The rear end rescue blog - an anal gland surgery diary

It was a rough night. Éowyn hadn’t pooped since the morning at the vet, and even though she wanted to, it was too difficult for her to let go. Right now we have a cold winter period (cold for Denmark) with -15⁰C in the night (5⁰F) and chilly winds, so I didn’t want her to be out too long. Anyway, I decided not to force her, when she wanted to go inside again.

We had taken their big crate into the spare bedroom, since I decided it was better to let them sleep there. I didn’t want to wake up in a bed smothered in – you know.It might be more hygienic, but it created a lot of fuss, even though I could reach through the bars from my bed. After 15 minutes of begging and growling Molly settled in and fell asleep. Éowyn was much more persistent. We went to bed at 10 p.m. At midnight she finally stopped growling, howling or whimpering every few seconds – sitting upright looking at me, begging. Finally at midnight she gave in. I had tried ignoring her, comforting her, ordering her or to lie etc. Then – two blessed hours of sleep.

A 2 a.m. she woke up again, and it started over. It was obvious that she had some occasional pains, and that she had to go, but wouldn’t. At 3 a.m. I tried to take her outside, while Molly howled behind me, since she was left indoors in the crate. Éowyn went willingly out, but still no result. She just ran and ran in circles, until she headed for the door, and I could clean her behind again – a few things did come out, but not voluntarily. Meanwhile, imagine this wonderful sound scenario at 3.a.m. for the neighbours: Éowyn barking, me trying to calm her down, and Molly howling inside, which could be heard outside, too. I guess I am popular today!

At 4.30 a.m. Éowyn fell asleep again, waking up every hour for a short while, but she was quite exhausted now. A 6.30 the alarm clock rang as usual. Christian had to go to work, and we normally eat breakfast together, but that wasn’t possible today. It took a while cleaning them this morning, since Éowyn had pooped a little in the cage during the night. Food, medication, out – and success – both Molly and Éowyn pooped this morning. It was a bit thin, but nothing alarming.

Sleeping arrangements. We have got two crates, and they sleep in the largest. The small one is a spare.


It still seems that Molly copes better than Éowyn. Molly bled a little after pooping, but her wound is clean, and she didn’t have any involuntarily mishaps all morning. Éowyn yelps when I accidently touch her, and she had a hilarious (sorry!) moment, when she tried to stare her behind to behave, obviously because she was in pain again. Anyway, accidents happen when she sits or jumps suddenly. She is still more comfort seeking than Molly, and the roles between them have changed. Right now Molly is the stronger, assertive dog; while Éowyn just want to be close to me and still seems confused.

Éowyn trying to scare the pain away by confronting it with a stern stare.


Christian rang the vet this morning and got the painkillers prolonged. He will pick them up in the afternoon, but I wondered if Éowyn needed more during the day. Her occasional yelps, jumps and angry looks towards her bottom indicated some pain there. I rang the vet, and he recommended a sedating ointment with corticosteroid thrice a day. He asked about the dog, and he told me that Molly was more difficult to operate, so he was a bit surprised that Éowyn seemed to heal slower than Molly. He took time to ask about the night and their progress, and I told him, and thanked him for preparing me well, for really there had not been any surprises for me. I knew it would take some work, but today was better than yesterday.

Molly’s wound looks fine and clean, while Éowyn is a bit swollen and has more pain. We will check on her tomorrow to see, if she needs a vet check before the weekend. Now they have had their evening meal, and I hope for a quieter night.

It IS hard work to take care that they don’t scoot over the floor, to check their behinds and clean them, but it was to be expected. The first 36 hours was a lot of washing old blankets and cloths, using the drying tumbler (lucky we have one!), and keeping an eye on the dogs, even though they just want to be close to me.

I hope this night will be better.

How Molly looks today.


Éowyn’s behind today. It is reader and more swollen.