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Anal Glands..Advice Required.

Phoebe

Well-known member
Hello folks,
I have a six month old puppy, she scoots about on her bum for a couple of seconds but only about once a day. Is it normal for all dogs to scoot a tiny bit? I am aware that a lot of Cavs require their glands emptying (please don't anyone suggest I do this myself!):eek:
So, do I have her checked at the vets during her six month health check, or....and forgive me for being cynical, will the vet just see this as a money making opportunity, as I have been lead to believe that once started, the glands will need emptying every 3-4 months for the rest of her life.
If she requires this, obviously I wouldn't hesitate to take her regularly, I just don't want to be ripped off!
Phoebe Bo's mum:)
 
Have your vet teach you how to do this, it's not a pleasent process, but it can be done at home once you know how :) I actually know quite a few cavaliers that don't have anal gland problems that like to scoot their butts, but I would definatly have the vet take a look while she's in there anyway :)
 
Small breed dogs tend to have more problems with anal glands because the opening is a lot smaller.

This breed does tend to scoot anyway and worms van often cause scooting too-- and puppies are prone to worm infestations.

Learning to empty glands yourself would save you from the fear of vets looking for money. :lol: Otherwise if she looks uncomfortable you will need to do occasional trips to have this done. Alternatively groomers usually will also do glands.
 
I have Chester's anal glands cleaned every three months when we go to the Vet to get his worming tablet. This was on the Vets advice & when we went back over the weekend, she said they were quite full but nothing to worry about. She said it's only if they need doing more than every 3 months that they start to talk about taking them out.

All that said though, he still scoots whether he has just had them done or whether he had them done a month ago. He only ever does it on the carpet & I think he must just like the sensation - yes, he is slightly quirky! ;o)

It costs just under £20 but I dont really like the idea of doing it myself to be honest, also he wriggles quite a lot and that would scare me.
 
Learning to empty glands yourself would save you from the fear of vets looking for money. :lol:

I asked my vet to show me how to do this and she said "no way, it's disgusting and not something you want to be doing to your pet", she's right, the smell is:grnyuk:

I simply bring Cody to the clinic with me anytime I have one of the others in and they'll give her a quick check up and squeeze if needed. Abs doesn't appear to have any problems, and only scoots out of frustration when Gavin or Cody have something she wants and won't surrender to her (if Abs could talk her only word would be ''Mine") ;)
 
Try giving your little one a little bran (not too much) with their food I have noticed that if I put a little too much wet food on top of the boys kibble then it makes their poo softer. The softer the poo the less the glands are emptied. So a firmer poo should sort the problem :)

Oakley boot scoot boogied this morning, but is poo was nice and firm - he just wanted to show off his little trick! (or perhaps that it was way past walkie time as I have this dreaded lurgy that has been going around lateley.)
 
Izzy had frequent gland problems, but I found his easy to empty myself. However, that is not the case with Teddy and Joly. I have only had joly's done by the vet once though, as I've found feeding bran and giving a couple of extra large dinners has caused large stools which solved the problem.
 
I would like to learn how to do this since Miles tends to scoot sometimes. He has had them emptied by his vet twice (he's almost 10 months old), but I wouldn't want to bring him all the way to the vet if it's something I can do myself. One of my best friends is a vet tech and she told me she would show me how to do it, but if any of you have any helpful tips that would be great! He does get some bran daily, which I know is supposed to help, but he continues to scoot every few days...

Thanks!
Carrie
 
Thank you all very much for your replies. I will try the bran in her diet but I will ask the vet to check her glands when we visit. I really don't think this is something I want to do myself, as it does sound pretty gross!:grnyuk:
My teenagers think it's absolutely hysterical when Phoebe "scoot boogies,"
....that said, it's not so cute when she does it on cream coloured sofas!
She''s on a bit of a hunger strike today because she is teething big time, funny how she suddenly discovered her apetite when she spotted us eating cream cakes though?! :wink:
Kind regards to you all and for those of you with horrid winter colds and bugs, get well soon. Phoebe Bo's mum.
 
