Impacted Anal Glands

[Guest mtnbluebird]

So Folsom had an appointment at the vet yesterday because he's had diarrhea off and on for the past week. We've had him a little over 2 months and apparantly he had really badly impacted anal glands. Poor doggie screamed bloody murder when he had them expressed. I wanted to give him a cookie for being a good boy but to top it off the vet said no food for 24 hours. (He was so hungry last night I could hear his stomach growling from across the room, and he attempted to eat everything in the bedroom including my glasses case, the plant, and my PJs!)

 

I asked the vet how the glands became impacted/what to do to prevent it but she didn't have concrete answers, saying that it just happens with some dogs and to look for signs like scooting. Well we walk Folsom (no enclosed yard) and he's never scooted. He does lick his "boy parts" often though ever since we've adopted him, so maybe he was trying to reach... Any insight from other owners who's hounds have this problem? How long does it take for them to fill? What signs other than scooting should we look for? I've heard a high fiber diet can help, he usually has nice firm stools on Canadae (the food we feed). Any advice is appreciated!

[CleosMom]

Cleo is the only one of our hounds that needs a little help with her anal glands. (I will do almost anything for my hounds but I draw the line at expressing anal glands. ) One of the sure signs that it's time for a quick vet visit is her constant bum licking. She doesn't scoot either.

 

It's probably about three times a year (give or take) that Cleo needs to have her glands expressed.

 

We give Cleo pumpkin a few times a week with her evening meal.

[fionasmom]

I went through this with Fiona when I first adopted her. She had a raging case of hook worms which led to soft poop, which led to impacted anal glands. Once we solved all the underlying problems and firmed up the poop her glands were able to express themselves. She hasn't had a problem with them in several years.

[Guest Ola]

It could well be related to the diarrhea - when stools aren't firm the glands don't get naturally expressed when the dog poops. Before worrying too much about it I'd see if it's still a problem under "normal pooping conditions".

 

What was the vet's diagnosis on the diarrhea?

[Guest dmona]

My Eddie has to have his anal glands expressed about every 8 weeks.....I can always tell when he licks his bum so bad it is soaking wet. I also had this problem with my cocker spaniel. I have been told the same as you, that it just happens in some dogs. Sometimes surgery can correct it, but that can cause other problems I believe.

I'm sure someone else can give you all of the medical ramifications of the causes, etc. than I can.

[Guest mtnbluebird]

We're waiting for the results of the "sample" I suspect it's giardia or some other parasite he picked up when we were camping. He drank a little pond water :-/ So now I'd love to take him swimming again, he seemed to like it, but since we've gotten back from camping he's been a mess with the diarrhea. He's on a 5 day regimen of Flagisil and a bland diet until he firms back up again.