Anal Glands

[sutulu]

Hey! Why not start this off right! Let's talk about Anal Glands!!!!!

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Tucker has never had problems so I have not paid attention to any discussions, grosses me out! But apparently Miss Lulu needs to have her anal ducts expressed per my puppy sitter.

So I will take her to the groomer. I saw on GoCorgi an video series on how to do it. Even though it looks simple enough, I'm a bit squeamish.

Is this why you folks feed your corgis pumpkin????

Susan

[Jespah]

Nice topic Susan!!!

Mine have never had to go through this - thank heavens!!!!

My friends who have hounds go through it all the time - and they pay someone to do it - my sentiments exactly!!!!

I don't think diet - with or without pumpkin has a darn thing to do with it - I think some dogs just need it and some dogs don't. (I pumpkin mine for firmer poops - another delightful subject.)

Does Lu scootch her bottom across the lawn or other rather inconvenient places?? That's often a sign of it. :eek:

[corgimom]

Susan, it is quite stinky - you would probably want someone else to do it - I about passed out that one time when they did it to my cat - The lingering odor on him was not pleasant.

For your reading:

http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/behavior/l/aa031104a.htm

http://www.healthypet.com/faq_view.aspx?id=136

[CorgiMum]

Nice topic Susan!!!

I don't think diet - with or without pumpkin has a darn thing to do with it - I think some dogs just need it and some dogs don't. (I pumpkin mine for firmer poops - another delightful subject.)

:

I agree, and I think I would have the Vet check her over and show you how to do it, if you want to. I have heard that a lot of groomers will do it.

I don't even do Monty or Dylan's nails.:p

[sutulu]

Barbara:

I'm with you! I don't do their nails. The video actually did a nice job of talking you thru it but NO WAY am I going to squeeze my little Lulu's butt!

Did you know that anal ducts are at 2 o'clock and 7 o'clock? Who knew???

She was pretty mad at the puppy sitter for lifiting up her tail and sniffing her butt! She does hold a grudge!

I have not seen Lulu scooching her butt, she doesn't seem to have trouble sitting (well, she never sits still....). I'll take her to the groomer Friday night and ask her to do it!

I was hoping I could get off w/o feeding the pumpkin. Both of mine are eating their kibble great (finally!) and the have nice firm poo and not a whole lot of it!!!!!

[CorgiMum]

Did you know that anal ducts are at 2 o'clock and 7 o'clock? Who knew???

Thanks, I'll file that!

And I feed my two pumpkin daily.

I was hoping I could get off w/o feeding the pumpkin. Both of mine are eating their kibble great (finally!) and the have nice firm poo and not a whole lot of it!!!!!

Life does have it's good moments doesn't it?;)

[ZdogZ]

Zip always has trouble with his anal glands. We take him to the vet to get them squeezed. The vet showed hubby how to do it, but it's way to nasty.

[Fluffypants]

Yes, I am going to jump on the :eek: bandwagon. If you can pay someone else to do it . . . do it. Squeezing anal ducts does not sound like something I ever want to do, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I never have to! Yuk! I like the groomer idea!

[bunnybutts]

I feed pumpkin daily too - it's like Metamucil for Dogs

this defiantly sounds like a Vet job too me :eek:

[C2BCAdmin]

Having worked for a vet that had to reguarly do this... PLEASE do yourself a favor and pay someone else to do it! It STINKS!! There just is no pleasant way to do this... and you definitely do not want that stinch lingering anywhere within a mile of your place of residence. Just awful stuff, ugh... the memories... *shudder*.

[ColColt]

Sounds like good advice to me, Cheryl. When I get a Corgi, I pray she/he never has that problem but, rest assured the first time I see them dragging that butt around, it's off to the vet/groomer!!:D

[LittlePonzo]

As a recent expert in this field, due to a "stinky farts scare" from Ponzo, and I am talking super stinky, I researched all about where they are located how to express them, and how to prevent the buildup. Here's what I know..I know that they are more aligned with 5 and 7 on the clock if the "hole" is the center of clock, excuse my grossness! :o Also, dogs with longer bodies tend to have trouble expelling them, I am guessing to internal organ placement and external trajectory, but who knows..I also know that it can be triggered by extended periods of loose stools, apparently the pressure is not the same with loose as it is with hard, sorry for grossness again. :o I now know also that if you smell and dead fish, skunky odor,that seriously lingers or stains fabric or see scooting you are going to need those glands expressed. They can express them internally or externally.
Personally, if I could do it myself I probably would, although after doing it once I may decide against. The fact that there are certified professionals doing this, tips me off that it may be worse than I am assuming!:D

[glencorgi]

Scooting the butt can also be a sign of worms - and higher on my usual suspect list than anal glands. Knock wood, but I haven't had any that needed to have their anal glands expressed manually. I have had one foster that expressed her's on her own at the vet's office due to stress. We have a new foster in our program that will do the same thing (thankfully not with me). ;)
To answer the pumpkin question, I did have a senior foster that the vet "prescribed" pumpkin daily to help with this topic. She enjoyed some wheat germ occasionally too.

