Anal glands problem not even two years old yet

[Charliechoo]

Hello

I'm a past member, some may remember me as Magic Star. 

I'm mum to Charlie, he is not 2 until the end of June, he seems to be having problems with his anal glands.  He has been fed on Millie's Wolfheart since I brought him home at 8 weeks, he has a dentistick every evening, cheesy bites by pedigree for training and a whole carrot once week.  He gets no other foods, apart from the odd cooked egg!

About 6 weeks ago, I took him the vet as he was scooting his bum and he absolutely stank! The vet checked his glands and the left one was full and compacted, he emptied them and put him in on antibiotics as a precaution.  I chatted to the vet about possible causes because Charlie does nice firm stools and doesn't seem to have a sensitive tummy.  The vet said that often diet is not the problem,
but some dogs just have problems with this, and hopefully it won't happen again.  I changed his food slightly still Millie's wolfheart but a different flavour and he was fine, until yesterday, we noticed that awful smell again and he's scooting his bum too. So it will be another trip to the vet on Tuesday, I really would like some suggestions on how to prevent this from happening instead of getting to the point where he is having full glands.  I'm reluctantly thinking about changing his food and maybe knocking off the dentistick, which he loves, the vet said that the dentistick was unlikely to cause it. 

I just wondered if anyone else has had problems with anal glands in such a young dog and if there any foods of high quality that specifically help with this issue? 

You're thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks xx

[Mari]

It's useful to know that recurring anal gland problems can happen in case of food allergies. Does he have any issues with his ears or paws?

Do you know how to empty the anal glands yourself? Some dogs just don't empty them very well and need a little help. My girl is like that. She has no allergies and her poops are healthy, but sometimes the anal glands fill up anyway. I empty them when I feel them filling up, that way we avoid them getting full and infected. It's very easy to do when they are not infected, the vet should be able to teach you. I usually do it whenever I give my dog a bath, because the stink is no joke

One thing that is supposed to help is more fiber in the food, hard poos are good, but they need a little bulk too sometimes

[hoover]

Is it the wet food or dry food that you are feeding? If it's wet food perhaps the low fibre content is preventing the stools from getting bulky enough to put sufficient pressure on the anal glands to allow them to empty?

[pam1]

My Ollie used to suffer with anal gland problems and had to go to the vet to have them emptied quite regularly. We haven't had to have them done for about 2 years now 😀  Every morning he has a spoonful of oat bran mixed in with pro active yogurt (I use Yonken).  Instead of dentastix we use fish4dogs fish fingers.   Ollie is fed Millies wolfheart dried which is fab but we only feed their treats, the fish or turkey hearties are great and also the little fish and turkey training treats they do.  It might be worth trying this with Charlie its certainly helped Ollie 

[lescef]

Maddie is six and has had problems with her anal glands since a young age. Trying to sort the problem is a case of trial and error - you have to find what helps your particular dog.
Has the vet said if the glands are misaligned?  Maddie's are so she can't empty them herself  and  we dare not empty them ourselves (we used to do our previous  cockers) We too have had ab although now the vet has recorded 'the evidence' and that is considered normal for Maddie so we don't need antibiotics.
Some people say a raw diet helps as it firms up the stool but that can also make the stools too small.
Adding extra fibre can help. My two get mashed sweet potato with their raw meals and I give Maddie psyllium powder once a week which really bulks out the stool. Although this isn't curing her problem,  we are managing to go for longer periods between vet visits. It's not good for them to be emptied too often as they become mis-shapen. The idea is that a little should be passed with the stool so they are never really empty.
They are a real nuisance

[Charliechoo]

It's useful to know that recurring anal gland problems can happen in case of food allergies. Does he have any issues with his ears or paws?

Do you know how to empty the anal glands yourself? Some dogs just don't empty them very well and need a little help. My girl is like that. She has no allergies and her poops are healthy, but sometimes the anal glands fill up anyway. I empty them when I feel them filling up, that way we avoid them getting full and infected. It's very easy to do when they are not infected, the vet should be able to teach you. I usually do it whenever I give my dog a bath, because the stink is no joke

One thing that is supposed to help is more fiber in the food, hard poos are good, but they need a little bulk too sometimes

He is showing no other signs of allergy, hes not scratching anywhere hes not even chewing his bum.

I don't think my vet would be happy to show me how to do it, he mentioned on the last visit that he would not be happy with my groomer doing it either as, while it looks relatively simple, too much pressure could cause further issues, so i'm happy to take him the vet for it.  But would of course rather eradicate the problem, before it gets to that stage as its both annoying for charlie and us and of course could become quite costly.

