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Treatment

If the cause of the prostatitis is bacterial, your dog will need to be hospitalized and given antibiotics intravenously. Your dog may be treated on an outpatient basis if it is only suffering from a mild case of chronic prostatitis.

Castration can relieve prostatitis if it is hormonal in origin, as dogs that have not been neutered are more prone to this type of disease. Your veterinarian may also prescribe hormone-blocking medications to lessen the chance of a recurrence.

If your dog is suffering from a ruptured, abscessed prostate, it might require surgery once the antibiotic therapy has stabilized its condition.

Living and Management

Unless your dog has a prostatic abscess which has ruptured into the abdominal cavity, its prognosis for recovery is still good to excellent. If your dog is able to remain whole (i.e., not neutered), you will need to prevent it from mating until it has recovered from the bacterial prostatitis and until no more bacteria are present in the prostatic fluid samples. These samples will be taken for laboratory examination during the follow-up visits with your veterinarian.

If your veterinarian advises you to have your dog castrated in order to prevent a recurrence of prostatitis, its overall prognosis will greatly improve as a result. If your dog appears to have difficulty urinating again, is walking with a painful gait, or is exhibiting other symptoms it had during the bout with prostatitis, immediately contact your veterinarian, as the prostatitis may be recurring.