Dog Anal Glands Problem

[akik0290]

Hi!

 

Our recently adopted dog, Rosie, seems to have a problem with her anal glands. We got her just 2 months ago. Within a couple of weeks, she started excreting some fishy smelling fluid from her bottom. We brought her to the vet last month, they said it was her anal fluid, so they emptied her anal sacs. Recently, she started excreting the same thing again (about twice this week) although it has only been a month since the vets did the expressing.

 

Is this considered an “normal” problem to have? Bringing her back to the vet only after a month (and the possibility of having her expressed monthly) seems a bit too much.

 

Any advice on what we can do in the meantime? We’ve been giving her a chunk of cooked pumpkin everyday, but her stools are still pretty loose. A friend of mine suggested Glandex. But paying for about $90 for 40 days worth of supplement also sounds a bit much. Or is this normal?

 

thanks

[Pjrt]

A few things. What breed or type? A lot of dogs with tightly ‘up’ tails are prone to leaky easily expressed glands. 
feeding the dog bones like chicken necks or lamb ribs regularly would be my first option. If you’re a bit leery of bones, raw pet chicken mince is minced whole frame with bone in. 
also expressing glands externally isn’t difficult to learn so consider doing it yourself rather than the regular vet trips. 
anal glands can be removed as a last resort. It’s not a fun procedure but once healed the issue is resolved. I co own a little dog who had his glands removed via a new wax method last year after repeated gland impactions. 

Also dogs can express the glands if very frightened anxious or nervous so if you think that may be contributing to the problem, a behavioural assessment might be useful. 
 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Scratch

[akik0290]

She’s a mixed breed. Advertised as a Bull Arab, though I understand that the term Bull Arab can mean a lot of things. So no “up” tail.

 

She’s always done it while in a relaxed position. Several times while sleeping or lying down. And once while I was casually patting her. No signs of fear or anxiety (I know because she has occasionally shown signs of anxiety outside when hearing sudden noises, which usually is not accompanied by the expressing of the anal liquid).

[Rebanne]

bone firms up poo.  From memory you are feeding lots of fruit and vegies which IMO will keep her stools soft. Give her some raw chicken necks, wings etc and cut down on the fruit and vegies.

[akik0290]

Thank you. Will try introducing some raw chicken necks/wings and cutting down on the fruit.

 

Should I be concerned with salmonella when feeding her raw chicken? And especially when she licks other things (or parts of my body) right after eating raw chicken?

[Rebanne]

3 minutes ago, akik0290 said:

Thank you. Will try introducing some raw chicken necks/wings and cutting down on the fruit.

 

Should I be concerned with salmonella when feeding her raw chicken? And especially when she licks other things (or parts of my body) right after eating raw chicken?

Don't let her lick you. None of my dogs have ever licked me regularly. I find it a bit yucky.  Buy human grade chicken and keep it in the fridge until ready to feed it.

[akik0290]

7 minutes ago, Rebanne said:

Don't let her lick you. None of my dogs have ever licked me regularly. I find it a bit yucky.  Buy human grade chicken and keep it in the fridge until ready to feed it.

I don't. But she seems to have a lot of scent hound in her. She likes to sniff everything, including me and whatever I'm wearing, and occasionally she would be tempted to attempt a lick. But even if not, her snout might touch us after eating raw chicken.

[sheena]

Whole Turkey necks are good...I get mine from Woolies

[Rebanne]

3 hours ago, akik0290 said:

I don't. But she seems to have a lot of scent hound in her. She likes to sniff everything, including me and whatever I'm wearing, and occasionally she would be tempted to attempt a lick. But even if not, her snout might touch us after eating raw chicken.

Just leave her outside for a bit, or wipe her face with a damp cloth if you are that worried. Bone will firm up her poo and express her anal glands on its way out. Two benefits.

[sheena]

Maybe I have missed it, but have you told us what you feed her...what is her normal everyday diet??

[akik0290]

4 hours ago, sheena said:

Maybe I have missed it, but have you told us what you feed her...what is her normal everyday diet??

As per the vet's advice, we're trying out Taste of the Wild because she was having an allergic reaction towards her previous kibbles. Trying to see if grain is the cause of the allergy. Also a few small cuts of pumpkin for fibre. Have been thinking about mixing kibbles with raw, so giving her some chicken necks/wings in addition to dry food might be the way to go from now on.

[sheena]

On 17/10/2020 at 1:23 PM, akik0290 said:

As per the vet's advice, we're trying out Taste of the Wild because she was having an allergic reaction towards her previous kibbles. Trying to see if grain is the cause of the allergy. Also a few small cuts of pumpkin for fibre. Have been thinking about mixing kibbles with raw, so giving her some chicken necks/wings in addition to dry food might be the way to go from now on.

Personally, I wouldn't feed chicken necks to anything other than a small breed dog due to being a choking hazard

[Rascalmyshadow]

Rather than giving chicken necks give whole chicken frames, I stuff them with other food and give them as a meal twice a week to my bigger dogs.

[akik0290]

Thank you, everyone. I've tried giving her chicken necks/wings for the past week. So far it's been working. Solid poo and no anal liquid. I'll get her chicken frames too next time to mix things up a bit.

 

Another question though. Is some odour on a dog's belly normal? Rosie has recently been diagnosed with yeast infections on her paws (probably because of allergy). The vet told us to wash her paws twice a week with medicated shampoo. Just thinking whether we need to wash her belly too if it's also infected by allergy. She always wants us to scratch her belly (we thought this was just the normal tummy rub thing), but lately I've noticed that her beds started to smell, and so did her belly. If this is normal, then there's nothing to worry about

[Rebanne]

yeast infections do smell, malaseb you can use on her belly. My vet told me to use a good oatmeal conditioner after each wash as malaseb is very drying.