Anal Gland Removal

[BasTyra]

Heya ;)

I was just wondering if there are any negative side-effects when it comes to having the anal glands surgically removed?

I was told that the dog might not be able to control his bowel movements afterward, but that isn't really an issue for Griever since he doesn't have much control over them anyway since his spinal injury.

Is it a straight forward operation?

cheers!

[Blue Fox 001]

I am having my cats anal glands (both) removed this Monday. The vet has indicated this is a fairly straight forward operation (although does take some time as they are a bit fiddly) and very unlikely to have any side effects. My understanding is that the anal glands do not actually do anything except give the animal it's distinctive smell. Which is unfortunately the problem with my cat (she really stinks!) Anyone who has smelt anal gland excretion will know what I mean - my cat smells like this 24/7.

I expect dogs are the same. Can let you know how it goes BasTyra if you like.

I have just read some other older posts about anal gland removal in dogs - by the sounds of it IT IS A NO GO for dogs at least. You should have a look. I am now wondering about my cat - the vet made it sound like a walk in the park but now I am not so sure! As this is not for medical reasons perhaps I should leave well a lone and just put up with the smell. Will get a second opinion today from another vet I think.

Edited October 25, 2007 by Blue Fox 001

[BasTyra]

That'd be great, thanks Blue Fox

I just had a read of a couple of the anal gland threads. Sounds like it's an uncomfortable procedure

Thing is, since Grievers spinal injury he doesn't have all of his feeling back there and already has a bit of faecal incontinence so that part doesn't matter at least. As for the pain, I'm hoping that he won't feel much of it, but will be on medication anyway.

Poor thing. He's had a bad run of things.

Oh well, keep me posted on your cat. I hope she recovers quickly

[persephone]

The vet where I worked did a few A/G removals... a very messy and painful op..as you can imagine, with the location

As far as I can remember , there were no bad aftereffects for the patients..just an uncomfortable and fairly long recovery.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I looked at this procedure for my boy who needs his doing every few weeks. I decided against it as it was risky with regards to faecal incontinence and he's a house dog.

We just keep going to the vet on a regular basis and I've since added sweet potato and other moist things to his diet (he's got IBS and probs with anal glands are very common).

[Miranda]

I had one anal gland removed from a dog because he had a long history of impaction and associated infection and in the end an abscess formed, the surgery was messy and very painful for the dog with a protracted recovery time. It didn't affect his bowel movements in any way, but he did suffer for quite a while until the healing process was complete.

To me it would be a last resort procedure, something that you'd only consider when all other options have failed, as I said the dog does suffer extreme pain and discomfort for quite a long time. I would never consider having anal glands removed simply because of a smell if the dog's health wasn't affected in any way, however perhaps it's more simple in cats.

[TigerJack]

I did get both glands removed from my chihuahua. It is a big op and there is the risk of faecal incontinence but he is fine and has no after effects. I weighed it up against the misery he was in. He had spent 6 months with chronic abscessed glands. Antibiotics for a month at a time and a week after finishing each course, back would come the abscesses. He got very depressed and lost weight alarmingly (not good in a 3kg chi.) It got so he was very distrustful of strangers as whenever he met a new person, it was the vet, treating his painful abscesses.

No regrets, wish I'd had him done sooner. I don't think I'd get it done just so glands didn't need to be expressed but for abscesses, definitely

Jo

Edited October 26, 2007 by TigerJack

[BasTyra]

Do you think Griever would suffer less pain because of his spinal injury? He doesn't have a lot of feeling in his back end as a result. If you weren't careful you could step on his back foot and he wouldn't even realise.

Obviously the thought of him being in pain afterward is horrid

Grievers gland was infected back in May and again just now (he had it cleaned and fixed yesterday and is on antibiotics). So it's only really happened twice. The thing is because of his spinal injury his bottom looks different. It's not tight and puckered like a normal bottom, it's very pink and sorta sticks out more. Like its prolapsed or something. I think that's the right word. At any rate it's very hard for me to see when the glands are filled and need to be emptied because his bum looks big all the time.

Because of his back he is a little clumsy and will occasionally fall over just after doing a poop. Coupled with the recent gland incidents it's just too messy and emotionally distressing for him. He doesn't feel the pain, but he knows somethings going on. It's almost as though he gets embarrassed when he falls in poo or his glands burst and he's got stuff all over his bottom. Poor little bugger.

That's why I thought it might be a better option to just remove them to stop it happening again. I'm not sure why it's just come about this year. Could it be something to do with age as well as the lack of muscle control in his bottom?

Thanks for the replies. ;)

[persephone]

I would think a 'yes' to these comments, poor boy

Could it be something to do with age as well as the lack of muscle control in his bottom?

could you just express them weekly/fortnightly, and maybe change his diet to produce more bulk?

with less muscle control..tho, I guess constipation is a lurking worry too ;)

[BasTyra]

Yeah constipation is a bit of a worry too. He sometimes gets weirded out when he poops. At times he doesnt even realise he's pooping and a little poo will just plop out. Other times though I think he must be able to feel something cos he will dash outside, or dash around like he doesn't know what to do. He rarely makes it outside in time. He will get to the door and realise he doesn't need to go out anymore and then just go back to whatever it was he was doing before ;) Usually he will leave a trail of little droppings to the door, which is just great

I wouldn't have a clue how to express them myself, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure I'd have the stomach for it. I could possibly find a groomer who would do it but I wouldn't have a clue as to how often it would need to be done because I can't really tell by examining his bum.

I did notice a day or two before this last eruption that his bum looked slightly bigger than usual. Then my hubbie checked and thought it looked normal so we figured maybe he had just done a poo (it gets all big and odd looking before and after a poop). I didn't think anything of it until they'd ruptured, so by that stage it was probably too late anyway because they were obviously already infected

[Blue Fox 001]

Just thought I'd let you all know I have decided against the op for my cat - silly talking about a cat in here really. So I will stop! But the ramifications for both dogs and cats doesn't seem worth the risk - I will put up with the smell until I can take her to a specialist. Thank you all for your comments and concern.

[Kadbury]

Hi all, I had one of my girls get an infected anal gland......got vet treatment then researched and found this site

http://lowchensaustralia.com/health/analsac.htm

Since then I do them myself with very little difficulty - another time to do them is when bathing as this must soften things and allow the glands to empty a lot easier......hope this infomation helps....cheers.