The last time we were at the vet, he asked me if Daisy was scooting and I said "A little bit, no more than normal for her." He said he thought her glands were full and he expressed them right in the room with me. One went pretty quickly, but the other one must have been kind of plugged or something because he really had to squeeze and Daisy cried! I know I could never do it. A lot of liquid came out and yes, it did stink!

I also heard that once you squeeze them out, they are more likely to need that repeatedly, so I hope that's not the case with Daisy. She's had them done twice in her life (she's 20 months old). She did scoot quite a bit right after she had them expressed. The vet told me if I wanted to avoid a problem with them, to feed her some green beans every day -- anyone else ever heard that? I've been doing it most days.
 
Hi Daisy's Mom,
Like you, I have been told that once you start emptying thier glands, it needs doing regularly. I've been advised by another Cav owner that there is a brilliant lady vet locally who is great at this job and causes them no discomfort. If it needs doing, I shall take my little fur baby to her.
I have been adding veg to her meals for a while, it's a relief to know that I'm not doing anything wrong! .....Phoebe is my first dog, so I'm on a real learning curve. She has a bit of carrot, some peas or some squished up sweetcorn added to J. Wellbeloved kibble and a bit of fresh meat. I shall give green beans a go as well. :thnku:
 
I had to get Lucy's anal glands done in the vets, she really yelped alot, I couldnt do it myself, I dont think she would ever forgive me if I done it!
 
An update on this topic -- I took Daisy in to the groomers' yesterday for a "spa treatment" (bath, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, nail trim, etc.) They also express her glands, which I didn't know they were going to do until I picked her up. Well, this morning, the poor little girl has been scooting all over the house! Once she even yelped and threw her little butt down on the ground! So now I'm even more concerned! It might be because I told them they could do a little "sanitary" trimming around her bottom. So it is a little red and irritated looking around her, umm, what do you call it? Pee-pee? Sorry, I don't know what it is usually called. So I put some ointment on that area this morning. So I don't know if she's itchy or sore there, or if it is because her anal glands are sore.

I'm not going to have them do any trimming down there again! In fact, I'll probably never bring her to a groomer again. I just did it to see how the "pros" would groom her (by "groom", I mean bathe and brush, not trim!) Plus, I wanted the hair trimmed out of the bottom of her feet, between the pads. She looked great, but I don't think she looked any better than when I do her at home. And I think she smelled better with the products I use. Plus, I lost almost an entire night's sleep worrying that they would cut off her feathers or slippers or mess up her coat somehow! Stupid, I know, but I read so many posts here about grooming horror stories!

I think once she gets over this episode, and unless she is showing major scooting behavior in the future, I am also going to call a moratorium on the anal gland expressing -- by the vet or anyone else!
 
Poor Daisy, it does sound as if she is pretty uncomfortable, hope it all settles down soon. I was thinking about trimming Phoebe's bum bum area but I don't think I will attempt it now!
 
Daisy is a lot better now, hardly scooting at all. I still don't know whether it was the shaving or the expressing of the glands, but it seems to be settling down. They only shaved around her pee-pee (again, terminology?), but I'm sure that may be itchy now, and I don't think I'll ever have it done again.
 
I have two puppy cavs.

Lucky, my first cav scoots a lot!!! She's only 10 months and she's had them expressed 3 times since I've had her. Each time the vet does it I am in the room and I see that tons of stuff actually does come out.

Brett is only 4 months old and he's had them expressed once. He was literally scooting his butt across the whole room... until he came to the hardwood wood floor in the kitchen.

The vet recommended adding some pumpkin to their diet, to give them harder poops. I still have to try that.

Has anyone here had their cav's anal glands removed?
 
Is it not true that they scoot sometimes for no reason? Dylan does scoot for a couple of seconds sometimes and I have never emptied his anal glands. He actually does it less often than he used to and, like I say, he's never had them emptied. I do wonder if the vets who ask you to come in at regular intervals are after the money :rolleyes:
 
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