(Warning: REALLY gross) Dog glands gone wrong

[firebirdgold]

Well, I found out what happens when you don't get your dog's anal glands expressed.... they rupture. So now my dog has an extra 'hole' in his rear that's leaking blood and foul-smelling goo. And having a big dog doesn't get you a free pass due to large poos, since monster dog is very large. Ok ok, he's too large which apparently can make this sort of thing worse.

So if the glands don't get expressed, the scent oil goes from olive oil consistency to hardened tar. But the gland keeps producing so it just builds up until it blows a hole out to the surface.

He has a cocktail of meds to calm the inflammation and infection, and I have to press a warm damp compress to his rear multiple times a day.

I couldn't find doggy diapers large enough so the poor thing is locked in our largest bathroom. He doesn't look very happy. (and it doesn't smell all that great in there either).
Hopefully the warm compress will loosen up the hardened stuff, but it's pretty darn hard. If it doesn't he'll have to have surgery to clear out his glands, and maybe even have to have his glands removed altogether which could cause an incontinent dog.

It's a little odd but the best hope I have is that monster dog might have a genetic condition. His mommy was a german shepherd and shepherd's often have some sort of fistulas (sp?) or something that can cause this sort of problem but is very treatable with meds. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed, we won't know until the rupture calms down and the vet can get a better look.


So, summary time: It may be gross, but get your dog's anal glands expressed on a regular basis or you'll be sorry! I know I am.

 

[Cleopatra]

gross gross gross gross gross

Bentley, my little weenie dog, has a check up next week.....I''ll be sure to get them to express those glands!

I''ll never forget the first time I heard that dogs had those! I about died!

lol!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and your pup!

 

[littlelysser]

Just as an FYI, not all dogs need to have their anal glands expressed.

Normally, and this is totally TMI, some of the foul smelling stuff comes out when the dog takes a poo. If you watch your dog take a poo, you can see it kind of dripping out after the poo. I know, totally gross, but true. For some dogs, and for some reason, they don''t express it when they poo...and that is when the trouble starts.

We have two dogs, ages two and three, and neither of them have ever needed it...just depends on the dog.

 

[Lorelei]

So sorry to hear about your poor doggie Indie.

Apparently todays doggy diets can have a negative effect on anal glands unfortunately, in times gone by and with wild dogs, they ate a lot more in the way of fibrous food that they either hunted, or were fed with scraps etc. This fibre helped the anal glands stay healthy as the fibre put pressure on them each time the dog had a bowel movement, so impacted and infected glands were rarer than nowadays. You could perhaps see about getting a fibre additive to mix with his food, your vet can advise a suitable diet and or fibre supplement to help manage the condition if he feels appropriate in your dog's case.

I hope he feels better soon Indie.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Oh, Indie, I feel terrible for you and your pooch! As a fellow monster-dog owner, I know how problems can be magnified by size. And when those problems involve foul odor, well it''s just not pretty.

Luckily our big guy has never had any anal gland problems, though I do have the vet check to make sure they don''t need to be expressed when we go in for checkups. I''m so sorry that your dogs glands have gotten this bad, I do think the warm compress will help to loosen the hardened "gunk" up and hopefully you can get the buildup out without needing surgery. I have a good friend with an Old English Sheepdog and his glands needed to be expressed often and would get infected and inflamed, so she recently decided to have the vet romove them and he has had no problems since--the surgery went smoothly and he''s a much happier pooch.

 

[ursulawrite]

Sympathies to monster dog!

My Boston Terrier has anal gland issues. Her glands are in a slightly odd position, which means they cannot express properly of their own accord. So, we have to do it ourselves every eight weeks (or rather, my husband steps into the breech while dog falls asleep). Never a pleasant experience for us.

 

[Mara]

oh indie that's horrible...i'm so sorry for you and the dog!!!

portia gets hers expressed each time she visits the groomer, does your dog get groomed? if so apparently it's part of the package or should be? though i'd gladly pay extra to be sure that they do express them...!!! the vet showed us how but after a minute of greg squeezing the wrong thing and portia squirming wildly we said nevermind...and were glad to find that the groomer does it.

i've heard that basically the reason that some people never have a worry about this is because their dog has very consistently hard poo aka especially ones that are fed regular diets with more typical hard kibble foods esp with corn in them...so the harder poo pushes the glands on the way out and expresses them into the poo basically (i know, TMI). the smell has to do with marking territory i believe or maybe it's about hiding their own scent, i can't remember. anyway...if your dog doesn't have hard enough poo to express the glands on the way out, then that is where they build up over time. so you might want to look into getting them expressed regularly but also modifying the diet of the dog so that the poo is more hard and they can be expressed more naturally as well? portia typically only ever really gets a 'buildup' (the smell, you can tell as you know i'm sure)...when she has had like 3-4 days of softer poo or isn't feeling well or something. her diet has hardly any corn in it so we just have to be sure she eats kibble daily to get that harder poo consistency or else the other stuff we give her lets the poo be too soft.

anyway, ugh, what a pain for everyone involved, hope it heals up quickly!! poor thing! and poor you guys, we HATE that smell, can't imagine it in large doses. hang in there!

