Horrified! An infected anal gland needed to be lanced!
I jumped out of bed and turned the light on, checked out her backside and saw this bubble of tissue that was surrounded by blood, her anus was not even visible due to this large sac. I dampened a towel with warm water, lightly patted the area, but the bleeding would not let up. I threw my clothes on, grabbed some sheets for the car and drove to the vet, all the while frantic with the idea of losing my girl. The doctor told me that it was an impacted anal gland and it was infected, he asked if she had she been dragging her butt or licking more than usual, I told him that nothing was out of the ordinary, fun and playful the night before, no stinky butt, her usual self. I had to leave Skye at the vet so that they could sedate her and lance the gland. My sister picked her up 5 hrs later, I was at work, and she brought her to my home. When I got home I couldn't believe my eye's! It looked as though she had been shot in the butt! It's an open wound about the size of a quarter, and it needs to be kept open so that it can drain. Iodine wash, pain medication and antibiotic's twice a day. The person I had grooming Skye advised me that the anal glands should only be expelled a couple of time's per year, I trusted her word and experience.  The vet told my sister that they should be expelled every month with no exception! I started grooming her myself one month ago, I was going to groom her again this weekend and expel the gland's myself. Unfortunately my girl has suffered and I have a $250.00 vet bill! Lot's of TLC, towls and old blanket's for my girl. Once she is healed she will get the squeeze with every bath once a month! I am so grateful she is home with me tonight, it could have been worse, this we can deal with. Everyone, please make sure your doggy's glands are expelled every month, I can't even imagine how Skye feels right now. |
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| Poor sweetie and poor you too, that must of been so scary.
Give skye a big cuddle from us and hope she is on the mend real soon. Anal Gland problems don't affect all, but if you do have a history of impacted ones on your dog then good future information. Thanks for sharing and I am sorry that happened. Hugs. |
| Oh my, that's horrible!
I hope all heals well and quickly. Poor girl.... Poor mommy! |
| Poor puppy, poor you!!!!!!!!!
I have NEVER had Tasker's anal glands expressed....... I wonder if some dogs need it and others don't? |
| Poor puppy and you, hope all goes well |
| Poor girl, and poor you!
I'm glad she is ok and hope she feels better and heals quickly. Most dogs do not ever need their anal glands expressed and never have a problem. In fact expressing them once a month on a dog who doesn't need it done could do serious damage, so I do hope anyone who reads this goes with the advice from their own vet. Not a groomer... One thing that can prevent this is a good quality food that produces firm stools. If the dogs stool is soft too often or for too long then there is no pressure to naturally clean those glands out on a daily basis. |
| Stella must have her glans expressed every month. They are full to capacity each time she goes to groomer. He and my vet both say it's nothing to worry about, that some dogs produce more fluid than others.
Now after reading Stacy's post, I wonder what is the serious damage it could cause? |
| I had a problem with my first OPES as he got older and had to expel the anal glands regularly. Not pleasant for either of us!
Some hints that the anal gland might be bothering the dog: Not sitting completely Licking the area Scooting rear end on ground ( dragging rear end on grass, etc) Some dogs never have a problem but if your's does, it's not that difficult to expel. I put my fingers in a little plastic sandwich bag so whatebet comes out goes right into the bag and my hands remain clean 
Oh, what we do for our dogs! |
Thanks for all of your hug's, Skye had to wear the e-collar over night because I caught her trying to lick the wound. Today she is taking it easy, but it breaks my heart to see her so sedated, she is usually so playful and goofy. Unfortunately Skye came to me in April '05 with absolutely no history, I don't know if she had gland problem's before. Not all dog's may need to have the glands expressed, but my vet instructed that Skye's should be done every month, so I will perform this icky thing after having the vet demonstrate it for me. Her follow up is on the 10th. I have been feeding her Dr. Foster & Smith's food since May, her poop looks fine, but maybe I need to find something with fiber to supplement her diet. Thanks again for your support  |
| Ohh - I'm sorry for the scary experience you had! I'm glad she is ok! |
| Poor Pup..give her a belly rub from me and the boys!
