Lesion/hematoma On Penis

[Urismom]

I've recently noticed dried blood on my boy's legs, but could not find any cuts - since he is thin skinned, I figured he had gotten a nick somewhere that I couldn't see, and he wasn't bothered by it. Finally traced it to coming from his penis, and off to the vet we went. It's just blood, not ooze, no smell, not a high volume. The vet extruded his penis and found a lesion/hematoma on the top of the actual penis, maybe 1-2 inches in from the tip that is covered by the sheath. At least I think it was on the top side. (My apologies, my dog man-parts terminology is probably lacking.) It wasn't a gash, just a large (I thought) irritation, bloody and raw. He also mentioned bruising. He looked all over his belly and legs for signs of other bruising, and there was none.

 

He did a urinalysis. Nothing awry.

 

He was really puzzled as to how he sustained an injury/hematoma like that in that position. He's not exactly an active, rough-housing sort of dog. It's protected by his belly and the sheath. There's no injury to that skin that connects that sheath to his belly.

 

He put him on 10-days of antibiotic and he's already on an anti-inflammatory for arthritis and said not to touch or manipulate it (i.e. not to clean/salve it) because he thought that aggravating it would be worse, and to call back in 10 days to update him.

 

Of course, I google bleeding dog penis and read so many alarming things it could be - cancer, prostrate.... I am racking my brain to think of how he could injure it. The only thing I can think of was jumping up onto a couch or the car seat or bed and maybe hitting his belly against the edge....but I can't quite imagine him twisting that way, or doing specific enough damage to break that much skin.

 

Anyone else encountered something of this nature? How did it go/progress?

[greysmom]

My first thought would be something like a grass seed or stem has gotten stuck inside his sheath, or he got poked by a stick or something. Did the vet irrigate the sheath?

[XTRAWLD]

So that's different. I'd say maybe he hit himself when jumping on a bed/couch or something got in there and is bothering him. Owie. Poor guy. No experience but just sending good thoughts....

[Urismom]

My first thought would be something like a grass seed or stem has gotten stuck inside his sheath, or he got poked by a stick or something. Did the vet irrigate the sheath?

 

Thank you for the idea. We only leash-walk, they're never off leash in the yard, so I think something would have gotten in there. No, the vet did not irrigate.

[racindog]

No experience with penis injury but just want to suggest don't even worry about how it may have happened. You'll just drive yourself crazy. I have had many greyhounds for many years. Sudden injuries-sometimes even large and serious- from unknown causes that mysteriously appear are a breed characteristic imo. Most we will never know what caused them. It is a greyhound thing. BTW could it be a foxtail that got inside his sheath?

[palmettobug]

Has he been licking more than usual? Maybe something small that got irritated?

[GeorgeofNE]

Now this is a new one!

 

I guess an STD is out of the question?

 

Does he lick it a lot? Dogs can suffer from OCD and just lose control of their normal cleaning routine. My boy does tend to lick his man bits more than any other dog I've had. I just tell him he's being disgusting and he stops.