Anal Glands

[Anita]

Well Phoebe got problems with her glands again  She is anitbiotics again for infected glands. She's only 18 months old. They where emptied at the groomers at the beggining of December and they said they were ok

I'm about to claim on my insurance but the vet nurse mentioned that for her dog, she had them removed.

Is this something I should ask about or leave it and see how she goes?? I'm just worried as she's young and its already happened twice                    

[*Jay*]

Poor Phoebe  If her glands are filling up really quickly and always getting infected, it may be worth considering having them removed. However, there is the chance of faecal incontinence as a result of surgery. I can't think of any of our clients who have had this happen after surgery but it's something they do get warned about. I would discuss it with your vet and see what they think.                    

[PennyB]

Have you also looked at diet as a way of preventing the anal glands blocking in the 1st place.                    

[Anita]

When I take her back to the vets in 10 days, I'm going to ask what the options are.

She is already on dry complete food with a very small amount of Naturediet mixed it at every other meal. We also add bran to her food. Is there anything else I could try?

I think it's worth thinking about the options for her. I don't think she'll enjoy having them emptied every 6 or so weeks. You should have seen her race when those runner gloves come out! :shock:                    

[Magic Star]

Hi Anita

Sorry to hear Phoebe is having bum troubles again.  My vet swears by weetabix, but then I guess its just like bran :?   The other thing my vet said to me, is that be sure not to add too much bran to their diet, as if the stools become too soft, the glands have no chance of emptying themselves.  Excuse the detail, but I think you can get the general gist :wink:                    

[milo's mum]

poor Phoebe.

Our old Cocker, Cara, got a re-occurring infection when she was 14. After a couple of courses of anitibiotics didn't do the trick, our vet flushed the glands out and packed them with antibiotics (under an anesthetic).

This cleared up one side, but the other side had to be controlled by being expressed regularly. (Her age was against her).  

Cara hated anyone interfering with her, but was remarkably tolerant when the vet gave her a 'bum squeeze'.    javascript:emoticon(':oops:') After a couple of visits she was quite cheerful about the whole thing.

Cockers never cease to suprise; they are so resilient.

I suggest that you have a chat with your vet about your options.

Jackie and Milo.                    

[Sheryl]

Poor Phoebe and poor you.!!  Chloe was bothered by this a lot (is there anything she hasn't had?) and after having her glands expressed a few times and them filling up with infection, Randall the Wonder vet told me that he would suggest trying bran for her breakfast instead of other cereal.  She has Hi Bran and has been fine ever since.  The only option if it didn't work was removal and Randall was very reluctant to do this.  He also mentioned faecal incontinence and said it was very easy to nick something you shouldn't because of all the blood vessels.  I am sure that there are many owners with many dogs who have had this procedure and it has been fine but I guess I wanted to exhaust all avenues before taking that step.  There is a drawback though  with all that bran, both Hols and Chloe could poo for Scotland :oops:  :oops:                    

[Dessie]

Hi Anita

As mentioned above I would either mix in some Weetabix or Bran into Phoebe's food, it really does help with blocked anal glands.  My boys have it every now and again and it clears the problem up really quickly.                    

[suzysu]

Hi Anita

My 20 month old cocker has had lot of problems with anal glands.  She has had a couple of courses of antibiotics and many emptyings, some within a fews weeks of each other!

I was very not very happy about going down the surgery route, so tried a change her diet.  

I cut down slightly on the wet food (Naturediet) and added some bran.  The other thing I add is a mixture of chopped raw vegetables.

So far, she is much improved and I am keeping my fingers crossed as this is the longest she has gone without a visit to the vets!

Hope this helps.                    

[suzysu]

Was just thinking about my earlier post  - I probably didnt quite explain myself properly - getting old!

I feed dry food with a little Nature diet mixed in - so I slightly cut down on the wet food (Naturdiet) and slightly increased dry to compensate.  Then add bran and chopped veg (I do a batch of chopped veg and keep in a bag in the fridge to save doing it each meal time)

Sooooory for the confusion!!                    

[Anita]

Thanks for the advise - I'll go with the diet changes and ssee how she gets on. I'll also talk to the vet as well.