Vet Says To Leave Anal Glands Alone?

[HugUrPup]

I've never expressed a dogs anal glands and never intend to ;)

Edited June 27, 2010 by puggerup

[Dogsfevr]

We have never had an issue BUT we do check.

Unless you inspect every poo your dogs does you have no idea whether they are expressing them fully.Even those with the best diets can be prone to build up

We also do it with the grooming aspect aswell unless asked not too.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

We have never had an issue BUT we do check.

Unless you inspect every poo your dogs does you have no idea whether they are expressing them fully.Even those with the best diets can be prone to build up

We also do it with the grooming aspect aswell unless asked not too.

hmm good point. how would i check?

[stormie]

Some dogs for whatever reason, just don't empty their glands properly when toileting. And those dogs will need their glands expressed manually.

For some reason it seems to be common in the Dane puppies I've seen, that don't seem to empty their glands properly and they overflow. Orbit needed it done monthly as a pup, but grew out of it and hasn't had a problem since. He's on raw now too which helps.

I just learnt to tell by feeling, on the outside, whether his glands were full. I felt them after being emptied, then just gently ran my fingers around the area and if they were full, it was very obvious because they were quite big. This is all without entering the anus too, so nothing gross. Then I'd just palm him off to my boss to do ;)

There's no harm in checking if they're full - last thing you want is them leaking out in your house because the smell sticks around for ages.

But yes, we'd much prefer you didn't do them yourself cause us vets and nurses would much rather stink our clinics out for doing it and also hope that you all get abscesses cause they're our favourite thing to deal with. And of course, because we want to suck as much money out of you as possible

Edited June 27, 2010 by stormie

[Erny]

We have never had an issue BUT we do check.

Unless you inspect every poo your dogs does you have no idea whether they are expressing them fully.Even those with the best diets can be prone to build up

We also do it with the grooming aspect aswell unless asked not too.

hmm good point. how would i check?

I let the dog tell me. Scooting bottom. Beginning to pay too much attention to butt too often. They would be a couple of signs that I'd look for. I haven't ever had a problem with any of the dogs I have had, including those who were 'family' dogs when I was young. I might be getting my boy's anal glands checked soonish though, because he hasn't been eating his bones; his stools have been soft for a bit too long and because his butt does seem to periodically irritate him. But if they aren't built up, they aren't getting expressed. Let his own body do that.

[Danois]

I too had problems when my dane was a puppy but it seems that he grew into his anal glands eventually and we've had no problems since however when he was young we had to get them expressed several times as they were full.

[~Anne~]

The anal sacs, as stated by many (I am ECSTATIC to see) should be left alone unless they become impacted. The more you squeeze, the more fluid is produced.

Anal sacs do not only express naturally when a dog (or cat) defecates, but also when frightened, excited and sometimes just "becuase". It is an action they can not control and it is a normal bodily function of canines and felines (and other animals I'll bet).

This trend of squeezing them as part of a grooming routine is a really worrying modern trend.

[persephone]

The anal sacs, as stated by many (I am ECSTATIC to see) should be left alone unless they become impacted. The more you squeeze, the more fluid is produced.

Anal sacs do not only express naturally when a dog (or cat) defecates, but also when frightened, excited and sometimes just "becuase". It is an action they can not control and it is a normal bodily function of canines and felines (and other animals I'll bet).

This trend of squeezing them as part of a grooming routine is a really worrying modern trend.

Yep -

[~Anne~]

We have never had an issue BUT we do check.

Unless you inspect every poo your dogs does you have no idea whether they are expressing them fully.Even those with the best diets can be prone to build up

We also do it with the grooming aspect aswell unless asked not too.

hmm good point. how would i check?

An animal that has an issue that needs to be looked at will have any or all of the following;

*constant seepage from the sac

*swelling or pain around the anus

*continual but dragging

These signs can also indicate other things as well however such as worm burden, allergy and yeast or bacterial infections.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

We have never had an issue BUT we do check.

