The First and Second Rules of Dog Club (Small Dog Breed Issue)
Don't read this before lunch.....
Email from John: "How did I get this old without knowing that dogs' anuses need periodic ... ugh ... juicing? WTF?"
Backstory: Ani's been sliding around on her rump and biting her flank. Turns out her anal glands need to be squeezed or some thing. WHO KNEW? This is not one of those things people tell you until after you join Dog Club. First rule of Dog Club: Don't talk about Dog Club. BUT the Second Rule of Dog Club: Don't tell dogless people about the anal glands until after they're hooked and in.
Anyway, vet appointment made for this afternoon.
...
Side note: I guess this is a thing that largely affects smaller breeds. Both my husband and I had larger breed dogs as kids, so we'd never run into this before. My friends with dachshunds are apparently all old hands at this. My coworker has offered to show me how to "dejuice" the glands in a way that it won't be totally gross. (Apparently it will still be somewhat gross. Just not TOTALLY gross.)
Also: She's just been de-wormed and given flea meds, but she might have coccidia since there are chickens at her breeder's house. So we've looked into those options too. But when she kept on with her butt scooting and flank biting, we started to get worried and looked it up.
Comment
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Comment by Rachel on May 29, 2011 at 1:28pm
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When Lily was older we thought she had a bunch of hot spots all over her butt because she would constantly scratch and bite at her rear. It was so bad we had to take her to the vet for them to treat the wounds and they gave her anti biotics. The biting would stop for a while and she would heal. Of course when she was off the anti-biotics she would resume the biting and scratching. It wasn't until my mom caught her dragging her behind on the pavement that she realized something was up. It was then that the vet told her about the anal glands and that Lily would have to come to the vet every month to have them expressed. Pretty gross!
We thought she was dying by the way she was acting – she never wanted to cuddle and didn't want to be touched. She changed into an entirely different dog after we figured out what was wrong. She had another 1 or 2 good years after that.
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Comment by David on May 23, 2011 at 10:44pm
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I think a lot of groomers do this when they wash your dog and I do not think you need to do this very often. So, you can just take your pup to the groomer for a wash when expressing the anal gland is needed. This way you do not have to do it yourself.
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Comment by Jennifer Markley on May 23, 2011 at 7:02pm
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Yeah, this part of dog ownership sucks. I'm an ER nurse, and have worked as a vet tech, and have seen some really gross stuff. Somehow, I just can't bring myself to do this part of dog ownership. I'd rather pay to have the vet do it. Doesn't matter how much...it's just too gross for me.
My newfoundland had a bad abcess in his anal gland probably a year before he died. It was leaking some really funky smelling gross butt juice, and when we finally figured out it was him, he had a fissure and the abcess had ruptured...he took antibiotics for quite a while, and we had to clean his rump twice daily...and took him every week for check-ups. It finally cleared, but EWWWWW...what a mess in between. Poor guy. He didn't really mind though--never acted as if it bothered him, and he got a cheeseburger from McDonalds after every vet trip...
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Comment by Cecilia & Butters on May 23, 2011 at 6:46pm
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Yeah unfortunately I too had to learn the inns and outs (literally) of the anal glands. Ick ick ick. I've owned small breed dogs before and never had an issue with the "backdoor" friends. But with Butters it was an issue right away. I had heard of the butt dragging from other dogs so I always presumed she was okay. Well until I notice a rather foul fishy odor leaking from her backdoor from time to time. Went to the vet and sure it enough that was the problem. I tried switching food, adding pumpkin, carrots, and all that good stuff. But my poor lil' girl just has issues. Her poo consistency also varies so much, which is also strange. Well the the vet at home and the vet here in Germany both agreed she just has issues with them and an occasional trip to the vet is necessary. For her, it usually occurs every 2-3 months. And it did start when she was a wee lil' pup. The last time we went it even had pus in it. Poor girl. But like I said no butt dragging, just nasty nasty fishy pungent odor. Hopefully, with a lil' food adjustment you'll be able to nip it. Or like me, take your pup to go get "violated" from time to time. Make sure and bring baby wipes in the car for the clean up! :)
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Comment by Elizabeth Mitchell on May 23, 2011 at 6:32pm
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It might be a combination of a parasite which is making her poop soft. John just got back from the vet and on top of everything else, she somehow has giardiasis. Good thing we bought all those pill covers. :(
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Comment by Bob and SparkPlug on May 23, 2011 at 5:23pm
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I've heard what Sam says is true.
Many, many, many, OK, a long time ago, I had a beagle that required expressing occasionally. Yes, it was gross and I could not do it on a full stomach.
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Comment by Jane on May 23, 2011 at 4:56pm
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You don't always see worms in their poop. Both my dogs had tape worm and we never noticed. :x so gross though.
If it is her glands you can try adding a tablespoon or two of canned pumpkin to her food to try and firm up her poops.
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Comment by Sam Tsang on May 23, 2011 at 4:24pm
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Hi Elizabeth, normally you don't need to, as long as Ani have firm healthy stool, it'll take care of itself.
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@Jane She had a fecal done this Saturday so we should have confirmation today if there is anything else. We haven't seen signs of worms in the poop though.
Age: She's a little over 14 weeks, but I don't know how old one is when this happens.
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