by slowly climbing up the urethra in a chronic case. Acute infections can be life threatening – having bacteria in the bloodstream is the same emergency conditions as pyometra in female dogs, multiple organ infection and shock, and will require hospitalization and treatment. Chronic infection usually occurs secondary to BPH, and will have almost no signs except a recurrent urinary tract infection–and in order to find it you have to run microbial cultures on the prostatic ejaculation fraction. Most cases will resolve simply by treating the BPH, and antibiotics alone won’t do much without also addressing it.

Prostatic Cysts
Occasionally, we find large cysts on the prostate. These are pockets of cells that are abnormalities of the structure of the prostate, and can become filled with fluid as well as get pretty large. The only treatment for these is surgical removal.

Prostatic adenocarcinoma
Based on the current literature, the incidence of prostatic cancer in male dogs is 0.35%. The clinical signs are very similar to BPH and other prostatic diseases, and the most common sites that this cancer metastasizes to the regional lymph nodes, the lumbar (back) vertebrae, and the bones of the pelvis – all areas around the prostate. Sadly, we don’t have any way of curing or combating this cancer–radiation therapy destroys the bladder as well, and when trying to remove the cancerous prostate, you cause incurable urinary incontinence.

I'm just making a theoretical guess because I've got no data or research to back this up, but the thing I'd be concerned about regarding sex is prostatic contraction potentially damaging the structure of a cyst and causing it to burst or knocking off cells to metastasize a cancer faster. If it's BHP, there's not much to worry about other than getting the testosterone under control, since the production of it spikes during ejaculation. I'd recommend that it's better to figure out the cause and then go from there.

based on today's exam, it's likely bph...
i'm obviously happy it's not cancer, but the vet does want to "fix" him when the prostate shrinks by at least 30%. his health and well-being is more important than my sex life so i'm in favor of that solution.

 

[OffgridK9lover]

based on today's exam, it's likely bph...
i'm obviously happy it's not cancer, but the vet does want to "fix" him when the prostate shrinks by at least 30%. his health and well-being is more important than my sex life so i'm in favor of that solution.

Ya some times that is the better option, same reason one my girls got spayed at an older age due to pyro, her comfort of life is more important! and that is the better long term solution for them.

 

[allyfitz]

However, Costco dropped the product a couple yrs ago, but yet still available, online, though @ twice the price.

Any idea how long it keeps? I'm wondering if that be something to stock pile now just in case they pull it completely. I hopefully have many many years before I have to worry about something like that. But I know shit gets pulled from the market all the time, and I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[Deagle113]

No problem, I'll wait.

Here's what I've got for ya!

Equine embryos enter the uterus around day 6 post ovulation, and they bounce around like ping pong balls throughout the uterus itself, gliding on streams of transport proteins and propelled by rhythmic muscular contractions caused by their own release of communication chemicals as they move around. After they enter the uterus, the embryos build a super strong layer of tough glycoproteins that create a hard shell to protect things as they move around the uterus itself. This movement around the mare’s uterus is important for “maternal recognition of pregnancy” which is where the body of the mare recognizes and responds to the presence of the embryo and transitions to the pregnancy physiologic state and hormone mixtures. In addition, once the embryo “fixes” at the base of one or the other of the uterine horns, the fetal and maternal epithelial layers weave together to create an “epitheliochorial” blood flow. (Meaning all six layers of tissue are present within the placenta - Tissue, connective tissue, chorion, uterine epithelium, connective tissue, and endothelium – before you get to the maternal bloodstream) See the attached photo for a handy reference. Pigs and horses share this type of placentation.

In humans, the embryo is pretty fragile, and the stress of it bouncing around, coupled with its relative inability to handle the signaling conditions necessary for maternal recognition of pregnancy in a mare, would make implantation impossible. Additionally, humans (along with other primates and rodents) have lost all three uterine layers of the placenta, so you’ve just got fetal endothelium, connective tissue, and chorion before you get to maternal blood. A human embryo would have to handle blood flow through extra layers of tissue that it hasn’t evolved to manage. I would also tick off the difference in body temperature as affecting development, as well as the fact that some signaling molecules aren’t the same exact chemical structure between species.

Have some beautiful photos of developing equine embryos in addition, with a full leggy baby at the end! (see if you can spot the tiny budding hooves in the second one!) I’m biased as a vet, but baby horses are far cuter than tiny screaming human potatoes.

 

[Deagle113]

based on today's exam, it's likely bph...
i'm obviously happy it's not cancer, but the vet does want to "fix" him when the prostate shrinks by at least 30%. his health and well-being is more important than my sex life so i'm in favor of that solution.

I think that's the right thing to do, for sure, for his own health and well-being, which as you said is more important. I'm thrilled it isn't cancerous!

 

[mareclits]

Here's what I've got for ya!

