Has your male dog been leaving mysterious puddles of clear fluid behind? You’re not alone, and this common issue can be both confusing and concerning for dog owners.
Male dogs can start to leak clear fluids out of the blue. The leakage can be caused by discharge from the penis, a urinary infection or issues with your dog’s anal gland. If the discharge is bloody or smells bad, medical treatment will be required to resolve it.
In this article, we’ll discuss the various causes of clear fluid leakage in male dogs and guide you through the process of identifying the root of the problem.
Urinary Tract Infection
Urinary tract infections or UTIs are very common in both dogs and cats. More than 14% of dogs will get it at least once in their lifetime.
So it is something that you need to be prepared for.
A UTI happens when your dog’s urinary tract gets infected and becomes swollen and inflamed.
A dog with UTI will experience the following symptoms:
- Straining to pee
- Peeing more frequently
- Vocalizing in pain while peeing
- Excessive licking of genital area
- Strong odor from the urine
- Urinary incontinence
A UTI is usually caused by a bacterial infection that starts when the bacteria enters your dog’s urethra.
Your dog might have come into contact with contaminated fecal matter or soil.
The bacteria can also come from your dog’s gastrointestinal tract where it starts to multiply in abundance.
A bladder infection is another form of UTI but not all causes of UTIs are from a bladder infection.
How Can Urine Be A Clear Fluid?
Some dogs with UTIs are smart enough to realize that the more water they drink, the less painful it feels when they urine.
So it might be obvious right off the bat that the dog is suffering from a urinary infection.
The dog will drink so much water to the point that it can’t even hold its pee in when it’s sleeping. This can cause some urine to leak out at times.
Given that the dog has been drinking so much water, its urine has been diluted to the point of being clear and odorless.
Try drinking a few liters of water a day and you’ll know what I mean.
Having urinary incontinence can be bad for your dog’s skin.
When the urine leaks out at night while the dog is sleeping, it can cause the skin around the dog’s penis to become inflamed as urine is caustic.
How To Resolve My Dog’s UTI?
A UTI isn’t something that you can conveniently treat at home. Your dog needs to be taken to the vet for a urine analysis.
The best form of treatment for UTI is a course of antibiotics to eliminate the invading bacteria in your dog’s urinary tract.
You need to be aware that prolonged UTIs in dogs can be life-threatening when the dog is unable to pee.
Penile Smegma
“The amount and color of the smegma vary from dog to dog.”
I know of a few dog owners that tend to prefer female dogs over male dogs due to their sex-specific problems.
Truth be told, both genders do have their own specific issues.
If you have a male dog, it is common to see some penile discharge from time to time. The most common cause will be due to just normal discharge called smegma.
Smegma is a kind of discharge that is found at the tip of your dog’s prepuce.
The prepuce is the fold of skin covering the non-erected penis. Smegma is made up of dead skin cells and some protein.
The amount and color of the smegma vary from dog to dog.
You can see this discharge coming from your dog’s penis sheath while it is resting or sleeping.
The smegma acts as a natural lubricant for the dog when it mates with a female dog.
It might seem like a clear fluid on the floor or bedding but if you were to wipe it with a piece of tissue, it will most likely be yellowish-white.
Is My Dog’s Penis Infected If There Is Smegma?
It is normal for male dogs to have some smegma discharge every now and then. Not something that you should be concerned about.
Male dogs that are not neutered tend to produce more smegma than sterilized dogs as the need to mate is stronger in them.
This causes the body to produce more smegma in the event the dog engages in copulation.
If you notice that your dog’s smegma has pus or discharge, you need to get your dog to the vet immediately to treat this abnormal discharge.
A Wet Dream
I know that many dog owners would not believe that is possible that their male dogs can have a wet dream. But it is.
My vet doesn’t believe it either but I have spoken to a few dog owners who have seen it happen before.
Here’s why dogs can have wet dreams too.
Dogs have the same sleep cycle as humans but they tend to be shorter.
The first phase is when they start to fall into a light sleep with steady and deep breaths.
The dog is still rather aware of what is happening around it.
After this phase, the dog will fall into a much deeper sleep called rapid eye movement or REM.
It is during this phase that the dog can start to dream, vocalize and jerk in its sleep.
You might even notice your dog’s eyes slightly rolled back if its eyelids are open.
Wet dreams might be more common in young dogs who are just approaching sexual maturity.
They have a high level of sex hormones called testosterone surging through their veins.
Canine Diabetes
Do you know that more than 50% of dogs in America are overweight?
This is a very sad fact as many dog owners don’t think much of it and many dogs are suffering in silence.
The number one reason why many dogs are overweight is due to a poor diet and overfeeding.
The majority of dog owners feed their dogs dry food which is convenient and affordable.
Dry food contains a lot of carbs which isn’t ideal for a dog’s natural diet.
A dog becomes diabetic when the body isn’t able to produce enough insulin to break down the sugar in its blood.
Dogs with diabetes tend to show these symptoms:
- Excessive thirst
- Frequent urination
- Unexplained weight loss
- Vomiting
Similar to having a UTI, the excessive amount of water that the dog drinks can over-dilute its urine making it seem like clear fluid.
Treatment For Canine Diabetes
“Make sure that the insulin is administered into your dog’s skin instead.”
There is no cure for diabetes which is why we shouldn’t even let it happen in the first place through poor nutrition.
The best way to diagnose this problem is to check your dog’s sugar levels. Daily insulin medication will have to be administered via injection and a diet overhaul.
When giving your dog an insulin injection, it is best to not inject it into your dog’s muscles as the insulin won’t be properly absorbed.
Intramuscular injection can cause your dog to limp due to soreness and bruising.
Make sure that the insulin is administered into your dog’s skin instead.
Why Is My Male Dog Leaking Brown Fluid From Its Anus?
You might not be aware of this but just behind the entrance of your dog’s anus lies its anal glands.
These anal sacs contain anal gland fluid which is used for territory marking, dispersing your dog’s pheromones and lubricating its poop.
This fluid is dark, oily and thick.
I know of many dog owners who are afraid to go near their dog’s anal glands because the fluid smells like fish sauce.
There is a possibility of your dog’s anal glands getting a bacterial infection. Once this happens, they tend to swell up and the fluid inside can’t flow out properly.
To treat impacted anal sacs, they need to be expressed or emptied. This can be done by the vet or yourself if you know how to do it.
Why Is My Female Dog Leaking Clear Odorless Fluid?
Female dogs too can leak a clear fluid which might be alarming to dog owners. Both male and female dogs do share similar causes when it comes to such clear leakages.
Another possible explanation for clear fluid leakage in female dogs is vaginal discharge.
This is more common in female dogs that are not fixed and tend to secrete more discharge when they are in heat.
If your dog is pregnant, this clear odorless fluid can also be pre-labor discharge.
It is an indication that she is nearing the end of her pregnancy and preparing to give birth.