Does anyone know much about this -treatment, etc? Riggs, who is 11yo and we just got 2 weeks ago has this. The vet said his prostate area is swollen and tender.

After I left the vets office I researched it and saw that no matter the cause, pretty much all dogs are on antibiotics for it so I called him up and went back and got those for Riggs.

Riggs is an 'old guy', not neutered (I don't think we can/should now due to his health), and we just want him happy and comfortable for however long he has.

Thanks for any advise or tips!

I have no advice for you, but just wanted to commend you on taking this Senior boy into your heart and home. Bless you for that. :hug:

Prostatitis, is an inflamation/infection of the prostate. It is common in dogs that are not nutered. The antibiotics should help alot. Hope your boy is feeling better soon.

just wanted to commend you on taking this Senior boy into your heart and home. Bless you for that. :hug:

I second that :)

Does he have other health issues? Once you have this infection resolved, neutering him will really go a long way towards preventing a relapse, since prostatic tissue whill be greatly reduced. The surgery is quite safe - even with an older dog. A repeat of this infection might be more worrisome as he ages. Good luck with him :)

yet another reason i favor neutering our male dogs.

yet another reason i favor neutering our male dogs.

I agree, but we just got him 2 weeks ago so right now we are trying to get him healthy ;)

Thanks for the nice wishes. I did contact the vet back on Friday and we got antibiotics. I'm getting the other yellow neutered in another week, then I'll talk to the vet again about possibly neutering Riggs. Turns out he is only 10.5 yo :) He's young still!

As for the rest of his health, well, he has a huge 'hot spot' from boredom on his leg, a slight ear infection, had a cough/sneezing which seems to have cleared up now, straight hocks, sore hips. Over-all, not bad for his age and not getting good care for the past 2 years.

I am thinking I need to clear up the prostatitis some before we try to get him neutered? We originally thought he was pushing 12, but we talked to his previous owner and are pretty certain his birthday was 3/96.

I am thinking I need to clear up the prostatitis some before we try to get him neutered? We originally thought he was pushing 12, but we talked to his previous owner and are pretty certain his birthday was 3/96.
I agree completely. The nice thing is that the health issues the intact boys face can actually be cured with neutering. (Surprisingly, prostatic cancer is almost equally distributed between intact and altered males, with slightly more neutered males affected.)

10 1/2 is young, indeed :D I have a rescue story you'll appreciate - some years ago a good samaritan brought in a dog she had hit on a back road. Really a sweetheart of a dog - other than a broken leg, he was in great shape, just a couple of grey hairs on his chin. The vets and I agreed he seemed to be about 4 years old, and was obviously loved, so an ad was placed in the newspaper and Animal Control was notified. When he went unclaimed, we neutered him and listed him for adoption. He was a wonderful dog, and several families were interested. Then came the call..."We know this can't be our dog, since you list this dog as 3-5 years old, and our boy is ELEVEN, but we're just so desparate that we're grasping at straws here." Well... it was indeed their dog :) One of the great reunions of all time! It turned out there had been a sudden death in the family, and they were so distraught they forgot to lock the gate when they rushed out. The poor dog sensed the stress and bolted in confusion the first time the neighbor let him out. The neighbor kept checking for a "senior dog" at Animal Control and in the newspaper, but no luck. The family was happy to pay for his vet care, including the neuturing, which went off without a hitch. He had never been bred or done anything macho, so they just hadn't gotten around to it. All's well that ends well. :)

Good luck with your new-old boy!

3dognite, that's a great story!! Hopefully the antibiotics will help Riggs to feel better soon, then we'll re-assess the neutering. I would rather have it done than not. It helps hearing all these stories on older dogs who do fine with it :)

Bless you for taking Rigg into your home and heart!

I hope the antibiotics cure his Prostatitis and he has no further problems.

I knew a Brittany dog (un-neutered) who developed Prostatitis around 11 yo, after the swelling and infection went away he was successfully neutered. He did well for about a year or so...

What a wonderful story, 3dognite, obviously this boy didn't look his age.