A question for you wise ones! (caution: squick factor)
Since Rudy had to deal with emergency sock removal surgery and all the follow up from that, we left his glands until last night. Not ideal, but we figured that if they had gotten that bad we could always go back to the vet for a few more times if needed. I did his left side successfully last night, and then went for the right side. They were both the size of a smallish/average green grape (the long, oval kind). No way that's comfortable. They were definitely smaller when I was trained. The left was easy and he didn't even seem to notice. He fussed and carried on during the right side. This has always been the worse side for him. He jumped away from me after I squeezed it. I knew it didn't pop, but decided to leave it for this morning and try again when we're fresh. Gordon took him out for his last trip to Pooh Corner of the night, and reported that he had a great poop, and that when he was done he wagged his bum (not something that usually warrants a bum wag) and skipped happily in, feet barely touching the ground. Okay, sounds like he was at least a little more comfortable. This morning I went back in and couldn't find his right gland at all. I'm assuming that means it's now empty. Could I have "loosened" it up and it expressed itself? From what we've been through at the vet, she said it's unlikely his EVER empty on their own, but then is it possible that when he pooped (  ) he did actually express it?I'll monitor things here of course, but was just wondering if that seems logical. It was quite bad when I touched it last night, and if it's still like that I'd like to take him in in the next few days and get it done so it doesn't get infected again. But, is it fair to say that if I can't find it, I can safely assume it's emptied itself? (It may just be that I'm not good at this and I'm missing something.) Oh, and the timing on this was great...I'm completely stuffed with a cold. Can't smell a thing. (Who ever finds the bright side in a cold?) |
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| Yes, it is quite possible it emptied itself, but check back tonight. The major stink on poo often is the anal glad icing (sorry). |
| I have to learn to do Luna. I'm not looking forward to it, but I can't keep taking her to the vet every few weeks... |
| Tripper our basset has problems with his anal glands. We tried doing them but that wasn't working. The last time he got them done at the vets he cried something awful, felt so sorry for him. She said they were infected so he had a dose of antibiotics but said she didn't have to see him again. We are now giving him a small amt of metamucil over his food, tried it before with no success but maybe this time it will work. |
| It sounds like it emptied when he pooped. If you found it the first time then you know where it is.  Just keep checking them. I have really bad hayfever at the moment. DH carries on something awful about the smell. I'm like mmmm, its a bit unpleasant. I would never have thought I'd be glad to have hayfever either. |
Um, do all dogs end up having to have this done?  |
Mady wrote: Um, do all dogs end up having to have this done? NO! I have had so many dogs in my life...I could count I suppose, but it would be a lot. My foster Harley is the 1st one ever that has had anal gland issues and need human assistance to express them. I have no idea why this seems to be such a common issue these days.   |
| We've had five sheepies in our lives. Rudy's the only who has had this problem. It's gross, but now that I'm doing it at home it's really not much more than the tiniest inconvenience. I've always known at least one person who had a dog with this issue, and I was always delighted to not have to deal with it. Now I guess it's my turn. In Rudy's case, it takes us about two minutes every three weeks. We're hoping that, in time, we'll be able to do it even less frequently. |
Like Dawn we run a dog community and never have we had to do this. The problem in more pronounced in small breeds and as a result many groomers squeeze the anal sacs as part of the grooming process. I have no idea if this constant squeezing actually irritates the glands to where they become troublesome. Lack of roughage in a dog's diet probably contributes to the problems. We look for foods that leave less feces but are we actually contributing to the problem by not allowing the dog enough "ooomph" in the stool to keep the sacs empty? (yes, they are really called anal sacs tho they are glands  ) |
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