# Anal glands expressed



## dachlover (Feb 22, 2007)

How do I know if my dog needs his anal glands expressed? Where do I take him to have this done (does it have to be a vet)? And what exactly is involved?


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## Nagem (Feb 6, 2007)

You'll know because your dog will be scooting, even after being let outside to go to the bathroom, and will keep licking/biting his bottom. 
You can have anal glands expressed at the vets or at the groomers. You can also have the vet/groomer teach you how to do it yourself. It is not particularly enjoyable, but it is more convenient
Typically smaller dogs tend to have problems with anal glands, but that does not mean that bigger dogs do not get them as well.


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## LoveLilly (Oct 25, 2006)

I have been told that there is a difference between a groomer and vet doing the expressing. The vet will do it internally and the groomer will press on the outside and externally express them. The internal way is less painful to the dog & my vet did not charge much to do it....generally its the vet technician who does it. I suffered through this with my Papillon. They need to learn how to express them on their own. We learned that 2 issues were causing it: 1)not enough fiber & 2) her stools were smaller b/c she ate 3 meals not 2. We added fiber by giving her sweet potato with her meals, it helped make the stools firmer and larger (there is a fine line though with too much fiber). Then when she was bigger and her tummy could do 2 meals instead of 3 that made the biggest change and her stools are much larger now. She was needing them expressed every 3 weeks or so and now its been months (knock on wood). The 3 things I would notice that would tell me they were clogged were: 1) scooting 2) sometimes a foul fish smell 3) biting at the base of her tail or excessivly licking back there. Now I will tell you that every once in a while she will scoot showing that they need to be emptied, but rather than take her to the vet right away she will get a sweet potato treat or extra sweet potato and she seems to them take care of it on her own b/c we see no other symptoms again.


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## dachlover (Feb 22, 2007)

Thanks for the help. Maybe I'll call the vet. He's a little guy about 8 or 9 pounds and I've noticed him scooching (he tested negative for worms last time he went to the vet so I never brought it up to her). And lately I've noticed an odor coming from his butt. He eats kind of sporadically and I've been having trouble getting him on a good schedule so his bowel movements are also kind of small and he has several during the day. Are sweet potatoes the best way to give him fiber? We put baby carrots in his food b/c he seems to love them and I don't know if that would help. He eats Beneful dog food. How do they "take care of it themselves?" Just by having better bowel movements? Does that clean them out? I don't understand this whole anal gland thing or what it means.


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## LoveLilly (Oct 25, 2006)

basically the stool needs to be firm and large enough to press against the glands on its way & that is how they empty them themselves. As far as a regular schedule, Lilly too ate sporadically in the beginning & she is tiny (6 pounds now & full grown) so I was worried to force a schedule b/c she would leave food behind and was only 2 pounds. But I forced a schedule of 3 times a day until she was 6 months and it not only helps with housetraining but also once she realized that was eating time she ate & her stools were larger. As far as sweet potato, we chose it knowing that it was pretty high in fiber & it worked for us. Green beans are another & almost no calories if that is a concern, but Lilly so loves sweet potatos.
I don't know anything about Beneful dog food. There are alot of strong opinions floating around about dog food and the commercial fillers & I think Beneful might have alot of fillers. I drove myself nuts finding a good dog food. I happen to use a kibble called Nature's Variety Raw Instinct Canine Dry kibble (its grain free) & then a homemade mixture of chicken breast, sweet potatos, green beans, carrots & barley. Lilly has quite a few allergies & hates to eat so is thin but seems to love this combo. As long as your dog is a healthy weight & your vet says he's healthy that is all that matters in my opinion.


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## merrow (Feb 18, 2007)

i now no how to release the glands but i did have the other groomer do it for me as i found the vets to be more painfull for my little man that was when he was on bakers ever since being on raw he dose them him self sometimes u can see it when he gose for the loo him self, it smeels like rotten fish and if u feel around the bottom it usally forms a mass which is also a indercation that it needs doing, or sometimes the dogs bite at tem selfs to try and release them, 


xxxx


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

*WARNING: DO NOT try this at home.*

Video: How to Express the Anal Gland: Dog Grooming Basics from ExpertVillage


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## Elijah (Dec 30, 2006)

Yuk! I Think I'd leave that up to the vet. I had never heard of this before until this past year. Guess I've been a bit out of the know about that sort of thing...I see why now.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

dachlover said:


> Maybe I'll call the vet. He's a little guy about 8 or 9 pounds


Sorry. That just struck me as a bit funny.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

RonE said:


> Sorry. That just struck me as a bit funny.


 
Ya but it gets worse. He scootches and has worms. Not a vet I want to go to.


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## drfong (May 24, 2006)

Nice video CS, where do you find this stuff?


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

drfong said:


> Nice video CS, where do you find this stuff?


You've probably done this a thousand times. But have you ever read a good book with an even better bibliography? The internet is no different. You visit a good site, you start researching some of the links, that turn you onto other good sites...expertvillage.com being an interesting one. Someone had asked recently about a short video on loose leash walking, and I had pointed them to a link on expertvillage.com. A few days later FranMan pointed to the video in this thread for another person on this same topic. Without FranMan doing that, I would never have cared to see it done, lol. But it is informative.


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## Jillibeanz72 (Mar 13, 2007)

Hi. My springer spaniel Mozart has anal gland problems - the problem is that they need to be drained once a month. My vet taught me how to do it. It is really smelly, but not that hard to do. It's like popping a pimple that seems to keep going (not to be disgusting [sorry]). I wouldn'd say Mo likes when I have to drain his sacks, but he has gotten used to it and enjoys the special treats he gets afterward. If a dog's anal sacks are full for too long, they could become blocked or infected. To me, it's worth a little stench once a month to keep my boy healthy and happy.

Jill


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Jillibeanz72 said:


> To me, it's worth a little stench once a month to keep my boy healthy and happy.


If we were ever to meet in public, please don't be offended if I don't shake your hand.  I apply the same rule with dentists too.


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## Jillibeanz72 (Mar 13, 2007)

Curbside Prophet said:


> If we were ever to meet in public, please don't be offended if I don't shake your hand.  I apply the same rule with dentists too.


That is precisely why I spend a fortune on disposable gloves!!


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## LuvmyK9s (Mar 5, 2009)

Curbside Prophet said:


> *WARNING: DO NOT try this at home.*
> 
> Video: How to Express the Anal Gland: Dog Grooming Basics from ExpertVillage


Thank you for posting this link for answers and how-to's. It was most helpful and reassuring. 
My dogs have been doing this and at first it was funny when they scooted ( sort of like a silly trick) but when I noticed it was smelly..I really got concerned. Then yesterday while talking to my hair stylist, she told me her dog gets it too and that it could be something bad if left alone. I got worried. So I went to Ask.com and this great forum popped up with the answers I needed. Awesome ;-)


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