wuffles Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 One of my dogs is having recurring anal gland abscesses and infections, despite a good diet including psyllium husk. This is her fourth time in 12 months. I have been avoiding the issue of anal gland removal as everything I read says "don't do it!" but now, after having to leave her at the vet for the day to have one of the glands lanced, enough is enough. It's very painful for her (and for me) Does anyone have any actual experiences of this surgery? I know that there is a risk of incontinence but the vet maintains that it is extremely uncommon. Is the recovery horrible? She is an inside, on the bed, on the couch kind of dog and we do a bunch of dog sports. I need to do the best thing for her but I can't decide what that is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I don't know anything about it sorry wuffles. If it were my dog I would most likely go ahead if it's become such a big problem though. All the best with it whatever you choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I have seen it in patients at the vets I worked at .. messy, painful, and generally a very uncomfortable procedure ...but I guess better than abscesses etc. does your dog have lots of edible bone? hard stools can really help..the stools using psyllium are larger, but still softish, compared to stools with a decent amount of digested ground up bone ..and help squeeze things with teh added effort of excreting . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 (edited) Yes she gets bones (chicken wings, frames or lamb ribs) at least 3x weekly. Edited September 4, 2012 by wuffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I know someone local who had it done on their BC that kept getting abcesses. The operation didn't create any further complications. Has this dog seen a chiropractor lately? Anal gland issues can sometimes arise in conjuction with pelvis/hip issues. The dog that had its glands removed also had HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 She hasn't been to chiro in a few months but her right hip is always slightly out when she does go. She has no signs of soreness and is very active, but she is stoic so it's hard to tell. I've asked vets to check her movement etc but they can never find anything out of the ordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I would have to be desperate to reach that stage . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 I would have to be desperate to reach that stage . Define desperate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) She hasn't been to chiro in a few months but her right hip is always slightly out when she does go. She has no signs of soreness and is very active, but she is stoic so it's hard to tell. I've asked vets to check her movement etc but they can never find anything out of the ordinary. I'd be suggesting you try chiro and some muscle therapy for a few months before taking this step. I'd not be relying on a non-chiropractically trained vet for this issue. Fecal incontinence can be one side effect from this op and there's no way back once its done. I'd suggest a consult with Dr Sandra Hasset (chiro trained vet) at the Animal Medical Centre at Phillip before you take the plunge. Edited September 5, 2012 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Ta, have booked an appointment with Sandra next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 If I was getting it done on my dog, I would be getting a specialist to do it. To me, its worth the extra expense. I've seen lots of dogs done successfully by general practioners as well, but I would still rather go with a specialist as there is the risk for incontinence. I would do it if my dog has recurring anal sac issues like abscesses or frequent impactions and it caused them distress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Mum had her dog done when it was getting to the point where the glands needed expressing every month. I don't remember infections or ascesses being a problem - just repeatedly unbarebly stinky dog. The dog was fairly old when it was done, and she lived another two years without further problems in that area. The rest of her slowly fell apart though (joints, deaf, blind, smell, recognising people...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weibritty Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I had the operation done on one of my dogs a few years ago now. It got to the stage where it was the only solution to her issue. Operation was done by a specialist, was successful, no complications and I had a happy dog afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Thanks Weibritty, glad to hear it solved the issue for you. I wouldn't get it done for stinkiness or inconvenience. But abscesses are so nasty and are really affecting her quality of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJack Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I had it done about 6 years ago on my chihuahua boy who was getting constant abscesses on both sides. They were dreadfully painful and made him feel so lousy he wouldn't eat. He only weighed 3kg and he dropped to 2.5 and was skin and bone. An abscess would pop out overnight and I'd get him straight in to get it cleaned up and get him onto antibiotics. He was on double courses of antibiotics and would finish that and a week later would get another abscess and we'd spend another month with him on antibiotics again and visiting the vet for painful treatment. At the time, all the vets where I go were male and my dog actually started to get quite fearful of males. He was getting quite stressed by being ill and then got over the top stressed by visiting the vet as every time he went there he got hurt some more. Cleaning up the abscesses is a painful thing to do. Having a sore bottom like that also meant that it hurt a lot to go to the toilet so he got all stressy about that too. Got to the point where his quality of life was awful so I felt that the risk of incontinence was way less of a problem than the misery he was going through. He had had about 8 months with virtually no time without abscesses, either getting one or getting over one. He had the surgery and was a bit sore for a few days and then has never looked back. Got his appetite back. No incontinence and no follow up problems at all. He was a different dog after that. His surgery was via the rectal approach. I know someone else who's dog was operated on from a cut done externally on either side of the anus. It was an expensive surgery at the time but it was costing me a fortune in vet visits and drugs each month too. I am glad I got it done. Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 our first dog had hers removed. That would have been in 2006. was was incontinent for 5 days following surgery but was fine after that, she needed bran in her diet sometimes as she was a bit constipated sometimes. she had infected glands extremely frequent as well as abcess after abcess and having them emptied every 2 weeks was not only painful but extremely frightening for her (she was an abused puppy farm pup). Diet changes and everything else we tried did not work and after talking in depth with her vet, she was better off having them removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLB Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I had my girl done a little while ago now. She is fine and I am really glad we had it done. No problems or issues at all. My only advice is to go to a specialist or a vet that has done this procedures many times. It can be a difficult surgery and needs an experienced hand :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mary Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I have also had a dog that had anal gland removal due to recurrent abscess. He was a little sore and for a few days but was fine after that. We were recommended to use a vet that had considerable experience with this operation. Although it is a tricky and expensive operation it was definitely worth it - our poor boy seemed so much happier afterwards. He hated having "leaky butt" and must have felt pretty awful when he had the infections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Gosh thank you everyone for your stories. Until now I'd really only been able to find horror stories so this makes me feel better. I'm going to talk to the chiro vet for a second opinion, then take it from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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