Unless you inspect every poo your dogs does you have no idea whether they are expressing them fully.Even those with the best diets can be prone to build up

We also do it with the grooming aspect aswell unless asked not too.

hmm good point. how would i check?

I let the dog tell me. Scooting bottom. Beginning to pay too much attention to butt too often. They would be a couple of signs that I'd look for. I haven't ever had a problem with any of the dogs I have had, including those who were 'family' dogs when I was young. I might be getting my boy's anal glands checked soonish though, because he hasn't been eating his bones; his stools have been soft for a bit too long and because his butt does seem to periodically irritate him. But if they aren't built up, they aren't getting expressed. Let his own body do that.

ty i will keep a look out for that

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

Some dogs for whatever reason, just don't empty their glands properly when toileting. And those dogs will need their glands expressed manually.

For some reason it seems to be common in the Dane puppies I've seen, that don't seem to empty their glands properly and they overflow. Orbit needed it done monthly as a pup, but grew out of it and hasn't had a problem since. He's on raw now too which helps.

I just learnt to tell by feeling, on the outside, whether his glands were full. I felt them after being emptied, then just gently ran my fingers around the area and if they were full, it was very obvious because they were quite big. This is all without entering the anus too, so nothing gross. Then I'd just palm him off to my boss to do ;)

There's no harm in checking if they're full - last thing you want is them leaking out in your house because the smell sticks around for ages.

But yes, we'd much prefer you didn't do them yourself cause us vets and nurses would much rather stink our clinics out for doing it and also hope that you all get abscesses cause they're our favourite thing to deal with. And of course, because we want to suck as much money out of you as possible

in my experience and with my vet clinic, they try as much as possible to keep costs down and it seems your clinic does this as well.

i think most do the right thing by the animals to be honest. there may be a few who gouge but i havent come across them.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

We have never had an issue BUT we do check.

Unless you inspect every poo your dogs does you have no idea whether they are expressing them fully.Even those with the best diets can be prone to build up

We also do it with the grooming aspect aswell unless asked not too.

hmm good point. how would i check?

An animal that has an issue that needs to be looked at will have any or all of the following;

*constant seepage from the sac

*swelling or pain around the anus

*continual but dragging

These signs can also indicate other things as well however such as worm burden, allergy and yeast or bacterial infections.

ty. as i worm regularly i would expect any of the above to be a result of the ag's. however, to be on the safe side i would always take my dog to a vet if it did have any of the symptoms,

[tlc]

The anal sacs, as stated by many (I am ECSTATIC to see) should be left alone unless they become impacted. The more you squeeze, the more fluid is produced.

Anal sacs do not only express naturally when a dog (or cat) defecates, but also when frightened, excited and sometimes just "becuase". It is an action they can not control and it is a normal bodily function of canines and felines (and other animals I'll bet).

This trend of squeezing them as part of a grooming routine is a really worrying modern trend.

I agree, I had a bit of trouble with my oldest girl when she was younger and I took her to the vet and the vet said she may always need to have it done and then like clock work every month or so she was scooting again so back off to the vet we went again and again till about the 4th time when we got a different vet, she said to me that after looking at Lacys records that she felt every month or around there was too often and explained that if always manually done then scar tissue can be formed and it will then really always have to be done manually. So she suggested metamucil (but after some research I decided phsylium husks were better) in her food just a small amount to bulk up the fibre and as much as I wanted to take her in if she scooted I was to let her go and see what happened and sure enough it worked itself out so here we are over 2 years later and she is fine and hasn't needed it done since. Every now and then like maybe once every 3 or 4 months I will see her scoot through out the day then she is fine. So there is obvioulsy a bit of an issue there but it sorts itself out. I don't even use the phsylium husks anymore. So I am glad that I got a different vet that steered me down the right track.

[Staff'n'Toller]

But yes, we'd much prefer you didn't do them yourself cause us vets and nurses would much rather stink our clinics out for doing it and also hope that you all get abscesses cause they're our favourite thing to deal with. And of course, because we want to suck as much money out of you as possible

Thankyou for putting that reply so succinctly because the preceeding comment was making me quite grumpy.

