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Anal Glands

Sue.k

Well-known member
I am sure this has been brought up before but does anyone clear their babies anal glands themselves, if so is it difficult to do?
Lucy needs hers done very few months and I would like to do it myself but I am a bit nervous about trying it I dont want to hurt her.
 
Both mine need theirs doing every couple of months as well, but I can't bring myself to do it. Two reasons for that - the first is that it's a very yucky job, not squeamish as such just :*gh::grnyuk: Secondly, they hate it being done so much that I don't think it would help our relationship. As it is, they are both prone to dropping straight into a sit whenever I groom that area, as if they're protecting those pesky glands. :p

If you do decide to learn to do it yourself, good luck!
 
Oh Sue - your a braver woman than me :yuk: I would love to be able to do mine, but leave that one stinky job to the vet :D
 
it depends on the dog , some of mine I can do , some I can't.

once you get over the urge to throw up its not too bad ,lol
 
If you're afraid you'll hurt her then it's best to leave it to the experts because you probably will hurt her.Squeezing blackheads is as much as I can tackle myself:)
A good groomer will do it for you and will be cheaper than the vet.There's no pleasant way to do it really,but if it has to be done then it has to be done!
Sins
 
Harley used to have is done at the vets, £15 a go, but now the he goes to the groomers which is about £6. Its like cutting claws im always worried ill go that bit too far and hurt them. di
 
Our vet did offer to teach me how to empty the anal glands as i did have to take Harry quite often, but i think that is definatly one to keep at the vets! Iwould be scared of hurting him he squeals when the proffessional does it so i would be far too frightened i'd make it doubly uncomfortable for him. I hadn,t realised it was something that groomers can do also,so very glad for that advice.
At the risk of sounding patronising to all you far more experienced dog owners i have followed my vets advice & add a desertspoon of bran to Harry's feed 3 times a week, this does seem to help him & the visits to have glands emptied are less frequent which is a defiate plus!! :)
 
Hi harrysmum

As well as a spoonful of Holland and Barretts bran I also give them one each of the bite sized Shredded Wheat with their meals morning and evening .:)
 
Murphy had his anal glands emptied when he was neutered recently and the vet said they were slightly infected and prescribed antibiotics.

The thing is if you started a DIY on this would you know if the anal glands were infected?
 
Some dogs are easy to do, some really, really difficult.

It does help to do them when you are bathing the dog. This helps to contain the mess ( Tip to the unwary first timer, one squeeze can sometimes have a fairly explosive effect, don't peer too close at what you are doing & use plenty of cotton wool ) and it seems to have a softening effect on the anal gland contents.

Margaret C
 
Unfortunately any additions to Maddie's food bowl result in a brief sniff at the contents and her walking away then sulking. Apart from sardines or tuna of course.:D I wouldn't dare try bran on her food, it's bad enough keeping weight on her anyway.
 
Some dogs are easy to do, some really, really difficult.

It does help to do them when you are bathing the dog. This helps to contain the mess ( Tip to the unwary first timer, one squeeze can sometimes have a fairly explosive effect, don't peer too close at what you are doing & use plenty of cotton wool ) and it seems to have a softening effect on the anal gland contents.

Margaret C


Ok, I am definitely sticking with the groomer and/or vet!
 
Ok, thank you all, I think I will leave it to the vet so, I think I would end up throwing up with the smell!! someone suggested that I put vicks under my nose so I couldnt smell it, but somehow I dont think that would work ;) the last time Lucy got it done a the vets it shot across the room, my hubby had been standing where it hit! Lucky for him he had moved :p I was nearly gonna do it last week when I was bathing her but I just chickend out, I am a wimp!!!!!
Just a question on the bran, I feed them dry food, would the bran not make her gag with the dry food and would it be the same with the shredded wheat???
 
Just got back from the vets - anal gland time (this thread reminded me!). Now, usually the vet nurse takes the dogs away then does the dastardly deed, and returns them to me. This time they were a little short staffed so she asked me to come through and hold the dogs for her. Being at the pleasant end of things I didn't notice much smell, but one of Maddie's was very difficult to empty (the contents tend to be quite thick.) and she yelped. :( I'm so glad I wasn't trying to do that myself, I would have felt sooo guilty. Pippin was ok, but his did empty quite explosively. The vet nurse was stood to one side out of firing range while she did it.:jump:

On the way back from the vets we met a lady with 2 more Cavaliers, and as mine are blenheim (Maddie) and B&T (Pippin), and hers were a ruby and a tri we had the full set! All the dogs made friends really quickly and we walked along together for a while. It's a shame there weren't more people about to see how stunning all four dogs are. Not that I'm biased.;) :D:D
 
Hi Sue.K
I mix bran into tinned food for harry so have no problem with the dryness there. I accidently dropped the plastic container with the bran in the other day with bran empying all over my kitchen floor, Charlie my 13 week puppy was hoovering that up dry with not a one gag!:p Not that he was given the chance for long he was soon grabbed out of the way! I haven't tried the tip of shredded wheat yet, not something i have in the house, but i may well give it a try, anything to help the problem for my boy.
 
Hi all,

After reading this thread, I went back and did a search on anal glands. I feel bad that I didn't know anything about them! How do I know when or if they need to be expressed? Lady sometimes scoots after pooping (on the sidewalk, which just looks painful) and sometimes at home. She poops regularly - 2 or 3 times a day, and they're usually pretty solid. Is there a smell or tell-tale sign I should be on the lookout for? Is there any way I can tell at home before going to the vet's? I feel really bad for not knowing about this and hope she's not in any discomfort because of my ignorance!
 
If you are unsure, pop to the vet and they will tell you if they need to be done. All dogs are different; some get smelly bums and others don't, some scoot and others don't and some chew at their bum region and others don't - it really does depend on the dog. Often you can see them draining (lovely!) as they poo - one of mine gets a greyish film around their poo (even more lovely!)

Shredded Wheat works a treat at getting a bit more fibre into them, my lot love it and will eat it like treats while some other dogs don't like it. I have never had a dog gag on me with it, they can cough a bit because they are so dry but they tend to get a drink and sort themselves out. It's worth a try (y)

As far as doing them yourself, it's a nasty job but a nessesary one. Some dogs are great and don't even notice, while other try to walk away, sit down, let squeels and anything else to stop it happening. I do mine myslef and if they are needing to be done very often I take them to the vet to make sure all is well. Lots of people seem to worry about impacted glands (it's not umcommon), and I can only imagine what they must be like, but as always if unsure a trip to the vet can do no harm!
 
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Scooting is usually the main sign when anal glands are full. I can also feel 2 little pea shaped hard spots when they're full. I let the vet or vet techs clear them, as I'm afraid I won't do it right.

I have to take my 3 in to have their anal glands checked every 8 weeks. We don't make a vet appointment - we just call ahead and make a vet tech appointment, and it saves both time and money.
 
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Faith needed hers done last time she had a check up.. :grnyuk: I couldn't believe how expensive it was!

My vet told me that some dogs never need it done and that some dogs do.. but she also said that if you start getting them done you'll have to likely continue.

Faith smelled so bad when she came back that I gave her a bath when we got home :lol:
 
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