Dogs Anal Glands

MissyN

Hey

im wondering if anyone has had to get their dogs anal glands removed? I’ve read about it online & vet websites are saying it’s very low risk but I just read some horror stories on a mums forum.

my dog needs to have her AGs expressed every 6 weeks or so & it’s very traumatic for her so the vet has recommended this surgery. Obviously I have concerns as it’s such a sensitive area (poor dog!) but I feel awful putting her through these vet visits so often.

any advice would be great.

tk123

I’d look at what you’re feeding before going ahead with surgery. A raw bone would help express them - eg depending on the size of the dog a chicken neck / wing / drumstick / carcass. If you’re feeding a wing bash it with the back of a knife to break the bones first to be safe and you can hold it as she chews so she doesn’t swallow it whole. Chicken bones are soft and won’t splinter when fed raw.

RubyK

Hi, our Carl had to have this done every 6 weeks, until I started putting a handful of bran flakes on his breakfast every morning. He hasn't had to have it done since last February. Hopefully you'll have similar success, if you haven't tried this already.

boardlady

Hi. I second the commenter above too. I give a fibre bulk to my dog daily - my vet sells it to me. Alternatively, bran flakes or crushed weetabix in their food. It helps to bulk the stool and express the glands more effectively.

SuziXX

Our dog has to have this done every 8 weeks or so too, we give her half a weetabix in her meals and a supplement called glandex, it hasn’t really helped unfortunately but it does in some cases so maybe try that first.

Our vet initially said surgery may be an option but it wasn’t a particularly nice recovery and can be difficult to remove all glandular tissue and issues with infection etc so would be a last case scenario , we weren’t keen to go down that route unless she was getting infections or inflammation.

Also we don’t bring her in unless she’s scooting or licking herself an awful lot or stinking! The vet said doing it routinely can cause inflammation and make it worse so we only bring her when she has symptoms. Have you considered learning to do it yourself? Would that be less traumatic for the dog? Horrible smelly job but it’s supposed to be easy enough if you know how!

thomas anderson.

I do my fellas myself maybe once every 6 weeks.

bluejelly

I have spoken to a homeopathic vet on this subject & he recommended giving my dog a marrow bone on a regular basis. So far so good. I give about 2 a week. Will try the bran flakes & weetabix ideas too, thanks for tips. I know some vets no longer recommend gland removal.

MissyN

Great advice re the bran flakes so I’ll def try that. I did try Glandex but thought it wasn’t great & also quite expensive.

I rang the vets to put the op off as my dog has only gotten an infection once down there so it’s not like it’s causing her frequent discomfort. It’s just quite stressful going to get them expressed.

id happily do it myself but my dogs glands are quite awkward to get to & the vet really has the knack now so I leave it to him. SuziXX that’s interesting what you’re saying about waiting for symptoms. I bring my dog without any symptoms. The vet does say they are full every time but that could be making it worse like you say!

many thanks for the advice 🐶

mary 2021

I have noticed lately that vets are always up selling to the clients extra operations, expensive medications i suppose its the globalization of the veterinary practices and money is the bottom line. They are all selling out to big corps and they are price fixing and making the industry profit driven no longer care driven IMO.

MissyN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117748558#Comment_117748558

And the anal gland removal op would be expensive so that would make sense.

I’m happy to pay anything for my dog but she’s already had stuff going on with her bottom (when I adopted her from the shelter, she was in an awful state & lots of sores inside & outside of her bottom. Took over a year to get her right) so I hate the thoughts of putting her through more stuff & ESPECIALLY if it didn’t work out. Omg nightmare.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117748558#Comment_117748558

What 'big corps' are running vet practices in Ireland?

mary 2021

It rampant in the UK but slowly moving in here offers on the tables . Pets are considered big business, what i see mostly are the over use of flea treatments on house pets who rarely go out or interact with feral dogs etc. Two monthly applications etc so OTT and unnecessary chemical over dose on small pets and its the new owners who get caught us old owners dont use this level of chemicals on our dogs, never. I have a very old terrier 13 she was neutered at 1 year and has never had a flea treatment in her whole life and she lives on a farm not a flea in sight.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117752209#Comment_117752209

So no big corporate vets in Ireland then.

