Anal gland health

mmcginty said:
Oh wow, poor thing! Any idea what causes it, does she over-produce the fluid? My brother has to take his Shi-tzus in to have them expressed every 4-6 weeks, but that's a congenital problem with the breed, I believe. (As if their looks and intelligence challenges weren't enough.)

My old dog Jake had intermittent issues with this late in his life, I asked my vet to show me how to express them, he did... and I decided Jake and I had boundaries neither of us would be comfortable crossing. But if he had needed it that regularly/frequently we probably would've had to renegotiate those lines. (He had this look of particular indignation he would shoot the vet, as if to say, "dude, really?!")

Anyway, thanks for your input.
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Yep, I get the look from Harper Lee. :eek2:
 
Lucky me, I never have had to do this for any dog I have owned until Tinsel. I expect he might have an issue due to having lots of episodes of soft stool due to poor diet and lots of parasites coupled with no exercise. So far he has had them done at least 3 times - once by the vet and twice by the groomer and she isn't one of those groomers that want to do it every time she sees the dog. Fingers crossed this won't be a lifetime thing. His tailset is high - he can curl it up almost like that of a spitz. When you think about it , the breeds you hear about that usually have issues with their anal glands are dogs with high tail sets and lots of hair - bichons, shih tzus, poodles.
 
Tagg said:
Lucky me, I never have had to do this for any dog I have owned until Tinsel. I expect he might have an issue due to having lots of episodes of soft stool due to poor diet and lots of parasites coupled with no exercise. So far he has had them done at least 3 times - once by the vet and twice by the groomer and she isn't one of those groomers that want to do it every time she sees the dog. Fingers crossed this won't be a lifetime thing. His tailset is high - he can curl it up almost like that of a spitz. When you think about it , the breeds you hear about that usually have issues with their anal glands are dogs with high tail sets and lots of hair - bichons, shih tzus, poodles.
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Never in my life did I ever think that I would have to be an A** Girl. It is probably one of the reasons she favors her Daddy, he wouldn't do it if you paid him to!!


Kate
 
My two have never had their anal glands expressed. Although I think it is a good idea for every dog owner to either get them checked or be taught to check. They literally feel like two small grapes on each side of the anus when full. I also have been told by my vet, that expressing anal glands when not needed can lead to them being dependent on it being done every time. So a good tip is to leave well enough alone until there is a problem.
 
I am too tired to retype what I have post on in the past but you can find it towards the bottom of this thread. Add 1 other cause to the list and that is being overwieght or obese.

http://sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=11650&highlight=anal+glands

I don't express my dogs anal glands unless they are causing problems. As I say in the other thread Jazz unfortunately needed it all the time because of allergies and her conformation. But I have only expressed Justice's 2x in almost 10 yrs, Ember and Diva never.
 
Express yourself!

Justicemom said:
I am too tired to retype what I have post on in the past but you can find it towards the bottom of this thread. Add 1 other cause to the list and that is being overwieght or obese.

http://sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=11650&highlight=anal+glands

I don't express my dogs anal glands unless they are causing problems. As I say in the other thread Jazz unfortunately needed it all the time because of allergies and her conformation. But I have only expressed Justice's 2x in almost 10 yrs, Ember and Diva never.
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Justice I had forgotten that discussion, as you recall Sept. was a bad month for me.

While she does have allergies it is a challenge as we live in a wet world by the ocean. I have allergies as well. It is a work in progress.

For all your sharing, especially when you are tired, I say a big thank you!


Kate
 
famous seamus said:
Justice I had forgotten that discussion, as you recall Sept. was a bad month for me.

While she does have allergies it is a challenge as we live in a wet world by the ocean. I have allergies as well. It is a work in progress.

For all your sharing, especially when you are tired, I say a big thank you!


Kate
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No problem. :smile2: Just couldn't string more than a couple words together last night. Sometimes that is a challenage on a good day.:lol:
 
I've never had to express glands for any my of shelties. Though, as Timber got older, he tended to have runnier poops which were pretty nasty.

If the glands are getting impacted then I'm tempted to look at diet.

What are you feeding? How often does dog poop and what is the consistency of the poop?
 
BarbV said:
I've never had to express glands for any my of shelties. Though, as Timber got older, he tended to have runnier poops which were pretty nasty.

If the glands are getting impacted then I'm tempted to look at diet.

What are you feeding? How often does dog poop and what is the consistency of the poop?
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She is 16-17 lbs and poops twice a day, long poops which are quite nicely shaped and firm consistency. I just talked to Dr. Dodds yesterday to update on any food considerations for her diet. I had Seamus on the liver cleanse diet for his liver disease and Dodds told me to continue Harper on that same diet to keep her healthy.

2/3 cup of white and sweet potato with vegetables. 1/4 cup of chicken or fish. Fed twice daily in these amounts. She maintains her weight but we up the amount a little in nicer weather as she is an exercise fiend.

Potato mix is 50/50, white and sweet and the vegetables are added into that portion as well.

Vegetables are generally squash, carrots.

Kate
 
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