Symptoms : Difficulty passing stool, frequent urge to defecate, sometimes blood and pus in the urine, fever and acute pain in the abdomen.

Causes : Obstruction of the rectum caused by the enlarged prostate gland. This condition usually affect older males (7 years and above) and is enhanced by male sex hormone. Often the prostate gland is not only enlarged but inflammed as well.

Effects : An enlarged prostate gland can lead to chronic kidney and bladder inflammations and to abscesses and cysts. The straining involved in passing stool sometimes causes a hernia.

Try to relieve the discomfort associated with defecating by giving the dog easily disgestible food. If the dog has fever, consult the vet. The prostate gland, normally the size of a walnut, can grow as big as an apple. Estrogen treatment shrink the gland only temporarily. Neutering is recommended as a permanent solution. If the inflammation is necrotizing, give pain relievers and antibiotics. If abscessed or cystic, surgery is usually required.

Follow up care : To prevent the infection to spread to the kidneys, antibiotics should be given for 2 to 3 weeks to combat cystitis, which usually goes along with prostate enlargement.

Prevention : The best way to avoid prostate problems is to neuter older males. This is to reduce the size of the prostate gland. Castrated dogs do not become lazy and inactive, as many people think, but they do like to eat more. Make sure your neutered dog doesn't get obese because excess weight does make dogs less active. If necessary, reduce the meals.