Richie_Rich89

Stool needs to be firmer so the glands are expressed as the dog goes. Adding raw bone (never cooked!) could help. Some good ones are turkey necks and duck necks. You can order them frozen online. I give my rough collie a whole raw chicken with the skin and fat and legs cut off twice a week.

If you are worried about choking, you could feed cut up raw chicken wings. A strong pair of scissors can handle chicken wings. You can cut the wing up into lumps small enough to swallow whole. That might be a good place to start to see what difference bone makes.

Never feed cooked bones. The cooked big leg bone on sale in Aldi atm are potentially deadly.

Simon201

Had to get the vet to do one of our Shih Tzus every 3 or 4 months or I'd try to do it myself. He'd be scooting etc quite a lot. Doing it myself was not all that successful I don't think, so the vet would do it much more thoroughly but then last Autumn he had some kind of redness around his bum and my god the screeching out of him at the vets. Made my eyes water let alone his!

Anyhow vet recommended the operation and it turned out our pet insurance covered it (but vet said that's not always a given) So all worked out good for the little lad, yes the vet said there is a small chance of complications but he said he'd done hundreds of them with no problem and he's smiling much more these days! Walter the Shih Tzu that is! Well actually vet is probably smiling as well cos it would have cost us close to €600.

Ave Sodalis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117751162#Comment_117751162

OP, please don't listen to that poster. Despite what they are implying, most vets are not in it for the money. They have absolutely huge overheads, which we don't encounter ourselves here for human medicine as the government funds it. They go through very high levels of training and become experts in a mind boggling amount of fields. Again to compare the human medicine, they would be on millions and millions if you compared all the jobs they do directly, across multiple species, none of whom can speak. The suicide rate in vets is extremely high, exactly because of accusations like this.

MissyN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117753325#Comment_117753325

Wow that’s interesting. And the vet did it himself? My vet was gonna refer me to UCD. That’s great that it worked out well for you & Walter is much better now. €600 isn’t too bad I thought it would be more

he must have had an infection when he was screeching last year. Poor Walter. The expression must be very painful for them. I hate when my girl has to get it done.

MissyN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117753236#Comment_117753236

I really appreciate the advice but I’m veggie so the thoughts of handling any necks is stomach churning. Is there something I could get that I just give to her without any chopping or breaking up? (🤢)

A few people have recommended raw bone so it must be good. I’m quite nervous about the choking aspect though.

DBB

Would you find it less unpalatable to feed a proprietary raw food mince that has the bone mushed up through it? Same effect! There are a few different brands that you could try, assuming that you could stomach it! www.rawvolution.ie might be a good spot to start.

Alternatively, I've never used it but I know other posters have spoken very highly of psyllium husk to help with the problem. Just bear in kind that any fibre only works well if there's enough hydration in the diet.

Hopefully one of these options might work for you op 😊

Richie_Rich89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117778710#Comment_117778710

I'm a veggie too, so I know what you mean, although I'm used to handling stuff like that now. I was going to suggest the same as the last poster. You can buy frozen prepared raw dog food which usually has 10-15% bone in it. The bone pieces are ground up to be really small.

You could try giving raw chicken wings whole. Most dogs would be absolutely fine with them. The best thing if you're trying that would be to give her space while she gets to grips with it so she doesn't feel rushed.

Conor Brady of dogsfirst.ie is always worth reading on dog health issues. He advocates a product that supposedly helps https://dogsfirst.ie/health-issues/anal-glands-in-dogs/

tk123

OP you could always just feed eg a wing frozen - that way your dog will chew it up into pieces. Tip them into a zip lock bag, lay them flat in the freezer so they freeze separately, and then you can take them out as needed. No chopping involved so you can close your eyes 🙈🙈

MissyN

The grounded raw food sounds like a good idea so I’ll investigate that. I’m wondering if she’ll be into it though. She’s such a princess so I’m not sure she’d like the raw stuff. And I think she’d look at a chicken wing like what the heck is this! She’s bordie collie x so not a cutsie little dog or anything like that. It’d be funny looking at her face with a raw chicken wing in front of her 😆 Probably the same as my face!

lots of fabulous advice xx

wishbone

hi Simon

Where did you get this done? We have been quoted 1300e. Granted it’s a few years later but still.

Would you mind sending me a direct message as I’m not sure you can say in this thread.

Thanks!