# Anal Glands



## Sammi's Mama (Jul 19, 2012)

Two weeks ago Sammi had "fish butt" aka anal gland problems. I took her to the vet and had them expressed. Today. It is back and she is extremely clingy. The vet changed her diet from Nutrisource grain free lamb and rice to Royal Canin adult with s/o because she had a UTI a while back. I'm not really a fan of dog foods the vets push (I know for a fact they receive lots of incentives to push these). Anyone have any suggestions for a good diet for the anal gland issue? I am thinking I can battle the UTI (she has only had one) with increasing moisture/water and a cranberry supplement. I want to do a dry/wet combo on food. She is a picky little girl and will snub her water bowl if the water is not refrigerated and fresh. I am constantly cleaning and filling water bowl. I have quite the little diva!!!!

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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

if you really want the best ask an expert like Sabine. [email protected] . you're right about the vet. I'm still waiting for my new consultation.


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## Pipersmom (Jul 27, 2009)

I started adding 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin to their food 1x per day and it seems to have helped.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I do 1 teaspoon of canned pumpkin 2 times per day


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi had NEVER had a problem with his anal glands until this summer. He wasn't scooting, but he was licking his butt incessantly. He was also having trouble with itchy paws caused by an environmental allergy. (best guess, mildew in the perpetually wet grass we had in the early summer) The vet told me that anal gland problems are a very common problem with allergies. She had to empty them twice (much to his dismay... LOTS of histrionics involved! :roll eyes but he's been fine since his allergies cleared up.


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## Lucy419 (Jun 10, 2013)

Is it true that once the anal glands are expressed one time that they will need it expressed on a more frequent basis?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Lucy419 said:


> Is it true that once the anal glands are expressed one time that they will need it expressed on a more frequent basis?


not sure about one time, but less is better


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## wynne (Apr 30, 2011)

Maya needs to have her glads expressed ever 6-8 weeks. She also is a little diva. What she likes today, she wont like tomorrow. I usually have to entice her to eat her kibble. Right now, I have her on Merrick. The lamb formula. Usually the cats push her aside and did into to her bowl as soon as put it down. I even feed the first.:boink:
Wish I could find a kibble that she would actually like. Adding warm water won't help.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

wynne said:


> Maya needs to have her glads expressed ever 6-8 weeks. She also is a little diva. What she likes today, she wont like tomorrow. I usually have to entice her to eat her kibble. Right now, I have her on Merrick. The lamb formula. Usually the cats push her aside and did into to her bowl as soon as put it down. I even feed the first.:boink:
> Wish I could find a kibble that she would actually like. Adding warm water won't help.


why does she need this every six weeks. Sounds like the cause is not being resolved.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

You should never "routinely" express anal glands. Some groomers do this as a "service", and it is a very bad idea. If the glands are regularly expressed, they get less and less able to express the material naturally. So it becomes a perpetual cycle, where the glands get expressed so they lose tone, get over-full and need to be expressed again.

There ARE times when anal glands get over-full, and the cause needs to be rooted out and corrected if possible. If it is a poor diet that is not creating well-formed, solid stools, this can be the issue. But allergies can cause anal glands to become over-full too. If you CAN, resolve the allergy problem. If it's seasonal, environmental allergies, as happened to Kodi last summer, sometimes you can't. In that case, the glands MAY need to be emptied by a veterinarian. (NOT a groomer!) Impacted anal glands can abscess. That is not pretty, is very painful, and can be dangerous.

Kodi's anal glands have needed to be emptied twice, in 4 1/2 years, about 6 weeks apart last summer. Since then, my vet checks them when she sees him, but they have been fine, and they will not be expressed again until/unless he has a problem.

There are also a FEW dogs where the anal glands are mis-placed so that the dog cannot naturally empty them. (one of Missy's dogs... Cash, I think) has this problem. In this case, a vet does need to empty them regularly. But this is a medical problem, not something you routinely do with a healthy dog.


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

whimsy does it by herself...peeeeuuuuwwww LOL


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## Pipersmom (Jul 27, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> why does she need this every six weeks. Sounds like the cause is not being resolved.


Sometimes the cause cannot be found. We have tried all variables with Riley and he just needs them done by the vet. The pumpkin has helped with the frequency but has not solved the problem. I feel terrible for him and it's expensive but there does not seem to be a solution.


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## Sammi's Mama (Jul 19, 2012)

Thank you guys for all the suggestions. She does have problems with allergies right now so that totally makes sense. Her eyes have been very runny and she bites her feet. I have been treating with benedryl fast melts. I also tried pumpkin last night. She wasn't too thrilled with it so I might have to get creative. With her current food she poops very little so some added fiber can't hurt.

My Yorkie I had before Sammi had to have her glands expressed every 6-8 weeks. Her glands required rubber gloves and going places I preferred not to go!! I would wait on the vet rather than letting a vet tech take her and do it. If I'm paying for it (even though it is only $13) I am going to make sure it is done and done correctly!

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## lilybit (Oct 16, 2013)

In the past, I had a bichon with anal gland problems during the last few years of his life. I tried the following ( not all at once): pumpkin, sprinkling psyllium husk on his food, a little olive oil on his food, switching to higher fiber food, Epsom salt soaks ( used to hold a compress to his butt ).. My vet thought I was nuts, but if you google this last one, you will find more about it. I am not sure what helped. I also learned to express them myself because they would sometimes get infected. You really need a helper for this, to hold him.. Best of luck to you..


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

Well, I hope none of you get to the stage I reached with my Coton de Tulear, Tycho - Cuba, my Havanese, seems fine, thank goodness. Tychy had endless anal gland problems apparently due to very narrow ducts leading from them, just a congenital thing. Anyway, he then got the first abscess. As Karen says, it was really horrible. That cleared up, then about six months later he got another one. By the end of the third, after long deliberation - my wonderful vet says it is a procedure he avoids unless absolutely necessary, but he felt in this case it was - Tycho's anal glands were removed. It's not fun; poor boy, he was SO miserable, and it took ages to heal properly. But when they removed them one of them was in a really bad way and we agreed it was a very good thing that this nastily infected gland had been got rid of before it became any worse. Since then, Tycho has been SO much better that I only wish now I'd done it sooner; that, and Cuba arriving, have given him so much happier a life. I hope no-one has to go this route, but if you do, there can be great benefits. The risk is that a less than seriously able vet can damage the sphincter muscle and leave your dog incontinent. But it's a pretty small risk. Thank goodness it didn't happen in Tychy's case.


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