I'm pretty sure I can speak for EVERY Veterinarian that they would be glad never to have to deal with another anal gland abscess as long as they live.

Also the insinuation that we enjoy letting animals get to the stage where they are in terrible pain for our own monetary gain is just plain nasty.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Our old family dog ended up getting the anal glands removed because she needed emptying every month. Same diet her whole life, but she was getting old and slow - so probably not as much exercise. She lived another couple of years after the op.

My friends dog only last week was - after a strenuous play date with my dog - smelling a bit fishy and chewing at his tail, and falling asleep and then going again. He was so tired. I thought it was either the Anal glands or stress / ocd from being over tired. And being a BC - not quite able to quit and rest. He went to the vet next day and "his anal glands were very full" so that fixed that. And no problems after this week's play date. He gets lots of bones. That all have to be hidden from my dog so she can't eat them and get blockage problems.

My dog gets the occasional fishy smell. I've got no idea how to inspect or express her glands. And would really rather not. I guess it's a bit like squeezing a pimple. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

So far - while she does occasionally do the tail spinny chew thing, it's not obsessive or linked with the fishy skunk smell.

PS most vets and doctors I know have far too much work on to bother making more work for later. And that goes for most competent tradies I know too.

Edited June 27, 2010 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[Kirty]

But yes, we'd much prefer you didn't do them yourself cause us vets and nurses would much rather stink our clinics out for doing it and also hope that you all get abscesses cause they're our favourite thing to deal with. And of course, because we want to suck as much money out of you as possible

Thankyou for putting that reply so succinctly because the preceeding comment was making me quite grumpy.

I'm pretty sure I can speak for EVERY Veterinarian that they would be glad never to have to deal with another anal gland abscess as long as they live.

Also the insinuation that we enjoy letting animals get to the stage where they are in terrible pain for our own monetary gain is just plain nasty.

We had one 'release' at work the other day and OMG I hope I never have to smell that again! Seriously, it would have to be a vet's least favourite job.

I have never had a problem with any of my dogs, thankfully.

[Greytmate]

I have heard somewhere that dogs express their anal glands when they poo on their walk, territorial pooing. But not when they poo at home.

Years back we had a dog that only ever pooed at home. She had to have her glands expressed. Then we started walking her at poo time and got her in the habit of pooing out in public. And we never had anal gland problems again.

Worth a try if anyone thinks it will help their dog. Doesn't cost anything except the price of a roll of poo bags.

[Pointees]

A couple days ago I smelled something fishy around my pup and sure enough it was her anal glands. So DH expressed them and she's been fine since.

He took her in to get her final puppy shot yesterday and casually mentioned to the vet that he had expressed the dogs anal glads just the other day. The vet came back and insisted this was a big NO NO and to leave them alone to express naturally. And that if we humans messed with them too much they might lose their "elasticity" and not be able to express themselves naturally.

We've had other dogs before and have always expressed their anal glands when they needed to be and have never been told by any other vets not to do them. I checked with the breeder and she says my vet is wrong also, and that if we just left them alone they could get impacted/infected.

I'm inclined to take my breeder's advice over the vet's (same vet who tried to sell us on science diet junk so I don't find much validity in his advice).

What do you do? Do you express them or just leave them be?

I have one dog out of 4 that needs it done. Its done once a month, during a bath.

She scoots her rear along the ground. I don't see it being part of her diet, as shes on a good quaility kibble in the mornings, gets bones twice a week, and raw meats or 'Prime' rolls or mince at night. The raw meats include Kidney, liver, hearts, ox tongues, and chicken wings/necks.

I have no problem doing it myself. My vet doesn't need more work, and I don't want to wisdh it upon them as they would have other peoples dogs to do it to.

[Erny]

I have heard somewhere that dogs express their anal glands when they poo on their walk, territorial pooing. But not when they poo at home.

That's interesting, because I didn't think that anal gland expression was a conscious, voluntary thing.

[persephone]

because I didn't think that anal gland expression was a conscious, voluntary thing.

Hmm.. neither did I . Anyone got any more info on this?