It's a pity that such a transplant would not do anything today. Maybe in 50 years it will work. Thanks for the opinion.

 

[BestGSD]

My boy has a strange patch of skin on his left testicle, it looks like a rash/skin irritation but I have no idea what it is. It seems mildly painful for him when I touch it, but he is a tough bastard so it could be more painful for him that I think.

Do we have anyone here with decent veterinarian knowledge?

 

[pes]

My boy has a strange patch of skin on his left testicle, it looks like a rash/skin irritation but I have no idea what it is. It seems mildly painful for him when I touch it, but he is a tough bastard so it could be more painful for him that I think.

Do we have anyone here with decent veterinarian knowledge?

You can just take him to your vet.
My dog had a rash too, the cause was unknown, we got antibacterial drops and it was gone in a few days.

 

[BestGSD]

You can just take him to your vet.
My dog had a rash too, the cause was unknown, we got antibacterial drops and it was gone in a few days.

I’m going to take him tomorrow morning, but I love this dog so much that I am panicking and I just need some other “possibilities” to get my mind off the crippling fear that it’s cancer.

 

[PNWSwampBull]

Any idea how long it keeps? I'm wondering if that be something to stock pile now just in case they pull it completely. I hopefully have many many years before I have to worry about something like that. But I know shit gets pulled from the market all the time, and I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

As with any jell-cap product, best stored in a cool, dry, indirect light location. Bottom pantry shelf, not the fridge or freezer. A year +, past expiration date, could become concerning, & hesitant. Ask vet 1st. Some seem more favorable towards idea of natural supplements, then pushing the scripts, to help line their pockets.
Doubt Tru-Nature would stop production, just Costco deleted from their in-store line.

 

[PNWSwampBull]

Deagle113;​

Any thoughts about the cross over risks of the Bird-flu, especially for us Bovine lovers.
Beings so much of it is showing up in the dairy herds around the US, though ain't seen any mention in the beef scenes. But, well, a few of us around, so, thoughts, precautions?

 

[Deagle113]

My boy has a strange patch of skin on his left testicle, it looks like a rash/skin irritation but I have no idea what it is. It seems mildly painful for him when I touch it, but he is a tough bastard so it could be more painful for him that I think.

Do we have anyone here with decent veterinarian knowledge?

Diagnosing skin stuff based on a description is very difficult, if not impossible. Dermatology is a very nuanced subject. Good on ya to take him to someone who can lay hands and eyes on him.

 

[Deagle113]

Any idea how long it keeps? I'm wondering if that be something to stock pile now just in case they pull it completely. I hopefully have many many years before I have to worry about something like that. But I know shit gets pulled from the market all the time, and I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Looks like that supplement is saw palmetto, lycopene, and pumpkin seeds. As of this writing, there isn't any established scientific evidence to support the link between these and prostate health, but none of these ingredients are harmful to canines. A better method of supporting prostate health is regular ejaculation and comprehensive physical exams at the vet -- ideally one that knows about reproductive issues and is not going to pressure to neuter away every single problem. (Keep in mind though, that in some cases neutering is curative. Can't continue to have testicular cancer without testicles.)

 

[Deagle113]

especially for us Bovine lovers.

Bovines are an incredibly superior relationship choice!

Beings so much of it is showing up in the dairy herds around the US, though ain't seen any mention in the beef scenes. But, well, a few of us around, so, thoughts, precautions?

Based on genomic and epidemiological data analysis of the virus as we isolate it from herds, we know it isn't spread onto dairy or poultry areas by migratory waterfowl. That leaves the movement of people and vehicles as the prime vector that high path avian flu uses to move from place to place. Though bovines can show some clinical signs of infection--thicker, concentrated, colostrum‐like milk; less appetite, abnormal tacky or loose feces; lethargy; dehydration; and fever, usually they are able to fully recover.

My thoughts of the lack of reports in beef environments are two fold. If we are talking CAFOS, those guys are usually presenting with a whole lot of other respiratory issues that may not lead to avian influenza testing, and are usually pretty efficiently managed. And for the beef herds on pasture, there isn't a lot of human contact on the regular like there is for dairy, so your risk is a whole lot lower. Just some thoughts, may not be the case -- an evolving situation, for sure.

Infected birds shed avian influenza viruses through their saliva, mucous and feces. As far as human transmission goes, you're going to get it through ingestion, or via the mucous membranes of your eyes, mouth or nose.The current CDC guidelines for management of exposure to the virus is that the risk is quite low in humans, and has a list of things to do if you suspect you are working in a high path avian flu flock of poultry, or have been exposed to it.

Just keep in mind how it's transmitted, possible clinical signs in affected animals, and practice good biosecurity. I'd say the risk is incredibly low.

 

[allyfitz]

A better method of supporting prostate health is regular ejaculation

That's definitely not an issue.
Thanks for the additional info.