anal gland problems

[whithill]

Just want a reality check on what's up with Dinah. She's four y.o. about 90 lbs. We were on vacation (with her) for a couple of weeks. she had been kind of licking her nub and butt area for a while, and while we were away it got worse. I looked close on her nub and found a weird cyst thing and called our vet at home who said to take her to a vet right away. So we went to a very nice vet near where were vacationing. He said the cyst was not infected and would not be bothering her. Then he checked her anal glands and said that was the problem. Pulled a big wad of nasty, thick stuff out of one side. The other side had blood in it: infection. So she went on Clindamycin and did seem to feel better pretty quick. A week later, we were home and took her to our vet (because she also had a sore between her toes) and the vet checked her glands again. Still impacted, blood, etc. So she changed the antibiotic to Batril.

So that's the background. My question: I see from other posts the people suggest food change for this problem. I REALLY don't want to get on a longterm antibiotic merry go round. She currently eats Canidae (1 and 1/2 cups 2x a day) mixed with table scraps and a little bit of wet food. She gets plenty of walks and exercise. WHY is she having this problem? Isn't Canidae a good quality food? Should we try raw chicken again? Last time I tried that she threw up. She has a very dainty tummy... Any suggestions appreciated.

[hokisteph5]

From what I understand, Canidae is a good quality food, but it may not be the right food for Dinah. Hopefully some who've had to deal with changing their dogs' food will chime in with the brand they've tried. Right now I'm thinking you could try California Natural, but I'll let the experts weigh in.

[brunie's mom]

Canidae is a good food...but you could try another food and see what happens. I agree...California Natural would be a good one to try.

One of my customer's dog's was having a problem with anal glands...the vet told them to add a handfull of Branflakes to each meal. It seemed to do the trick.

Is your dog overweight? This is also a cause of anal gland problems. How much exercise does your dog get? Sometimes long walks tend to stimulate multiple bowel movements. Is she getting a chance to go, when she needs to?

Gina

[whithill]

Thanks for your responses. No, she seems to be the perfect weight. Gets regular and ample walks and running-around playing time. Poops like clockwork, usually 2x a day. Never anything unusual in that department. Can't hurt to try the All Bran idea. Is the idea to "bulk up" her poop in some way? (sorry, maybe too graphic).

[brunie's mom]

Yes...you need to bulk up the poop. You could also try adding some Metamusil (sp?). The more bulk, the more the anal glands get emptied. Most dogs empty their glands when they poop....sort of the liquid stuff that often comes out at the end of a poop.

So the idea is for the glands to empty, and then they will not be impacted or need to be emptied.

Good-luck!
Gina

[Rubyhead]

My rott, Lilybird, gets a clogges anal glad every spring. After 3 years the vet thinks it's allergy related. She also has other allergy symptoms. Last January we put her on UltraZ allergy food (something I would only recommend as an absoulte last resort) along with benedryl. When April came along she still got a clogged anal gland but it wasn't as bad as it normally was. So we put her on the usual, anitbiotics, prednisone and hot water packs (yep, the ol' hot rag held on the yuckie spot) for 5-10 minutes 3 times a day. Then it gets better and it's gone until next spring.
We are trying different foods to find one that sits well with her. It's kind of a long process but worth it for sure. If you do a search on this site for allergy foods you find alot of great info. The problem is what works for one dog doesn't always work for another. The key I think is to find dogs who have allergies that manifest in same way as your dog.
good luck
Niki

[KathyB777]

Great....I've been wondering why Roman was licking himself down there alot....sounds like I'm off to the vets (I'm not doin it!hahahaaa)! ugh.
SO GLAD I decided to do a search on this when I read a post about it!!!! Thanks everyone! xo's

[spidey]

Canned pumpkin works really well to add fibre (the problem isn't that Canidae isn't a good food, it's a great food, it's that she needs more fibre to bulk up her stool - the anal glands are normally emptied when the dog has a bowel movement, so if the dog is having problems with emptying them, the easiest and most "natural" and effective way to help is by increasing the stool bulk). I doubt you need to change foods, you just need to add some fibre to her diet. You want plain canned pumpkin, not pie filling. Add a couple of big dollops to her food (since it has the same texture as canned dog food, most dogs love it), adjust as needed.

[KathyB777]

Originally Posted by spidey

Canned pumpkin works really well to add fibre (the problem isn't that Canidae isn't a good food, it's a great food, it's that she needs more fibre to bulk up her stool - the anal glands are normally emptied when the dog has a bowel movement, so if the dog is having problems with emptying them, the easiest and most "natural" and effective way to help is by increasing the stool bulk). I doubt you need to change foods, you just need to add some fibre to her diet. You want plain canned pumpkin, not pie filling. Add a couple of big dollops to her food (since it has the same texture as canned dog food, most dogs love it), adjust as needed.

Hey Spidey!
Do you think I should try the pumpkin before taking Roman in to the vets???? He is licking down there a LOT lately....since Layna has been here and we went through the direhea bout with the dog food (they are BOTH on CN now, but I am thinking about putting Roman back on the Wellness as he did fine on it), but alot more licking lately?!?

[spidey]

No, I would take him to the vet first. He is clearly in distress and likely needs to have the glands manually expressed.

[whithill]

I agree. It takes just a few seconds for a trained professional to get in there and clean them out and the dogs seem to feel better right away. Also, if it's turned into a true infection, he might need some antibiotics.

[KathyB777]

K...Thanks All!
Off to the vet's tomorrow.

[molochai2580]

I had this problem with the stray cat that adopted us years ago. I used to take her into the vet to have them expressed and after the 2nd time the vet told me about bulking up her stool so they empty on their own. She warned that having to manually express often could lead to having to do it all the time (something about the muscles or something breaking down and being unable to do it naturally) Sorry this was about 5 years ago.... hard to remember. She recommended the pumpkin and I think I remember her saying something about Bran flakes.....

[groupieindenial]

How long has been licking "there" excessively???

When I noticed my boy licking there more than usual, and I noticed a bit of a "fishy" smell as well when I realized he had the leaky butt. I added a couple tbsp of natural amorphous Diatomacious Earth in with his kibble, slightly watered down. Smelly butt went away in about a week!