blood spots

[silvia]

Dear all

has anyone experience with finding blood spots on the floor? I found them occasionally for two days and I started looking with attention. This morning I realised Oberon was dropping spots from his Willy - quite a few drops of fresh blood, before to go out for the first wee. When  back he was ok, without apparent sign of inflammation or redness in the area.. It happened again few hours later, again before to go out. Based on that, it looks to me that the bleeding  is related to urination (well, there is bleeding when he is full and not after he did his wee) but the urine is then clear in colour,  so...a puzzle..

Vet booked for tomorrow.. Has anyone ideas of what can be with this pattern? My worry is because Oberon is 7years old and not castrated, so I am wondering if this can be a sign of prostate problems..

I will share our experience after the vet visit tomorrow.. hope is nothing serious..

cheers

s

[silvia]

Blood again on the floor this morning and seems a lot more then yesterday....we will go to the vet today but I am afraid if is a prostatic problem we probably need to have him neutered...

[silvia]

En passant...has anyone experience in changes (coat weight mood ) when desexing a adult male and if there is anything we need to start doing and watching ? Is chemical castration different? We are really worry about how this will change our boy. Thanks !!!!

[Cornelia]

Hi there, Silvia, So sorry to hear about your worries!! I hope of cause it is nothing serious! Concerning castration, I can only speak for our lively female redhead and she changed her character only slightly and in a sweet way: She's more cuddly and she also behaves like a puppy again and is more playful than before! The coat still looks lovely; she's a bit more orange on her back and I take out some extra hair there with a furminator. I get compliments for her coat wherever I go. Wishing you all the best, C & J xxx

[silvia]

thanks Cornelia, let's see .. very worrying indeed. I really hope the solution is easy, and that it doesnt change him too much (in second order of course) ...

[silvia]

Thanks Cornelia! We are booked tomorrow. Lovely to hear that joy didn't change much if not for better: )
I will need some tips on how to use this furminator then if you don't mind?looks as beautiful joy went through the process with flying colours:))))

[James Doran]

Sending my sincerest thoughts & prayers that it is nothing serious for Oberon, Silvia.

[silvia]

thanks James.. is a really distressing day since the vet appointment is late after 6pm and I see that the amount of  blood that he is dropping  is increasing a lot - in just 1day time.. seems to me a worsening too fast for something not nasty... i really hope is nothing serious but i cant wait to see the vet at this point. ..

[silvia]

Dear all Thanks very much for your messages and concerns. Oberon had a vet examination and also an ultrasound looks as the prostate is enlarged but no sign of complications in the bladder or stomach lining. However the prostate has some cistis and also looks dark (inflammed?) In the ultrasound. The vet said is not going to reduce itself and can evolve in tumour with time so the only safe way is desexing. We are booked tomorrow morning for castration....huge relief that is nothing malign but obviously we are bit sad that he will change quite a lot in coat mood etc...any experience and suggestion on how to keep coat and weight under control is very welcome since we have no experience at all with neutered dog. Oberon is 7years old now : has anyone experience in coat mood weight changing while neutering a adult? Tips ? Of course is a health issue so we trust our vet that this is the only choice (and that it will all resolve thanks God! ) . Thanks a lot everyone!! Silvia

[Cornelia]

Hi Silvia, how did the Op go? I hope all is well with Obi! I had a look on the internet before you wrote about your visit to the vet and it said exactly that: Bleeding is most often due to a enlarged prostate and medical treatment does only last for a few weeks. You seem to be in good hands with your vet and I really hope, Obi's problem is solved with the Op! We wish him a speedy and wholesome recovery!! 

On the lighter side: The forest warden / main 'hunter' of our local forest had his male Springer Spaniel desexed. The saying goes (if it is indeed true then…) that after the desexing, the Spaniel was not able to track deer or wild boar anymore but could only find the tracks of other desexed male dogs…:-))) - don't worry too much about any coat or mood changes - I'm sure you'll still find your cuddly Obi somewhere in that fluffy coat and a healthy and happy red bundle is all that counts. Love, Cornelia and Joyful Bundle xxx

PS Joy has no hair at the moment on her belly, breast, part of her side and inner side of her legs. It is not because of castration, but hopefully only a bacterial problem on the grounds of an allergic reaction and not something like Cushings due to the long treatment with cortisol. She's back on antibiotics and has a very wet bath with a special shampoo every second day ( i.e the bath is wet more than the dog!). I miss her coat! But her bare skin - now that the red spots and the itching do disappear - is ever so soft and cuddly - and believe me, she does not look into the mirror before snuggling up wit us… 

