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Permalink Reply by Marcie on January 27, 2014 at 7:02pm

My last dog had to have both anal glands removed. He was constantly dragging his butt, uncomfortable, had frequent infections and a few ruptures. After the surgery I wished the vet had suggested it sooner. He was much more comfortable. The surgery and recovery wasn't fun, but the long term effects were fabulous. He had 4 drains and had to wear a cone. Pain meds kept him fairly comfortable. I think the hardest part was two flights of stairs with a cone on. There were no problems with bowel movements after he healed. Lack of control can be a side effect.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on January 28, 2014 at 12:36am

Do not remove the anal gland. A very easy fix is bring her in regularly to the vet for anal gland expression. Start by having them checked every two weeks and spread it out from there. Eventually you will find out how often she needs it done. Some dogs its every week, some every 2, some can go 2 or 3 months and some  never need it. Do not rely on a groomer to express her glands, they use a different method that does not completely empty the gland. Have it done at your vet hospital. This way they can also spot early signs of infection and treat it before another rupture.

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on January 28, 2014 at 11:06am

Here's an interesting article on the subject: http://dogsonthursday.blogspot.com/2009/06/to-express-or-not-to-exp...

What are you feeding the pooch? Apparently the quality of the feed bears on this issue.

I've never had a dog with an anal gland problem, but have been known to become very irked when a groomer messed with my German shepherd, for no good reason but just as a routine part of the "service," without my permission.

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Permalink Reply by Vic on January 28, 2014 at 4:36pm

Currently, I am feeding Hill's Prescription Diet® Canine Metabolic. Maggie is a little overweight. Normally, I feed them (I have 3 Corgis) Acana Grasslands.

Maggie's anal gland still have the dirty stuff coming out after 3 days. Poor girl, she must be in pain and discomfort. Feel so guilty for not to able to take good care of her.

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Permalink Reply by Marcie on January 28, 2014 at 5:26pm

What does your vet say? When they suggested Kramer's be removed he'd had several infections over a six month period. The material inside his glands was also much thicker than normal. It became very hard for them to express anything out. We were there at least monthly.

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on January 28, 2014 at 7:12pm

Yes. With a continuing discharge, it sure sounds a lot like infection. One hates to fall back right away on one's favorite strategy: SECOND OPINION. But if your vet can't come up with a satisfactory strategy soon or explain why it's not working within, say, a week, it might be good to see one of those. Second opinion, I mean.

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Permalink Reply by Vic on January 31, 2014 at 6:52pm

UPDATE:

The vet said there are 3 option for Maggie, 1. no operation, just take antibiotic and let her heal. 2. remove the damaged and bad tissue from her anal gland. 3. remove both side of the anal gland.

He said for #2, she might had another rupture later even after the operation. no promise.  for #3, it might fix the problem or the operation might damage her anal muscle which make her not able hole the poo for the rest of her life. So I choose #1 for now. And I will take her to the vet and have her anal gland clean every month. both #2 and #3 has no promise. so it is best to just wait and see.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on February 11, 2014 at 11:00am

I think you made a wise choice. No point in rushing into surgery. Its sometimes hard for antibiotics to cure an anal gland infection in a short period of time, we had a client who it took MONTHS to clear the infection. Some vets will infuse an antibiotic ointment into the anal sac to help with healing, maybe you could ask your vet about doing this at the next cleaning. Just make sure to give the antibiotics exactly as prescribed and follow up as often as the vet requires so you can make sure to get rid of the entire infection before stopping the antibiotics.

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