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Strange anal gland issue - help?

MishathePooh

Well-known member
Misha was scooting on November 9th so I expressed his anal glands which smelled unusually awful but I didn't think much about it. The next day the gland filled up again so I expressed it again; it appeared white and thick so I thought it might be pus. The following day we went into the vet who said it was normal. Last Wednesday the 25th the same thing happened. Thursday it looked like it might be blood tinged and Friday it looked reddish and rusty. Saturday it was pink. The e-vet said to give him benadryl and take him to the regular vet on Monday (Thurs was a US holiday). The technician said that everything looked normal today.

I am so frustrated. I know it smells worse than usual (I express them a couple times a year if he is scooting) and was bloody. The gland fills up every 24 hours and starts leaking - you can tell by the smell near him and see the ooze on his bum. We are having an appointment with the vet tomorrow but I do NOT believe that a gland that fills up every 24 hours is normal. I would not express them every day if it didn't start oozing everywhere with a terrible, terrible smell. It is only the left gland and it is actually fairly easy to express.

Has anyone had anything like this happen?
 
I am surprised they are so certain it is not an infection because it sounds very much like the infected anal gland Grumpy Old William had recently.

It oozed, he smelt awful, you could tell there was something wrong, and the other dogs were too interested in his back side ( they are not nice to know sometimes )
It was blood tinged when the vet expressed the gland.

One dose of antibiotic did not clear it, but a second dose, plus packing the gland with antibiotic cream did the trick eventually.

I do think that if there is a smell that is not usually there, then there has to be an explanation?.
 
I wouldnt accept that from the vet- if there is puss then it isnt normal. And having to express every day isnt right either!

Charlies anal gland has burst twice in the past leaving a gaping hole in his rear end and that didnt even smell.

Since changing his food we have had no problems and he hasnt even had them emptied in over 6 months.

I would ask to see another vet and ask for him to be put on an antibiotic course as Margaret has said.
 
We saw his regular vet today. She wasn't convinced it was abnormal to fill up so frequently, but since we told her there was blood coming from it she gave him antibiotics. Fingers crossed that this works.

Misha is on homecooked food, and we adjusted the food recently by using turkey as the protein source. It seems that he has had this anal gland issue since the turkey so he is switching back to the previous food. I hope between that and the antibiotic things clear up.
 
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