 

[larussel03]

OMG! I am so taking my dog to get her''s expressed -- she def gets blockages and then it "eeks" out sometimes on places like the couch

or carpet

.

FI and I drove from MI to MA and back with her in the car with us and she came up to me to sit on my lap in the front. Then I started smelling that familiar bad fishy smell and when she left to sit in the back, she had apparantly pressed her butt against the emergency break, which led to some expression, dripping down the emergency break.

The vet is closed today for cleaning, but I''m calling them 1st thing tomorrow to see if I get book an appointment to make sure she''s fully expressed!

 

[musey]

Indie, I''m sorry to hear about your pup!

littlelysser''s right, not all dogs need to have it done and not necessarily very often. It''s the exception, not the norm, to have a dog that needs "help" in this area, and often (though not always) means their diet isn''t giving them solid enough poo.

HINT: If your dog "scoots" on his rear across the floor--his glands are getting full! He''s trying to empty them himself

 

[fleur-de-lis]

IndieJones, that also happened to the family dog when I was a child. It looked terrible, but everything healed the way it was supposed to easily.

Best of luck for your pup; I just wanted to reassure you that it''s common enough to not be panicked yet.

 

[firebirdgold]

Well, he''s always scooted and I didn''t think much of it. Then again he''s always had digestive problems too, I think he''s missing something in his tummy. I put him on Purina One Sensitive system recently and that firmed up his poo. Maybe the extra pressure on the blocked glands caused the rupture.

I gave him a damp towel bath and I put a pair of Dh''s boxers on him, so he''s out of the bathroom now. (what dh doesn''t know...

, but I''d better buy him some new ones.)

Poor thing, he doesn''t like to walk in them. He''ll take two steps and sits down with a miserable look on his face. He may be a monster dog but he''s also my big baby, so I''ve been fussing over him all night. Ok, so I''m an over-anxious dog mommy.


I just didn''t know that the glands could make a, um, new exit through his skin if they get clogged up.

Thank you for your good wishes.

 

[poshpepper]

I hope your pooch gets better soon.

 

[littlelysser]

I''m glad he''s out of the bathroom. Poor guy. That stinks. Literally and figuratively.

For what its worth, if he continues to have digestive issues - I''d consider switching him to a higher quality food. In my opinion, the better the food, the better the pup will feel.

When we first got our Ibizan pup, he was on pedigree puppy and had some not so great poops with it - we switched him to Nutro Natural Lamb and Rice and he was great.

We''ve since switched them to Wellness Lamb SUper 5 Mix (not because the dogs had a problem with the Nutro but because I kind of freaked out about the whole recall thing) and the absolutely LOVE it. No problems with poop and their coats look fantastic.

Totally my two cents...and really, they might not even worth that!

 

[Sabine]

So sorry Indie! I hope your pup heals well, and that this ordeal will be the last of its kind!

 

[Miranda]

O.M.G. Really gross is right! I''m so sorry for your poor dog (and you for that matter). That sounds just terrible. I hope he gets well soon!

 

[door knob solitaire]

Ah bless his little heart...and his bum!

I am grateful for the informative post. I had no idea of this issue. I have had dogs for over 25 years and never had any issues...except...once I had stayed up late and noticed my pup was feeling sorta strange. She was laying out on cool concrete in my studio. When all of a sudden a large puddle of fluid appeared and the fear on her face brought me to tears and I called my vet at 2:15 am crying that something terrible had happened. He laughed and explained what it was..and that has been the last of the leak and I never knew I needed to know more. This frequent expressing that you all are discussing is all Greek to me.

I am going to call tomorrow and ask for information. So, thanks for taking the time to give us a heads up.

DKS

 

[beebrisk]

Good tip I learned a few years ago when my dog had, ummm, anal "issues". Add a little canned pumpkin to your dog''s food. It provides tons of flavor and fiber..and fiber is key to keeping doggie tushies happy!

Make sure you get pure pumpkin, with no sugar added. Easy to find now with Halloween and T-giving coming soon. Stock up!

I hope your baby feels better very soon!