My dog's penis bleeds when he humps his toy. What should I do?

Your dog very likely has some kind of urinary tract infection or he could be injuring the delicate tissue of his penis as he humps the pillow. First, I would get him checked by your vet for an infection of some kind. If he checks out healthy, or to curb this behavior in the future to avoid further injury, when you see him humping the pillow, distract him with a toy or by asking him to perform a trick or task for you, to offer him a pleasant alternative to the pillow. Over time, he may come to abandon the pillow.

It's a little difficult to tell for sure, but I wonder if Charlie had a persistent penile frenulum. It is a band of tissue that runs along the underside of the penis and attaches near the tip of the penis. That will cause the penis to curve. Normally we recommend surgically cutting the frenulum. I have not had one rupture on its own. They do not typically reattach after surgically cutting them. I would recommend having your veterinarian examine it to make sure that it was a persistent penile frenulum and see if anything else needs to be done about it. In the meantime, I would recommend trying to keep Charlie from licking at it and prevent any humping. If you are unable to stop the bleeding, then he may need to be examined tonight. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It is common for the penis to be exposed when a male is humping, but if it becomes too enlarged, they can have a problem with the penis not being able to slide back in the prepuce (the skin covering the penis). This is called paraphymosis. It can be a significant problem and can result in damage to the penis and pain. Normally, we will recommend using a sterile lubricant along the penis to get it to slide back in the prepuce. If the penis stays out of the prepuce it can become damaged. Since you can seen blood associated with Pico's paraphymosis, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him to make sure no other treatment is needed. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes this could be from very minor self trauma. If he is not excessively licking, seems comfortable, and you do not see blood at all anymore it is most likely going to be just fine. Thank you for reaching out to Pet Coach.

If the bleeding from Lucky's penis has gotten worse and/or not resolved at all you may need to bring him back to your vet for a recheck. The penis and prepuce are very vascular (meaning they have lots of blood vessels) and so can bleed easily. If the bleeding hasn't subsided at all there may be a larger vessel that is damaged that may need to be sutured closed to prevent any further bleeding. I would be sure to keep the cone on Lucky as well until you get everything figured out so he won't lick excessively down there and cause more irritation.

Bleeding from the penis indicates a serious problem. In an unneutered dog, it could be a prostate infection, enlargement, or tumor. Some other possibilities include a urinary tract infection, bladder stones, or a systemic bleeding problem (coagulopathy). I suspect that his paw biting is unrelated and may be due to allergies or a hot spot, but he should definitely be seen by a veterinarian to determine the cause of both issues and come up with a good treatment plan. Best of luck!

It looks like Spanky might have a urethral prolapse in your picture. I would recommend having him examined by a veterinarian right away since the prolapsed tissue could become damaged and it could affect his ability to urinate normally. A veterinarian might place some suture around the penis if they are able to reduce the prolapse, but other times more in-depth surgery is needed.