Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 3/14/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi, My dog is a rescue & he's been with us 8 months- unsure of his age; we think he's about 1 1/2 yrs, and all of his vaccines are up to date. He's had a little of the normal smegma from the beginning, but recently the discharge is always green, significantly increased, he's licking the area alot, and his breath is EXTREMELY foul. I had the vet check him before I went away a month ago, because of his breath becoming so bad, and she did an anal sac expression. She also recommended a diet change due to possible allergy (which I've done before), so I started him on a high quality hypoallergenic food. She's been told about the discharge on this AND a previous visit, but said it was normal, just suggested wiping it daily if it seemed to worsen. He was boarded at a kennel for 12 days after that, and his breath was fine when I picked him up, but has gotten bad again in the last 2 wks, with the symptoms I previously mentioned- increased discharge, licking, and he also seems to smack his lips alot, as if his mouth is dry. He DOES drink, but I've started adding water to his dry food, in case insufficient fluid intake may be contributing to his breath issue. I hope you have some insight for me on what type of infection, or what else this may be. I am an RN, so am fine with trying any remedy you may be aware of that may help, but I'm also a single mother, so cannot afford to keep going to the vet to be told that this is normal discharge. Help! And thanks.

ANSWER: His breath is foul because he is licking his penis and the discharge is normal until it becomes copious. If he is licking it day and night that is not normal and he should have it looked at more closely. If he isn't neutered he should be as this helps cut down on these discharges.

Most of the time this is a bacterial issue and if there is a more copious discharge then there is a bacterial overload and he will need some antibiotics for that.

He could have something in his sheath, however, causing this to discharge like this, so an exam is helpful in weeding that out.

At 8 months old, it is doubtful that his mouth is dry. He is probably reacting to the discharge taste which I would guess is gross.

Since he didn't have this problem while he was being boarded you might want to look around your place and see if there is something he is getting in to that could be the culprit-toilet bowl cleaners, the water you have etc.

There may be something in your water that is affecting him. (we have seen this be the case). Try him on some bottled distilled water for two weeks and see if he improves.

Those are the easy things to do. If the smacking is new since he started the food that might be the culprit with that issue. I feel that the discharge and lip smacking might not be related but they could be.

I hope that makes some sense. Start with the bottled water but I would ask the vet about having his sheath examined.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, but you misread his age- he is about 18 months old. He is neutered & I know he isn't getting into anything- he is always with me when I am at home, follows me everywhere, and otherwise he's crated. The smacking was happening before the new food, and I only give him filtered water- do you think bottled water would make a difference? Research indicates that it isn't really healthier.

Answer
You're correct- I read that he was 8 months old. My mistake. In either case it's not an age thing but I am glad he is neutered. Maybe he has a suture deep inside of his sheath that is causing a reaction that is draining out of his sheath.

That happens and should be investigated if antibiotics do not make any difference.

Since you are already giving him filtered water I wouldn't change that. I was suggesting that if he was on tap water.

You have all the bases covered so unless he has a suture in there causing this it could still be an infection. I know a lot of owners that have brought dogs in for this issue and most of the dogs were under three years of age. This seems to dissipate with age if there isn't an underlying cause.

But when there was a large amount of discharge and we couldn't find any physical reason, such as a sticker or foreign body inside of the sheath, then we gave them antibiotics and that seemed to do the trick.

I would discuss it with your vet nonetheless. Being told it's normal and just wipe it off wouldn't cut it with me either. Not when it's in large amounts.

I hope you can find a solution soon!