Taking ruby to vets!

Hi all my ruby been rubbing her bum against the carpet a lot! we are going to the vets monday to have her glands done! will she cry??? is it common in this breed? it will only cost a couple of pound but will i have to go often? katie x

Some will cry some won’t. The first time I took SiânE to have hers done she screamed so loud, you would have thought she was being murdered. But she was perfectly fine afterwards and trotted out of the door to the waiting room full of people with the look of ‘what the hell did they do to your dog’ look on their faces.

She had a few more visits to the vets for it but since I have her diet under control now she not had any problems for a couple of years now (touch wood 3x).

I'm thankful she is not like my bridge dog Suzy who was well known by the vets to bite if they tried to clean her anal glands. I learned at an early age how to hold a very P**** off dog with out her biting me or the vets. :lol:

Thanks for your reply,my ruby will be sad!i know i will get upset if she does! im dreading it but it will be better for her! when she had her jabs she went mad and cryed!!!! and yelped! i felt so sorry for her!

Unfortunately have both of mine done routinely no matter what I add to diet. Mine squirm a little during emptying, it can't feel good , but tolerate it well.

Casey's used to leak on my white sofa, but I have to say since I changed their diet, I have not had any leaks and haven't had to have them expressed. It's been over a year.

Watch out for continued bottom rubbing and yelping and any new scratching....are you well informed about SM (Syringomyelia) in the breed? it would be well worth learning about it, there is plenty of information here.
Also ask the vet to keep away from the neck area with jabs etc if she is very sensitive there, they can use the hind/rump area.

Alison.

Thanks alison, yes i have read up on SM thanks to this great site! I hope we never have to go down that road.

Hi Katie, this does seem to be quite a common problem with Cavaliers. My little one is a year old now and I think she will always have to visit the vets regularly to have her glands emptied. I was hoping that we may get away with taking her about once every three months, but I reckon it's looking more like every two months. Adding a small amount of bran to each meal is supposed to help, however I have been doing this for several months now and I'm not sure how effective it is. I'm going to continue adding it though as she could be worse without it. I just buy the bags from Holland and Barratt.
Phoebe screamed the place down when she first had this procedure done at the vets, but subsequently she hasn't made a sound and I think the relief that they feel must be tremendous. Apparently, when the glands are full, they feel rather as if they are trying to sit down on a couple of golf balls, which must be horrible for them. I would never want to neglect having them checked regularly, as they can become infected and sometimes rupture. The scooting that you have noticed will either be your little one's glands or possibly worms? You have read up on SM and I lack the experience to comment on that, but if your pup is very young then I would check out the most obvious possibilities first.
Hope all goes well, do let us know how you get on

I'll Thinking about Ruby until you see the vet, hopefully he/she will put your mind at rest. Jasper used to do this when he was younger, (cause he is black and white colouring we used to say he looked like a penguin) he is 2 and a half now and he is fine sending Ruby:luv:.

Andrea was it Jasper's glands? we been out walking and ruby started scratching her face all the time i think im being paranoid I havent said any thing to hubby he will ban me from the net! ruby is very well apart from bum rubbing!

Can't have been his glands cause he has never needed treatment I really don't know why, I am sure he has never had worms either. My two have been scratching their faces after walking through the grass I just wash their eyes with a cold piece of cotton wool.

It was around her eyes and we was in the middle of somewhere i dont know I will let you know what my vet says he is very good! Glad jasper hasnt got a problem! when i was looking after my freinds cav she rubbed her bum all the time it must be common in them!

Ruby's glands was full! so glad i had them done! my vet said he would remove her glands if this continued! im not sure bout this! ruby is 7 months old! i was told cavs are high maintaince and to get insurance! does any one have a good insurance in the uk?

I would not worry about her yet, its only the first time she had them done.

One time SiânE was so full the vet took great delight in showing me how much he had got out. But other times it was only a small amount. You will have to see how she goes and how long between each visit to the vet for her to be cleaned out. As long as she not getting infections in her anal sacs she would not need them taking out, unless you were up to the vets every month.

If you read up on this board you will find the one thing a Cavalier owner learns is how to grade their poo! so you know if they need more fibre in their diet to try and help with this problem.

Sending Ruby :luv: poor girl. I use Petplan insurance, also I heard axa is a good insurance.

Im in Scotland and im with the advanced(top policy) policy with direct line.Am only 29 pounds a mth for a cat and 2 cavs....

But with my 2 bunnies i am petplan and am 21-22 pounds.....a bit much i think.

I also have the prob of anal glands getting too full with my 2 yr old Lucie....the vet taught me how to do it and i express them myself if its the weekend or if i struggle to get an appointment.Its not the most pleasant job.....but some1 got to do it!:grnyuk:

I have started feeding Lucie weetabix in the mornings to add fibre to her diet and she is on JWB dry food due to its fibre content.