Chronic Anal Gland Problems

[macoduck]

Poor Pudge le mutt,

Her hiney hurts. Over the course of a year she needs to have her anal glands expressed at least twice and boy is it nasty.

I've just made her an appointment for Thursday to do it again and that will be 3 times in 1 month!

She's been doing the butt scoot this week and now I see that her rectum tissue looks slightly enflamed.

This dog usually has a strong constitution and nice firm poop.

 

Last week the vet suggested adding Metamusil but I didn't. Is there anything else that can be done to prevent this?

So far as we can tell her glands (one more so than the other) are not inflamed and about to rupture (like what happened to Gracie). They are just full of nasty gook.

[racindog]

My holistic vet suggusted I try The Missing Link supplement for one of my greys that was also having chronic problems. Now she really doesn't have any problems or abscesses anymore- just needs them expressed every couple months! Don't know if it was the Missing Link that worked or what but I'm not about to stop giving it to her even though I personallly don't like one of the ingredients it has. Might be worth a try. Vet said other vets recommended it too. If you try it let me know if it works.

Edited May 25, 2010 by racindog

[Guest KennelMom]

what's her poo like and what do you feed?

[TheFullHouse]

I was under the impression that this is the reason our pups should have good formed poops, to the glands are expressed automatically when they go. Might be worth trying the Metamucil.

[Guest kydie]

My vet taught me how to do the expression myself, on my non-grey

and showed me pics of what to look for and would indicate a vet visit Good Luck

[Guest Energy11]

Poor Pudge!!

 

I have no problems here, but probably due to good hard poops :-))

 

Yes, you can express them yourself. Might be worth having the vet show you, and then again, some dogs just have problems emptying the anals. I'd also try the Metimucil!

 

Good Luck!

 

 

[macoduck]

what's her poo like and what do you feed?

She eats ordinary Iams Pro Active Health. She's been on it for years. I'll add yogurt to her meals. She won't eat pumpkin but then pumpkin always backfired with Gracie (literally). The only treats the dogs get are the dried chicken strips with no additives. Once I'd gotten DH to stop buying Beggin Strips and any junky dog cookie Pudge's itchy skin problems went away.

 

Her poops have always been a nice tidy pile. Firm. You can see her pushing hard with those hiney muscles. In the past 2 weeks I'd say they've lost a just a bit of firmness but still are shapely.

 

Can this ever get to the point where anal glands need to be permanently removed? Ouch!

[Guest LindsaySF]

I got here from your other thread about Metamucil. If her poops are soft you can firm them up, but if they are firm already she might just have wonky glands. Some dogs need them expressed a few times a year, some don't. Are you sure they aren't infected this time? (Multiple expressings per month is a lot). I have also read that foods high in fat can make the anal gland liquid thicker (ewww) so should be avoided.

 

Teagan had infected anal glands (when expressed they contained thick fluid, blood, and puss). He got multiple antibiotic infusions into the glands and we tried Benefiber, pumpkin, etc. In his case he had very soft stool so I know that was likely the problem. A few dewormings and a food change did the trick. His poops are great now.

 

I have also read that problems like obesity and hind-end weakness can contribute to anal gland problems. Are any of those a problem for Pudge?

 

To answer your question, if the anal glands are chronically infected, yes they will consider surgery. But if they just need the occasional expressing they won't want to remove them.

[macoduck]

 

I have also read that problems like obesity and hind-end weakness can contribute to anal gland problems. Are any of those a problem for Pudge?

 

 

No hind end weakness but her name is appropriate.

[tbhounds]

You may want to give an antihistamine a try. Some feel that in increase with anal gland secretion may be associated with allergies--and wow is it allergy season now! Also, sometimes the more you express the glands the more you can irritate them--it becomes a rotating circle.