DesertDobes Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 My 4 year old desexed male has been licking his bum an awful lot lately and sometimes there is a bit of slimy stuff there. I could not find anything out of order down there apart from that and considering he eats lots of raw bones I thought he should be pretty safe from getting anal gland problems. He is regularly wormed/ treated for fleas so shouldn't be parasites. Any one got any ideas? I have been putting dynamic lifter on our plants and I have seen him pick up the odd pellet when he can find it but the licking started before that. I will take him to the vet as he is due for a visit anyway but was wondering if any raw feeders have had anal gland problems with their doggies. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Probably best to ask your Vet to have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I agree with sas - if in doubt, get it checked out ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosetta Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I don't think eating raw guarantees freedom from anal gland problems - only the vet can diagnose though. Best to get it seen to early as infections in that area can be very nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy&Zoe Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I am changing my cav over from wet food to raw and hoping this helps with her anal glands ... although I suspect if a dog is prone to issues with their anal glands they are prone to it regardless of what they eat (it might just lessen how often they have to have them squeezed). I'd definitely get a vet check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Both of my Cavaliers are fed a raw diet. They don't have anal gland problems and rarely scoot. My little 9yo girl last had her anal glands expressed two years ago and has had no issue with them since. She rarely scoots. I had her to the vet this morning for a general health check. One of her anal glands didn't need to be expressed and the other was expressed and produced very little content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Too many bones can cause constipation - maybe he is having trouble emptying his bowels?? I would get him checked to be on the safe side, as previously suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 One of mine had anal gland problems on a raw diet. No issues at all since kibble was added to her diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_PL_ Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Off to the vet for a check....and a squeeze if necessary. :D Raw can dry out poos and doesn't so much cause issues as much as it can just aggravate dogs inclined to anal gland problems. I was recommended pumpkin (or metamucil, plain - tasteless - no sweeteners, for fussy dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertDobes Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Sniper has been to the vet, vet said he was a picture of health and his anal glands were empty and there was nothing wrong with his rear end at all :) So diagnosis is he is suffering from an over-reactive imagination/ mild neurosis lol which I am not surprised about. He is the most sensitive dobe I have ever met. Big plus is that after a 7 year long battle to have raw feeding accepted by the other vet in town, new vet supports and recommends it, I also ran into an owner of a 10 year old dane who has only ever been fed raw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Glad things seem OK .... keep an eye out though .... he may even be 'leaking' a bit of mucus now & then ... or have tiny tear/split ... That's good news about the new vet supporting raw feedding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertDobes Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Yep I will keep an eye on it. I might give him a spray in the area with some cold chamomile tea- it shouldn't hurt. The slimy stuff seems to have gone away, I gave him a break from bones for the past couple of days just so his stools weren't too hard and aggravating something and that seems to have helped. The new vet is pretty wonderful and has trained with a homeopathic vet and he was wonderful with my dog. I've always felt a bit trapped with only one clinic in town and they weren't very understanding of raw food or the keeping of entire dogs so were always pressuring me to switch to dry food and spey our female, so it is great to have other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Sorry to go slightly off topic, but was searching 'anal glands' and this is the most recent thread. I haven't ever had a dog with anal glad problems before, so I'm making a few guesses here from things I've read over time. My lab boy has just starting scraping his bum along the ground in the last week or so. He has been recently wormed, so I'm guessing this can be a sign of anal glad problems? Is there any way I can tell just by looking, or do you have to go digging around? If it's the latter, then I guess we're off to the vet :) I do think his poo has been looking a bit dry-er since switching to adult food about 2 months ago - in fact I had another thread about him straining. I gave him a heap of probiotics and I haven't really seen him straining since, but poo is definitely looking dry still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 If you know exactly what to look for you might be able to see full anal glands. One of my Cavaliers occasionally has one full anal sac and the other is perfectly ok. Take your boy off to the vet Aliwake. He probably needs his anal sacs expressed. If that's all you want done the vet should charge you only for that and not for a consultation. The vet I go to charges $39 for anal gland expression. Pretty pricey for something that takes just a minute but worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks for that cavNrott - good to know I might not have to pay for a consult if I specify I just need his anal glands looked at :) Can you confirm that the bum scooting is usually a sign they need doing? It's definitely not a behaviour he's shown before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 All good - seeing the vet at 12. No doubt it will be a consult, but will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Bum scooting is usually a sign of anal glands needing to be expressed if the dog is scooting a fair bit. Aliwake make it clear to the receptionist and to the the vet as soon as you are shown into the consult room that you're only there to have the dog's anal glands expressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Given they hadn't been a problem before I was ok with having a consult - I had a few questions about food etc, and ended up being in there for ages, so it's all good. Consult was $60 so not too bad... Apparently his anal glands didn't seem unduly inflamed - the vet expressed his left one a little, but couldn't even find the right one. In combination with what I said about him straining recently, he said it could well be a slight bowel irritation due to something in his new food. I gave him a probiotic when we got home, so hopefully that might give him some relief if he's a bit uncomfortable. So, I don't know. back to the food drawing board I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 An itchy bum can be anything ...from anal glands, to a little nerve which is twitching ( you know, that thing where your eyelid or something gets the twitches ?) ..to a bit of dirt , or a tiny tear, a scratch ... or even a muscle inside which is sore ..and rubbing might help. :) Dogs often do this when they feel a need to clean their bums, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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