Cause of Dog Penis Bleeding

by Pam Mowry
(Tacoma WA)

Reader Question: Dog Bleeding from Penis

Vinny is a 3 year old bully terrier. He is prone to skin bumps. I was told the cause is due to allergies so we eliminated from his diet bread and starch sugar.

He has had redness around his eyes and redness in white areas of fur. He is now dripping blood from his penis.

What should we do?

Veterinarian Suggestion for Canine Penile Bleeding

Hi Pam,

I suspect that Vinny’s skin problems and bloody discharge from the penis are not related to each other. If your dog were my patient, I would first perform a physical exam (including a rectal examination to feel his prostate gland), probably followed by a panel of blood work and a urinalysis to check for a blood clotting disorders, urinary tract infection, and other potential problems. It is possible that sedation might be necessary to closely examine his penis and prostate gland. X-rays and an ultrasound of his abdomen and prostate gland might also be necessary to reach a definitive diagnosis.

Benign prostatic hypertrophy is the most common cause of blood dripping from the penis in unneutered dogs. I don’t know if your dog is intact or neutered, but if he is intact, has a large prostate, and a thorough diagnostic work-up indicates that he is otherwise healthy, neutering is the most common form of treatment.

Best of luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM