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Dylan has a burst abscess in his anal gland.

*Pauline*

*Pauline*

Well-known member
Well needless to say, I feel very guilty because a couple of weeks ago I saw a little raw patch on Dylan's bottom. I washed it and put on some Sudocrem (baby's antiseptic nappy cream). I called the vet who said to see how he goes. Dylan didn't show any discomfort after that, so I left it.

Then last night he was clearly uncomfortable, straining to do a poo and crying when we picked him up. I took him to the vets this morning and he screamed the place down having it checked and loads of bloody puss came out.

He's had an antibiotic injection but because he's on so many painkillers already he just has some antibiotic pills and no extra pain meds, for now.

Dylan may not need an operation but, if he does, it's best to let it settle down first if possible. The vet explained to me that some vets fill the anal gland with plaster of paris or other substances that harden so they can distinguish it from the surrounding flesh then take it out. He doesn't do it like that I'm glad to hear. He said he'd done hundreds of them and can tell by pigmentation what is gland and what isn't. At least that's what I grasped from his explanation. He's the best vet I know, he's the one who took the sample of Poppy's ovary when she was spayed for Clare Rusbridge which was sent to Canada for research.

We'll see how it goes on the antibiotics and if he really is in a lot of pain he can have a low dose pain killer or steroids. We go back Tuesday week.
 
Poor little guy! Heres to a speedy recovery.
Gosh, who would have ever thought before owning a dog, that anal glands would be such a pain in the bum (no pun intended!). I hope he starts to feel better soon, keep us posted.
 
Thank you. He's 5 in September so we have done well so far as Cavaliers go. This is the first time he's had a problem and he never has his glands expressed.
 
Poor Dylan!
We went through exactly the same thing with Leo a month or so ago. My vet talked about removing them, I said I wasnt sure and looked in to it seriously....pro's and cons.
Ive been adding pro-fibre to his diet and on advice from Tania will also add oat bran when the pro fibre runs out.

Give Dylan gentle hugs from myself and Leo:hug:
 
I just got some oat bran from Tesco's it was on the breakfast cereal aisle near the porridge - a 500g bag didn't cost much if I remember rightly. I've been adding to Maddie and Pippins food for about a week now, started after the last anal gland emptying, so it will be interesting to see if it helps.
The only thing is I'm not sure how much to give them, so I give them 1/2 teaspoon with each meal.

Poor Dylan, I hope he feels better soon. I remember how bad I felt when I first noticed Maddie had an impacted infected gland. It was obviously bothering her as she had licked the fur off the base of her tail, but I hadn't noticed. :( Now I have her glands emptied every 6 weeks. I'm hoping the bran will reduce the frequency because she hates having it done.
 
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*Pauline* said:
Well needless to say, I feel very guilty because a couple of weeks ago I saw a little raw patch on Dylan's bottom. I washed it and put on some Sudocrem (baby's antiseptic nappy cream). I called the vet who said to see how he goes. Dylan didn't show any discomfort after that, so I left it.

Then last night he was clearly uncomfortable, straining to do a poo and crying when we picked him up. I took him to the vets this morning and he screamed the place down having it checked and loads of bloody puss came out.

He's had an antibiotic injection but because he's on so many painkillers already he just has some antibiotic pills and no extra pain meds, for now.

Dylan may not need an operation but, if he does, it's best to let it settle down first if possible. The vet explained to me that some vets fill the anal gland with plaster of paris or other substances that harden so they can distinguish it from the surrounding flesh then take it out. He doesn't do it like that I'm glad to hear. He said he'd done hundreds of them and can tell by pigmentation what is gland and what isn't. At least that's what I grasped from his explanation. He's the best vet I know, he's the one who took the sample of Poppy's ovary when she was spayed for Clare Rusbridge which was sent to Canada for research.

We'll see how it goes on the antibiotics and if he really is in a lot of pain he can have a low dose pain killer or steroids. We go back Tuesday week.
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Poor guy! Some times I wish our puppies could talk!
 
Why would he need an operation? Removing anal glands is a surgery most try to avoid and generally only is done when there are repeated, regular problems with abscesses and blocked anal glands...? I've had the occasional issue with anal glands -- small breeds tend to have problems as the openings are so small. But I'd really need a lot of convincing and clear signs of a chronic problem to even consider having them removed. I suppose if a burst abscess fails to heal properly, and looks like it will cause continued problems, this might be considered as well.
 
Hello Pauline

Give Dylan a big hug from all us poor lad ,I am sure he will be better soon hes got you taking care of him .:)
 
Hi Karlin. He was just telling me all the possibilities and options, of course we hope it will heal with the antibiotics alone. He spent about half an hour teaching me all about anal glands, what happens when it goes wrong, tissue scarring, different ways to operate, he drew pictures and everything. He knows I like it all explained. I find it very interesting and think you should get as much info from your vet before you decide what to do.
 
Thanks for the advice MadPip I'll look in the supermarket.

Thanks Brian. I'll save that hug for after I wash his bottom later, that's bound to hurt. :(
 
So sorry to hear about Dylan's problems, Pauline, but I wouldn't worry too much as they usually heal up pretty quickly with the right care. You might have to think about having his AGs regularly expressed from now on though - better safe than sorry!

Can't remember what food you give him, but, as you probably know, quite a few of us swear by Burns for keeping anal gland problems to a minimum. It has really helped reduce the number of vet visits for all my dogs over the years.
 
Thanks Marie-Anne. I feed Royal Canin. The vet said he uses it for his dogs too. I've tried Burns before and while I agree it's a very good quality food, Dylan actually spat it out. :rolleyes:
 
Hi Pauline,

I get the oatbran from tesco. It was 99p for a bag.....a lot cheaper than £18 for the pro fibre from the vet!!:lpy:

On a recent thread Tania suggested 1-2 teaspoons twice a day. Good luck with Dylan, hope he feels better soon.
 
Ah Poor Dylan- I just commented on your face book page.

Like I said there- Charlies Burst twice in the space of 6 weeks or so at easter last year and it was very painful for him at the time but after a week of antibiotics lots of hibiscrub and some metacam he was right as rain!

He was running round like a maniac a couple of hours before at our local nature reserve so try not to feel too guilty!

I changed Charlies diet immediatly as he was on the Royal Canin Cavalier food at the time and he has been on Burns High Oats since then and we haven't even had to have them emptied since so it seems to be doing just the job!!

Hope he feels better soon ;)
 
(Oh, the forum has changed:confused:)

Thanks Karen, I posted this reply on facebook. "He's very quiet, sleeping in the crate on his own, didn't come out to say hello to Ash when he just came home while the others dance and barked. I feel very guilty."

My poor boy :(
 
Anal gland abscesses are very painful and a hot compress can help the abscess to burst. If this doesn't happen then 'phone your vet as this is actually considered one of the true veterinary emergencies.

They do heal very quickly though and I would only consider surgery in the most dire circumstances of constantly repeated abscesses. There is a real risk of faecal incontinence which obviously is very hard to manage and often the dog ends up being PTS :( It is also an important means of communication for dogs, it's why they sniff each other's bottoms :cool: so can cause issues if they are removed as they would then smell strange to other dogs.


Yes oatbran seems to very successful for managing AGs - Tania put me on to this too, and we both have had no further problems - Kayleigh had one gland that was always blocking, it was having to be emptied rather frequently and was explosive and painful when emptied :( Your vet should be able to teach you how to empty the glands yourself - it's a bit yucky and smelly but you soon get used to it!

With the oatbran, give 2 teaspoons daily - if you're feeding dry food, you need to moisten the bran first. Tania did some research and discovered that it is partly soluble whereas Wheat bran is insoluble - so I guess it bulks up the faeces more, which applies pressure to the glands when passed, hence emptying them.
 
Nicki said:
Ana
With the oatbran, give 2 teaspoons daily - if you're feeding dry food, you need to moisten the bran first. .
Click to expand...

How do you moisten it? I mean do you add water and make it in to like a little ball or do you just add a little water to the whole food dish?
 
You can either do it in something like an eggcup then add it, or put it in their bowl and add water, although it's harder then to mix in and some dogs won't lick it out.

If you don't moisten it, it tends to fly everywhere!
 
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