Actually I've never had to express the glands on any of the 7 dogs that I've enjoyed living with. Perhaps it is only a few that suffer from this condition. I agree, ask the vet about your particular dog is prone to this. Thought I should mention that the bubble sounds very much like something my Shaggy experienced in the last year of her life but not the same thing. It was a tumor due to her precarious immune system and her age (15). Trying to expell her gland unknowingly, would have caused her extreme pain - so always best to check with your vet as to what exactly it is. Marianne and the boys |
Marianne wrote: Actually I've never had to express the glands on any of the 7 dogs that I've enjoyed living with. Perhaps it is only a few that suffer from this condition. I agree, ask the vet about your particular dog is prone to this.
You may want to get your nose checked out, Marianne. It is one nasty tinny fishy smell 
I have never lived with a dog that didn't have this problem. They all have, Muffin, Pandy, Annie and now Fozzie. We're calling the vet tomorrow to find out if Fozzie's anal glands can be removed. He expresses himself every single day at least once that we are aware of. The groomer says he does it several times. Blech! |
Stacy wrote: Marianne wrote: Actually I've never had to express the glands on any of the 7 dogs that I've enjoyed living with. Perhaps it is only a few that suffer from this condition. I have never lived with a dog that didn't have this problem. Blech! I've never lived with a dog that needed this done, either. I have heard about it, and in conversation I nod knowingly  but, nope! I don't know a thing about it, except from what I hear.
My two now don't have this problem....or maybe they do....How would I know? I check there "area" when trimming the poop shute, and it always looks fine...Does it swell? Get red? What? |
OH NICOLE you know when your dog has this problem, even if they express it themselves when you are not around, THE SMELL, sends you heading for the hills at 100 miles an hour 
Brie had it done once as a baby, has not needed it since and she is my first to of had it done. Signs is - constantly trying to lick or bite the backside, butt scooting along the ground and when you look you can see a swelling there where the anal gland exit is. So if they don't end up expressing the build up themselves it needs to be done. I got the vet to do it and I cleared the room when he went squeeeeeze , bad bad bad mom, no just got driven out by the smell.
Feeding food that helps keep the stools really firm helps |
I too NEVER have had this troublewith any of my dogs. Nor can I remember any of our Brittanies or basset with this either as I grew up. I guess I've been extremely lucky.  |
| Now you guys had me curious and I had to google check to see how frequently this happens. Could I have been that lucky with my past and present furballs? My nose is really good, makes up for my eyesight I'm thinking
Here's what I found..the general consensus appears to be some are luckier than most and never have to have it done. Scroll halfway to the page and someone asked the vet the very same thing we're discussing here. http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/doganal.html Marianne and the boys |
| It has been one week and Skye is doing so much better! Yesterday I picked up another round of antibiotic's and pain killers, the vet shaved her down back there so it will heal better. She still has to wear the e-collar at night and when I am away, she is a licker! The vet told me how to express the glands myself, he said the best way to do it is by inserting my finger up to first knuckle and squeeze out the gland. Left hand for right gland and right hand for left gland, just need surgical gloves and K-Y Jelly. Not looking forward to this, but if thats what it takes, well I will do anything for my girl! |
| OMG
I'm a NURSE and I'm nt sure I could bring myself to do THAT!!!!!!!!!! Glad to hear things are improving. |
Tasker's Mom wrote: OMG
I'm a NURSE and I'm nt sure I could bring myself to do THAT!!!!!!!!!! Glad to hear things are improving. I'm not a nurse...but I have to agree I don't think I could ever do that. There are some things that are worth paying a professional for |
| I'm glad she's doing better.
I guess I'm just lucky. I've never done any of my dogs' anal glands and have never had to have it done, either. My sister's dog had a recurrent problem. The vet showed her how to express the glands, but my sister decided she was ok with paying to have it done. Can't say I blame her. |
| Hello all,
After reading this I looked at Prince bum and I have no Idea what a anal glands looks like or to know if it is full, but Prince drags his bum on the ground after he has a number 2 most time. It is kind of funny to see him start at the top of the hill and slide down. A lot of my dogs have done this is this normal? |
| Since he is a puppy I doubt it's anal glands, it's probably worms, or he could be just wiping his butt. |
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