[niniel1970]

I have had Peanut for 4 years....I've never had a dog that has to have their anal glands cleaned out. Peanut has been getting sick lately, no dragging her behind, but feeling poorly, throwing up and I noticed her losing weight. I gave her a bath Sunday and when I was rinsing off her back end, she started crying! I took her to the vet this morning and she came unglued when he checked her temperature. It took two of us to hold her down and she came close to attacking the vet tech! That's when he checked her anal glands, all I heard was "OH MY!".

He cleaned her out, sprayed her behind with something (deodorant perhaps?), gave her two shots and Metronidazole to take twice a day (yeast infection?)

I think she is speaking to me now, though with this and the kitten I brought home from work (boy is she terrified of him-he may weigh 2 lbs, vs her 45), it's kinda iffy!

So, how often are her anal glands supposed to be cleaned out? The doberman has never had this problem and I didn't know that Peanut would....

 

[Buttercup]

I've heard that the frequency depends on the dog so your vet might be able to tell you how long to wait in between. Rosie & Tucker haven't had any problems so far in that area, but I have read that providing extra fiber in the diet helps with that, especially bulk forming fiber which makes the stools a little larger and softer which in turn helps the glands express themselves. Alot of people here add canned pumpkin to their dogs food which helps w/the glands.

Hopefully Peanut won't be mad at you for too long especially since I'm sure she's feeling much better now.

Cindy

 

[murraysmom]

You might want to take a look at the previous thread "How do you know".

 

[Anonymous]

Two words: canned pumpkin.
I've learned how to express Franny's anal sacs because, as I am a student, I'm always broke. The addition of a 1/4 of a can of canned, unsweetened pumpkin to His Majesty's kibble every or every other day has really cut back on the number of times I've had to perform this onerous chore.
I got the idea from a few other people on this site and it has saved our partnership (although, for some reason, Francis doesn't seem to mind it much when I'm poking away down there!!! :roll: ) The fibre keeps his stools very firm and, subsequently, easier to clean up after at the park.
Good luck!!