# Anal glands



## TerryH (Sep 5, 2010)

One of my dogs need to have her anal glands regularly expressed. We take her to the vet to have this done and of course she hates it! I don't think her diet is the problem. She has a good quality dried food with not too much fibre in, with some wet meat mixed through. Now wondering if there's anything by way of a supplement we can introduce that might at least extend the time between trips to the vets? Have read about Glandex - has anyone tried it, is it any good and =can you buy it in Britain?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

TerryH said:


> One of my dogs need to have her anal glands regularly expressed. We take her to the vet to have this done and of course she hates it! I don't think her diet is the problem. She has a good quality dried food with not too much fibre in, with some wet meat mixed through. Now wondering if there's anything by way of a supplement we can introduce that might at least extend the time between trips to the vets? Have read about Glandex - has anyone tried it, is it any good and =can you buy it in Britain?


Some dogs seem lucky and don't have any problems throughout life as they express naturally others do. Adding fibre is said to help but seems to have mixed responses. Oat bran added to foods often suggested. protexin do something called pro fibre.

Only other suggestion is dorwest herbs garlic and Funugreek tablets they may be worth trying.

http://www.dorwest.com/Page/AnalGlandsDogs


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## suewhite (Oct 31, 2009)

My little rescue sheltie had the same problem and I switched her to raw dont know if it was just luck but within 2 weeks she never had any more problems maybe worth a try,:001_smile:


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## Supasilvfoxy (Apr 6, 2013)

One of my lurchers had an anal gland abscess, my vet said not to change her diet, but to add a Bonio to it - for added fibre. Seems to be working a treat up to now. :smile:


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

What are her poops like?

If soft(ish) then adding fibre may help - we had great results with Protexin Profibre and Bran


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## TerryH (Sep 5, 2010)

Thanks for suggestions guys. Her stools don't appear to be overly soft but I'll try adding a supplement of some sort to her diet as suggested to see if that helps. 
A friend has suggested that we learn to express the glands ourselves rather than trot to the vets every couple of months. I can see the vets trips are stressful for Rosy so I'm wondering if we should....but isn't it safer to have a vet do it?


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## Westy (Feb 19, 2013)

It's just a technique to be learned like any other. The important thing is to have a tutor who knows what they're doing. Ask your Vet to show you if you'd like to learn. The anatomy and technique isn't difficult.

As a groomer I would always do it in the bath because then it's easy to apply shampoo and rinse the nasty stuff away. 

But I would either feed raw or add more fibre first then it may not be necessary. You say that her diet doesn't have too much fibre - I would guess it doesn't have enough.


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## TerryH (Sep 5, 2010)

Thanks Westy and others. I'll try supplements / change of diet first to see if that does the trick. If not I might be inclined to talk to the vet about learning the technique. Thanks all.


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## GingerRogers (Sep 13, 2012)

Ninja has the same problem, I managed it myself last time after getting the vet to show me.

No 1 tip my vet told me never to stand directly behind 

Tip my vet didn't tell me do not do the automatic thing of sniffing your finger after


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

TerryH said:


> Thanks for suggestions guys. Her stools don't appear to be overly soft but I'll try adding a supplement of some sort to her diet as suggested to see if that helps.
> A friend has suggested that we learn to express the glands ourselves rather than trot to the vets every couple of months. I can see the vets trips are stressful for Rosy so I'm wondering if we should....but isn't it safer to have a vet do it?


Theres nothing to stop you doing it yourself if you were shown how to do it properly by the vet or a groomer and then perhaps have a go yourself while they watch you to make sure you have got the technique to do it properly.
Some people do, do it themselves.


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

GingerRogers said:


> Ninja has the same problem, I managed it myself last time after getting the vet to show me.
> 
> No 1 tip my vet told me never to stand directly behind
> 
> Tip my vet didn't tell me do not do the automatic thing of sniffing your finger after


rofl

You must have a terrible sense of smell if you needed to get it that close.


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## catseyes (Sep 10, 2010)

Bum juice as its affectionatly known in this house is the worst smell in the world!!!

Zelda has never been able to empty hers and we have to them frequently, every few weeks when she was little now its 4 - 8 weeks, once we can smell it we know shes full up, we always have the sink ready to wash her back end afterwards as the smell uuurgh.. and hubby refuses to do the squeezing.. massaging emptying.

I spoke to my vet about it but as gross as it sounds youtube.. lots of videos of how to do it, helped me as i could watch them over and over and the more you do it the easier it becomes and you know what to look for.


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

Re the DIY approach .... it also depends on the dog

I did think about getting the vet to show me how to empty them (she did offer!) - BUT Maisie doesn't particularly like it done (don't blame her really!) so I need to literally hold her up so the vet can do them - no way I could manage by myself 


Does it happen year round?

Just asking as Maisie's seems to be seasonal - she needed done every few weeks last summer (from when I got her) through until around October - and was then fine until March .... and now we're back to needing to go again  Vet says it could be a seasonal allergy outside affecting her .....


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