[silvia]

Cornelia, thanks a lot for calling us today! Obi is amazed to have received best wishes phone calls from as far as Switzerland :))

I am so sorry to hear about Joy. I hope is just this allergy to dust and grass: as I said you, my brother has just adopted a bracco (rescue) 6 month old that seems to have a similar issue and he is losing hair underneat in the neck/belly. he has been prescribed a shampoo, and he needs to be washed with a wet clot after each walk. I really hope that the Joy's one is a "local allergy", just due to the contact with the grass... looks as that, if it is not appearing in other parts of the body as well (dorso, etc).. please keep us posted, i really hope is not cushings or some nasty things.

on the light site: yes, they dont look at the mirror ; )  probably they are even more happy since they receive extra extra cuddles ; )

all the best and thanks again- big hug from us and keep us posted on beautiful Joy!! X

[Barbara]

I am so sorry to hear about Obis problem! First I thought of bladder or kidney Inflammation, but now you have a first examination from your Vet. Castration seem medically necessary and I hope Obi is soon well again!
My former Setter Boy Billy was neutered and there was no negative Change. If the incontinence came from desexing or the Tumor I does not know. The fluffy fur that can come is no Problem with Mars Coat King. Oberon's health is more important. All the best!

[silvia]

dear all

first, thanks everyone for your concerns and messages! Is been a hectic day and hopefully everything went well, but i wish to post a long message in case is useful for others .

First, i apologise for the wrong info. Monday, after the first consultation,  i though/understood that the evolution of a enlarged prostate (symptomatic, with blood) is a likely tumor and in fact we immediately booked oberon for desexing the morning after. I spent the night researching and in fact we discovered that there is no evidence that the two things are related. Evolution in tumour is quite rare and in any case there is no scientific evidence that benign enlargement (BHP), in general,  lead to grow of cancerous cells or that, the other way round,  the shrinking expected after castration avoid a tumour (if any, some papers suggest that the incidence in carcinoma is marginally statistically larger in castrated dogs, so no evidence at all for a  correlation)

Armed with this, and worry about a wrong diagnosis on some cystis/inflammation (the latter need to be resolved with antibiotics and drainage, not desexing) we questioned again our vet in the early morning before op. it turns out he confirmed that the tumour risk is not the case: whether was miscommunication between us on the day before and, while in panic, I just heard the "tumour" mentioned or he was not clear in explaining it doesnt matter..

We understood from the vet that what happened to Obi is that he has a very enlarged prostate (8 cm, the normal is 3cm in dogs), which appears as  very dark in the ultrasound. Marco saw the images and it was really bad. This may be a sign of inflammation, and in any case not a "healthy" tissue, and this was the main cause of concern for the vet and lead to the suggestion that we need to act quickly to reduce it. there were no sign of infection, so the enlargement is likely to be hormonal. Plus, he has two bad cystis inside (one is 5cm long and 3cm large, which is a lot in a prostate that is meant to be much smaller..).

this can create bleeding (he had a awful lot from the penis, and it has aggravated quickly in just two days before op), pain (in fact Obi was in pain when the vet touched a particular point!) and also risks of abscesses and internal infection. Desexing was highly suggested, so the idea is that in 3 weeks the prostate will decrease in size and hopefully also its contents (cystis). Oberon had the op yesterday and in 3 weeks time they will do another ultrasound to check if , as expected, the cystis also reduced in size together with the prostate. If not,  he will need a drainage, but the vets were very positive that it wont be required...

to cut a long story short: we are home and positive that this op will resolve the whole issue. sorry if i panicked someone with the info that, in general , BHP lead to tumour. It was the particular situation of Obi (enlargement plus dark appearance plus big cystis) that meant that desexing was the safest option.

on the light side, we are home and Obi is not bleeding today. He needs rest and antibiotics (so the stomach is a bit upsad) but with some beef burgers+yogurth he now seems happy and gained his appetite a bit, and he is already looking forward to jump with his friends again! Finger crossed that the next ultrasound will confirm that the cystis resolved themselves without need of another surgery/drainage for them

thanks a lot again and sorry for this lengthy post.. i hope is useful info for others (oh well,  i hope nobody needs and everyone stay healthy,  but just in case.. )

xx

cheers

s