Anal Glands

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby pitbullmamaliz » December 26th, 2012, 9:15 pm

To express, or not to express, that is the question?

I've never had Inara's done and never plan on doing so, but I know some people who have it done religiously. Is it genetics that determines whether they can express on their own? Diet? What is it and do you express?

Discuss!
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Postby Malli » December 26th, 2012, 11:04 pm

I think its a combo. More recently Oscar has expressed his own and had one abscess, vet said old age and allergies combined.
I asked about expressing and he said if I did regularly then he wouldn't be able to do it on his own.

Something makes me think soft poop makes in harder for them to properly express them on their own, can't remember where I heard that from.

Some people actually get them removed surgically because they cause their dogs so many issues.
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Postby TheRedQueen » December 28th, 2012, 1:25 am

I have never done my dog's anal glands...I figure if they were living in the wild, no one would be stopping to squeeze their bums. ;) Nah...I've never had an issue except for my old basset hound who liked to express hers while sleeping under the covers with me...<3 loved that! She'd also do it in the car during long road trips.

I know a lot of dogs get them done regularly by the groomer too...it just seems to be a service some offer.
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Postby amalie79 » December 28th, 2012, 2:40 am

River used to act so miserable and uncomfortable until we would have them done; but now if I see one of them scooting, I add a little wheat bran sprinkled on their food for a couple of days-- that bulks things up enough to help express them naturally.

I can't imagine that they enjoy having them done, no matter how much better it makes them feel. :\
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Postby call2arms » December 28th, 2012, 8:22 pm

Don't start doing it unless he dog scoots. It's actually the anal sacs (not the glands themselves) that get full - they just store the liquid produced by the glands.

The sacs are at 4 and 8 o'clock in the anus, and they usually get squeezed easily when the stools are a good consistency and the contents are liquid enough. If the stools are soft or the contents thick/grainy then they can impact and the glands need to be emptied.

So normally unless your dog shows discomfort or scoots/licks, don't touch them... Doing them when it's not needed isn't very useful.

My sister's beagle had numerous anal gland abscesses that bursted, she thought of having the glands removed cause they were so problematic but there is a big risk for fecal incontinence afterwards, and with metamucil in her food daily things got better...

Also groomers tend to do it from the outside (squeezing the area where the sac is like a pimple) - not only does this not fully empty the glands but it can also cause some damage to the sac itself and sometimes cause problems. You really got to get a finger in there. :puke:
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Postby ArtGypsy » January 4th, 2013, 10:47 am

Dar has had some ..............anal seepage issues this last week. :puke:

I was worried that perhaps he was starting to have problems that may be caused by the anal glands.

Glad I read this....

If he is having leakage, **ahem**. ( gross. ) does this mean he doesn't need 'attention' to that area from a vet??

I'm so confused. LOL
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Postby Tubular Toby » January 4th, 2013, 2:39 pm

My holistic vet will sometimes express Toby's. He has smelly/butt scooting/licking issues. Recently I started adding just a little wheat bran to his diet when I notice the symptoms. Amalie suggested it and it's seemed to help. I know the purpose is to firm up his stools, but even when he was eating Nature's Variety kibble and had very firm stools he had issues. But for some reason, wheat bran seems to be helping thus far!

I tried to avoid ever having them expressed, but it got to the point that he was seriously unhappy about it.
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Postby amalie79 » January 4th, 2013, 2:52 pm

The wheat bran bulks up the stool. Even when they're firm, sometimes they are too small when they come out and don't put much pressure on anything. The wheat bran bulks it up (sorry to get graphic) and so it's bigger and presses the glands as it comes out. Too much will certainly make it too soft to help, and it's not ideal for Luna, as she gets soft stool with grains-- though I suppose I could try oat bran, or extra-extra veggies. Anyway, that's the principle behind it. I do it anytime they scoot, smell like fishy pennies, lick excessively, or leave little spotty presents. :puke:
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Postby Tubular Toby » January 4th, 2013, 3:23 pm

Ahhhhhh, that makes sense! Doh. I never understood why it was working but Nature's Variety didn't work. He had small poops on Nature's Variety, despite them being super firm. I feel like an idiot now. Hahaha, but at any rate, hurray for the wheat bran, as it works with Toby. :)
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Postby Malli » January 4th, 2013, 11:21 pm

ArtGypsy wrote:Dar has had some ..............anal seepage issues this last week. :puke:

I was worried that perhaps he was starting to have problems that may be caused by the anal glands.

Glad I read this....

If he is having leakage, **ahem**. ( gross. ) does this mean he doesn't need 'attention' to that area from a vet??

I'm so confused. LOL



what color is the leakage?
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Postby ArtGypsy » January 5th, 2013, 10:50 am

light brown.
and SMELL HORRIBLE........
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Postby Malli » January 5th, 2013, 3:52 pm

do you see any redness or swelling?
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Postby Malli » January 5th, 2013, 3:52 pm

do you see any redness or swelling?
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Postby Malli » January 5th, 2013, 3:52 pm

do you see any redness or swelling?
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Postby Malli » January 5th, 2013, 3:52 pm

do you see any redness or swelling?
I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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Postby Malli » January 5th, 2013, 4:20 pm

and apparently I needed to ask it 4 times....
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Postby ArtGypsy » January 5th, 2013, 5:55 pm

LOL
No, I don't see anything like that......and It hasnt' happened since then. *it was several times in those few days*

No Scooting....a little extra licking perhaps, but that is because THERE WAS CRAP COMIN' OUTTA THERE!
LOL
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Postby Malli » January 6th, 2013, 3:06 am

I don't think all dogs would necessarily indicate an issue. Oscar had no indications of an abscess, I noticed a little wetness with a different color and then some swelling. I didn't see any licking or apparent discomfort even. If I had, I would have checked and then expressed them for him! :doh:

But sounds like Dar just kind of expressed them slowly a couple of times over a few days... :|
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » January 6th, 2013, 10:06 am

Every so often Inara goes through a phase where she licks her hiney a lot and I may get a whiff of anal gland juice. But then it's over and she moves on. I figure she's dealing with them on her own.
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Postby DemoDick » January 7th, 2013, 11:03 pm

Raw feeding has taken care of any potential problems we may have had in our crew. They all crap dry concrete meatballs that express everything on the way out. And I mean *everything*.

I love my dog to death, but I gotta be honest, going knuckle deep where the doody comes out in order to squeeze anal gland juice isn't really what I signed on for.

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