I'll look into the fibre, worth trying anything, many thanks

[Charliechoo]

Is it the wet food or dry food that you are feeding? If it's wet food perhaps the low fibre content is preventing the stools from getting bulky enough to put sufficient pressure on the anal glands to allow them to empty?

He is on dry kibble, I used to wet it for him, because he wouldn't eat it dry, but I stopped that about 3 months ago as the vet said it should be dry to help his teeth.

[Charliechoo]

My Ollie used to suffer with anal gland problems and had to go to the vet to have them emptied quite regularly. We haven't had to have them done for about 2 years now 😀  Every morning he has a spoonful of oat bran mixed in with pro active yogurt (I use Yonken).  Instead of dentastix we use fish4dogs fish fingers.   Ollie is fed Millies wolfheart dried which is fab but we only feed their treats, the fish or turkey hearties are great and also the little fish and turkey training treats they do.  It might be worth trying this with Charlie its certainly helped Ollie 

Thats a good point, thank you, I only used to feed him MW treats, but ran out so picked up pedigree cheesey bits, they are tiny and tbh he has no more than 5 a day, he liked them so much we just replaced the MW with them   I'll have a look at the the fish fingers too

[Charliechoo]

Maddie is six and has had problems with her anal glands since a young age. Trying to sort the problem is a case of trial and error - you have to find what helps your particular dog.
Has the vet said if the glands are misaligned?  Maddie's are so she can't empty them herself  and  we dare not empty them ourselves (we used to do our previous  cockers) We too have had ab although now the vet has recorded 'the evidence' and that is considered normal for Maddie so we don't need antibiotics.
Some people say a raw diet helps as it firms up the stool but that can also make the stools too small.
Adding extra fibre can help. My two get mashed sweet potato with their raw meals and I give Maddie psyllium powder once a week which really bulks out the stool. Although this isn't curing her problem,  we are managing to go for longer periods between vet visits. It's not good for them to be emptied too often as they become mis-shapen. The idea is that a little should be passed with the stool so they are never really empty.
They are a real nuisance

He didn't mention about them misaligned, i'll ask on our next visit. 

I don't think feeding raw is really an option for us, i'm not keen on the idea and we also go away a lot in our caravan and its not really practical to be taking a lot of raw meat with us as the fridge isn't really large enough to house it. 

You are right, they are indeed a nuisance, hopefully its just a phase

[elaine.e]

William has misaligned anal glands. According to various vets I've seen over the years Cockers are prone to them.

He's almost 13 and has needed his anal glands to be emptied every 6 weeks to 3 months since he was a puppy! By some miracle he's never had an infection or any impaction. I take him to the vet to have them emptied because most vets empty them from inside, whereas groomers do them from outside and I understand that can cause damage.

When Will was younger he was kibble fed and seemed to need them emptying more frequently than he has in the 7 or so years he's been raw fed. I don't know if that's coincidence or not.

I'd suggest that next time you take Charlie to have his emptied you ask the vet about misalignment. At least you'll know then

[lescef]

Elaine - good to know that emptying from the inside is safer. I didn't know that.

I think I've mentioned here before about drinking more  to help the problem. Maddie had hers emptied on Wednesday and for the first time it was liquid and not thick stuff. I've been adding water to her raw food and a weak tea in the day (if I remember! ) The vet said there was no evidence to say it helps but I'm not so sure. Anything that helps!

[Charliechoo]

UPDATE

Took Charlie the vets last Tuesday it was indeed his glands again, specifically the left one again.  I've changed him to pork and potato food and we have knocked the dentisticks off, he is not happy with that but have replaced with 100% salmon sticks, pwarr they stink!  Vet still thinking not diet related, but I would rather try and fail than not try at all.  Fingers crossed this will eradicate the problem, its a watch and wait now for the next few weeks.

[phoenix]

Hello again Magic Star, I remember you !   
When the vet expresses the dreaded glands, was  it liquid or gooey?   My springer had black goo come out, and it was infected  and needed antibiotics.   

[Charliechoo]

Hello again Magic Star, I remember you !   
When the vet expresses the dreaded glands, was  it liquid or gooey?   My springer had black goo come out, and it was infected  and needed antibiotics.

Hello Phoenix hope your are well xx

No infection this time, was just full

[MIN]

Gemma's were misaligned although she had no problems until she was 5 years old.  We took the decision and had them removed. She has suffered no issues since losing them and they are not missed  .  Knowing that she will never go through that horrible discomfort again is pleasing