Caution, X-Rated Blog

Yep, usually this blog is family-friendly, no more x-rated than Animal Planet or Wild Kingdom shows. But today a 115-pound Malamute named Raven came to see us with a rather embarrassing problem, one it might be a bit delicate to talk about around the dinner table.

Have you seen those commercials for ED (erectile dysfunction) treatments for men, you know the ones where they mention calling your doctor if you experience an erection lasting longer than 3 hours? Yea, right you think. Dream on. Well, it isn't as glamorous as you might think. Just ask poor Raven. No, he wasn't taking any Viagra or Cialis as far as I know, but he had the reason to call his doctor all right. OK, his owner is the one who called, frantic as she came home to find her dog miserably licking at his "private" area and noticed that his penis was extruded from the normal sheath (skin) covering and trapped outside of it, very red and swollen. This is called paraphimosis, and is different from priapism, which is a state of continuous erection due to a neurologic anomoly. Raven is a neutered male dog, so his owner wasn't expecting to see what she perceived as overt sexual behavior in him. Little did she know, boys will be boys.

Causes for this very uncomfortable condition can be excessive hair in the area, which can cause a ring around the base of the penis and subsequent constriction of the blood vessels, neurologic disease, trauma to the organs, or sexual stimulation/masturbation. Sometimes we don't know the cause, but finding a cure-quickly-is pretty darned important for the affected pet.

If the situation has just occured, there is likely little pain involved. Cleaning and some lubrication with K-Y jelly is all it takes to put things right. But if the tissues are very swollen and raw from being licked and dried out, as was the case with Raven, sedation and some good pain medication is the way to go. We gave Raven both of these right off so we could better evaluate the situation. He had traumatized the tissues and the circulation had been cut off for some time. Once he was relaxed and after some gentle cleaning and lubrication, we were able to replace the tissues fairly easily. He did have a ring of hair around the base of the penis, so this was the likely cause of the whole situation. Since he had done a fair bit of damage with his licking, we decided to put him on some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications for a few days, as well as make sure he stays in an e-collar to prevent further self-trauma. His owner will have to watch him for any furthur episodes, and be sure to keep him well groomed to decrease the chance of all that hair building up in the area. I also instructed her to make sure he was urinating normally.

Raven was lucky-just sedation and lubrication was all it took to put things right. Other dogs have needed surgery to correct strictures, to make room for the swollen tissues, or even to amputate damaged penile tissue, especially if the situation occurs repeatedly. I thought it best not to include pictures today, at least not of the anatomy we are discussing. I'm sure you can Google the topic if you want more information. Just think of Raven when you next see one of those ED commercials and be glad he turned out OK.

Peace,
DrReneigh