Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Feel free to talk about anything and everything anal glands here.

I have a beagle who needs his expressed semi-regularly. My other dog has no issue.

I was actually brave enough to try doing it myself but it didn't work well so we go to the vet every 3 months or so to have someone do it there.

If you have tips on how to reduce the need for anal gland expression, feel free to let myself and others know.

Personally, that is one thing I will always pay for. No matter how poor I am, I am not doing that...

Thank heaven my dogs have no issues with that usually. However, I don't do anything special so I wonder if it's just either luck or inherited?

Yes.

I didn't really think about cats having them, but Jeremy got colitis because his were so blocked up. Thankfully I realized something was up before they ruptured. The vet said I could bring him in every month to have them expressed or have them removed. I chose to have them removed because it wasn't very invasive and Jeremy hates going to the vet, so I thought it the better choice. It was not very expensive and he walked around with shaved butt for about 3 weeks.

It can be both, really, but there's a few hard and fast rules.

Small dogs are typically more inclined to have anal gland issues.
Dogs that tend to have diarrhea or looser stools can be more inclined to anal gland issues.
Dogs that need regular, heavy grooming seem to have more anal gland problems. There seems to be differing opinions as to why that is - some people say that repeat attention from groomers is the culprit and it becomes a situation where they need to be done simply because they are manually expressed more often than naturally expressed. Some people think that the hair follicles around the anus that produce the dense, heavy curly coat can have something to do with it (not sure what). Some people say that these are just breeds that have more of a genetic predisposition towards anal gland problems.

Growing up I pretty much only had larger, smooth coated dogs. There were exceptions to that rule but they never had anal gland issues. The first one was a standard poodle and he's the one I remember the least about so I should actually ask my dog about that.

My two chihuahuas do need manual expression every 4-6 months. Pretty much whenever one of them is at the vet for something I bring them both and ask the vet to give them both a squeeze. I have expressed the male's myself, but not the female. She's a screamer.

My larger dog is a bit on the high strung side and has an epic stress based anal gland expression every 18 months or so. That's a fun smell to be around.

I have heard that, to encourage expression while defecating, it's good to increase the fiber in their diet. Canned pumpkin is good for this. Some people like giving chunks of raw carrot as they don't break down in the stomach too much and come out fairly whole.

Oh, fun little tidbit. I used to have a black lab that came to daycare who would express normally, while defecating, but it would shoot out at high speed in a totally random direction while he was doing his business. I'd be standing there and this wad of... something... would whiz by my head and scare the bajeezus outta me.

There's nothing like anal glands to bring people together.

So true!

I can't get Moon's black lab story out of my head. Whizzing by..... Make it stop.

Oh my god, explosive anal gland juice.

Winston has always had softer stools, we've tried different foods and pumpkin. He is at a decent level now but definitely softer than our other dog. He just has general stomach issues. I blame it on him bring purebred (at least I think he is) but who knows. The doctor says he is healthy and doesn't have worms or anything.

Tofulish, I think this might be the most disgusting thread of the new boards. Good job, Linanil! So, now that I'm horrified, who is going to come to Florida to walk my dogs for me? I fear their backsides!

It wasn't on purpose! I will say my vet has deodorant spray thet they spray on my dogs butt when they do it so that he doesn't stink. I'm thinking it is definitely worth the money.

Oh my gosh, this thread is grossing me out. I am so glad none of my pets have a problem with this! We do occasionally have frightened stray animals release their anal glands when we catch them to bring to the shelter (usually all over my mom... and then I laugh, because I am terrible). My friend had an elderly cat who would jump onto the bed at night when my friend was sleeping and squirt anal gland juice onto the sheets. (Honestly, if she had been my cat, I think I would have locked her out of the bedroom at night!)

Hehe, shaved butt. One of my cats has had an anal gland infection. Well, he actually had two infections pretty close together, because the first time the emergency vet didn't take care of the anal gland blockage itself. After that was done, it hasn't returned. So, fingers crossed that was just a one time problem. I just have to keep my eye on his fuzzy butt!

Confession: I get paid to do that shiitake and I'm terrible at it.

what is it with beagles and anal glands? our beagle mix has butt issues. our black lab has never had issues. we thought he did once because he enjoys chewing on his own butt so we brought him to the vet to have them expressed and there was nothing in them.
he chews on his butt when he has to poop so now we just take it as a signal he needs to go out but sometimes apparently it is just recreational because if you try to get him to go out he wont go and if you force him out he wont poop. he is just a weird butt chewing dog.

the beagle however we've had to take to the vet a handful of times to get them expressed. we dont do it with any regular fashion but just when he seems to need it. he also doesnt have super great poops all the time. we've finally found a diet that seems to suit him best. he eats grain free kibble with a scoop of pumpkin at every meal. that seems to cut down on the anal gland issues.

however he is a gross beagle that eats anything and everything in site regardless of whether it's food or not so sometimes i think his less savory poops can be attributed to that. he will eat any type of poop, anywhere except his own and our other dogs (thank god!) but out on a walk you have to watch him cause he is a nasty poop eater.

Yes, Cuddles didn't have anything in there for expressing when we went to the vet. Apparently V-dog does a good job on managing issues, because he had issues a few times before we switched!

Ha, yeah beagles will eat anything.

We feed both our dog's v-dog and Winston is better on V-dog than previous dog foods but still he'll occasionally get really soft poo and his poo tends to be softer no matter what.

it must be a beagle trait because he definitely has a tendency towards softer poo than our lab and they get the exact some food and treats, etc.

So anal gland stuff is really disgusting, but let's all admit that it's super cute when they drive their little cars on the carpet.

I admit it. ^

*beep beep* comin' through!

Me too! I often have to get one of my nurses to do it. Giving pills to cross cats and dogs and expressing anal glands are the two things I suck at most.

I'm not sure how much you get paid, but I can confidently say it isn't enough.

My dog has had anal gland issues since we've had him. If I could easily learn how to express it I would do it because its easier than booking vet appointments all the time. He is scooting around every day, but sometimes when we take him to the vet they dont find much there. Sometimes from out of nowhere something will smell like stinky fish - usually when that happens I immediately give the dog a bath..

Just ask your vet to explain it and let you have a try next time you go. I'm sure they wont mind. I know I'd prefer if everyone could do their own dogs instead of bringing them to me for it!!

I expressed Roxie's anal glands just a week ago because she was scooting... It was scary cuz I thought I was gonna hurt her! I also didn't want nasty goop squirting on me, so I suited up in old clothes, a shower cap, gloves, mask, and goggles... It actually turned out okay, and the stuff that came out was clear and didn't even stink. I think I was lucky that time and caught it before it turned into something funky.