[AmyB]

Spencer has an appointment tomorrow to have his anal glands expressed - this will be the 3rd time in 3 weeks. Actually, they could be done more. After expressing, he seems comfortable for only a couple days & then he starts chewing on his bottom. For the last 5-6 years, we have gone to the vet every 4-6 weeks for expressing, but now they seem to fill up in days. I have added extra fiber to his diet, but it has not helped. When we are at the vet tomorrow, I am going to make an appointment to see the vet, but wanted to know if anyone ever had a dog who had the glands removed & if so, how they did. Spencer's vet has in the past, recommended NOT removing them unles they became a daily problem, which they have. I am just worried about surgery at his age (10 years) and the chance of fecal incontinence.

 

[Marcia]

A friend had this done on her Coonhound, and the poor thing has been fecal incontinent ever since. I think it is extremely important to find a surgeon who has done many of these procedures, as it apparently is a difficult surgery, and not routine. Practice makes perfect. The other alternative is to learn to express them yourself. I'm sure your vet tech will show you. While definitely distasteful, it is not diffficult, and would save Spencer the stress and risk of surgery. You could do it yourself every few days and keep him comfortable. Good luck........I know how frustrating these things can be.

 

[Maggie's Mommy]

I had my German Shepherds (ATB) removed years ago. Like Marcia said, MAKE SURE the surgeon has done this procedure many times. He suffered for several years having them expressed every three weeks. Nothing seemed to work. Diet, adding fiber, changing food, exercise, nothing! Then he started getting infections. We were spending so much money on antibiotics and vet bills. After consulting with the Vet we decided it was the only thing to do. When they got in there, there was so much scar tissue that had developed they had to cut deeper than normal. This left him without bowel control on the left side for 3 months!! Thankfully we had a tile basement where I slept with him for 3 weeks. He was in great pain for days. I questioned the decision and felt alot of guilt for putting him through that. After 3 long months!! He healed completely and never had a problem again. It WAS the right decision. The healing was just much harder on all of us than I ever imagined. If I ever had to make that decision again, I would DEFINITELY go to a specialist!!!!! Not your regular Vet. They just don't do enough of this procedure so if a they run into a problem the best decisions may not always be made.

 

[AmyB]

Thanks for the replies. We were at the vet tonight - 1 gland very full, 1 not so full. The vet tech told me she talked to the vet & he recommended I make an appointment to come in & learn how to express the glands myself. So, that is the plan for now. We go back next Thursday for my lesson. I swore that was a place I would never stick my finger, :blink: but I'll do it to avoid putting Spencer through surgery. Wish us luck!

 

[woebgon]

We finally had the anal glands removed from Buddy, our first Champion. It seems his glands were always full. He was in the vet's office every other week to have them expressed throughout his show career. One of our vets who had treated many bassets over the years said they were the worst annals he had ever seen. Even he had trouble expressing them. Buddy had no problems with the surgery or afterwards except he never forgave the vet. You have to understand that Buddy was one of the sweetest bassets we’ve had, but after having his annals removed he would growl, under his breath, at the sight, or even if he heard the voice, of our vet. He never growled at anyone else.

 

[AmyB]

Don, that's funny that Buddy held a grudge aginst the vet! Spencer holds grudges too. He has disliked the vet since his neutering. When the vet came to the house in June to send Sadie off to the Bridge, Spencer saw him come in & peed all over the floor! Anyway, thanks for your reply. I am going to discuss the surgery with the vet when we go next week. I seem to be getting mixed reviews - some had no problems with the surgery & some had problems. It's a hard decision to make.

 

[Marcia]

Definitely give expressing them yourself a try. It will take a bit of practice to get the hang of it, but done properly it should not hurt the dog. He may insist on dinner and a movie first, though

 

[AmyB]

LOL, Marcia!

I am a little worried about Spencer today. I came home from work to find him having diarrhea. My Mom said he had it a couple times during the day. I'm not sure if it is anal gland related. He is eating & drinking OK, but not acting right. While our appointment with the vet is not until next Thursday, we go in to see the technician this Friday for another expressing. If he is still not well on Friday, I am going to ask them to fit us in to see the vet. Something is going on with him.

 

[Marcia]

Oh, poor Spencer! I hope he feels better soon.

 

[Scully]

Sorry to hear about Spencer's anal issues!

Just to add another success story, Scully had a lot of problems with her anal glands getting impacted and infected frequently, so we had them removed at the suggestion of her vet. She was 2 years old when she had the surgery. We were warned about the chance of fecal incontinence either temporarily or in the odd case permanently, but my girl had no complications whatsoever. Her poor butt looked horribly painful from the bruising for a little while, but she recovered quickly with absolutely no issues.

 

[Rubydoo]

Ruby did not have her anal glands removed but her vet did anal glands marsupialization. The only vet in Jacksonville who knew how to do it.

 

[Beverly Anne]

I learned how to squeeze Francis's anal sacs and I feel it's brought us closer...much, much closer. It's a smelly, messy business but Fran doesn't seem to mind it at all. In fact, the little weirdo seems to enjoy it. Good luck!

 

[jonloanranger]

Hi,

I had to take Baxter to the vet for forever, every three weeks to get squeezed and Baxters anxiety level at going to the vets was horrible. He would have to be muzzled and the whole experiance was horrible. I finally switched vets and her whole approach to his entire care plan has been nothing short of the best thing we ever did for Baxter. I now make his food, a organic goulash of sorts and his anal gland problem has dissapeared. I would have never believed it but he now has the most beautiful poop ever and does not need his glands expressed by the vet at all. The last time we checked them they were fine! Although making all of his meals can sometimes be a chore it is worth every ounce of time. I also ventured into making his cookies and treaties as well. Now, If only I would start to eat better myself! Good luck to you. If you have any questions about Baxters diet let me know. Before I started making his meals we tried food changes and extra fiber as well. Nothing worked until our Chinese Medicine Goulosh!