my husband has sores on his penis dr says it could be cold sores never heard of this can you confirm

I think it's Human herpes virus 1 (HHV1) which is also known as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1). It is typically the cause of cold sores around the mouth. HHV1 can also lead to infection in the genital area causing genital herpes usually through oral-genital contact.
You have to avoid sexual contact during visible outbreaks. It is better to take antiviral drug like HSV-Zero when you feel that an outbreak is coming to prevent lesions forming.

Even when there is no visible outbreak, it's recommended to Use condoms and/or microbicide wisely, because sometimes people don’t have any symptoms at all and still give herpes to another person, it is called asymptomatic transmission. Condoms and/or microbicide can cut the risk of transmitting herpes by half.