Debbie

[taflar]

Tucker has never had problems so I have not paid attention to any discussions, grosses me out! But apparently Miss Lulu needs to have her anal ducts expressed per my puppy sitter.

Susan,

Why does your puppy sitter think she needs her anal glands expressed. I've only had one dog in 28 years that had problems and he wasn't a corgi. I'm not saying that it's not possible, but very unlikely for a puppy.

Peggy

[The Chipmunk's Mom]

Digger always had problems with his anal glands. If they weren't expressed periodically, he would get an infection and have to be on antibiotics so the vet advised having this done every 3 - 5 months. It was very hard to tell exactly when the right time to have it done was. I was always to early or very late. His glands did get impacted once and it wasn't a pleasant thing. I always took him to the vet's to have it done. When they would get bad, he would scoot on the floor. Digger never had worms not sure why.

[sutulu]

Thanks guys for all the advice and your experience.

I question my sitter's observation too. I don't see Lulu scooting, other than a little wet dog smell on those days when it's been raining because I haven't completely dried them off, I don't smell anything unusual.

They got in the car last Friday after 2 days w/ the sitter and someone smelled really bad but it was more like they had rolled in something, They were overdue for a bath anyway so I popped them both in the tub.

I think I would smell it on the furniture (they do get on the sofa w/ me) and in her dog bedding. I just washed everything Monday (routine doggie laundry) and this morning I sniffed her crate pad and I don't smell anything.

And Lulu just isn't acting the least bit out of the ordinary. It sounds like I would notice something.

I scheduled a visit with a groomer I know from local dog events to take her in. I think I will have a heart to heart with her and have her give Lulu a look see before jumping into anything.

I will let you know. I really do appreciate all your thoughts on this less than apwaling topic!

Susan

[darci]

Oh My Lord........

Thank heavens this isnt something we have had to do..... Dont think I could.

I agree Susan I would have your groomer check to if she even needs it.

[sutulu]

I took Lulu to see Barb, a groomer I've met. I told her I wasn't feeling good about having anal glands expressed.

Here are a few things she told me:

Dogs express their anal glands all the time and we rarely know about it. Marking by peeing is ineffective because rain washes it away. Dogs (if they mean business) mark w/ anal glands because it is so much stronger.

She thinks my puppy sitter just caught Lulu at a time when she was expressing her own glands.

Having the glands expressed doesn't mean you have to do it regularly. She told me this may be common with very small dogs (toy breeds) but it is rare that larger dogs have trouble.

Certain dogs have trouble but she convinced me to let her have a look. She put Lulu in the tub, felt the glands and expressed a very tiny bit.

She said everything felt normal, what little she was able to express made her think that Lulu is expressing her glands just fine. She said there was certainly not a significant amount.

She said to watch her for scooting but she thinks my sitter just caught Lulu doing something she normally does.

Lulu was no worse for the wear, she looked mostly indignant that she got put in a tub. She got her butt washed w/ blueberry soap because it happened to be next to the tub. $5 to express glands. And a nice chat!

No harm, no fowl. We took a trip to the pet store and got treats and lots of love so I think Lulu's not holding a grudge.

[Jespah]

Well handled Susan - got the info you needed and it was good news - and only $5 for a blueberry butt!!! Great job!

Not sure why fowl were involved though :confused:

D

[disraeli ears]

My Mom spent 21 years working for a vet so she knows a thing or three about the nastiness of anal glands! :D I think she told me once that males are more likely to have anal gland problems. Stinky boys - it figures. :p

It is true that dogs express them naturally. Actually, we had a dog "express" his on one of our Pet Care Specialists at the Hotel a few weeks ago - talk about gross! :eek:

And yes, the Groomers at the PetSmart salon will express the glands if you ask them to. Yuck.

ETA: And by the way, since I switched the kids to Nutro Ultra, their poops have been nice and solid! Yay! (My best friend and I realize that we spend WAY too much time talking about our dogs' poops. Do parents of say, babies, talk a lot about poo?)

[Merlincorgi]

Oh yeah... us mommies of two leggers talk about poo all the time.. especially as you get closer to potty training time... or when they are first newborn and it goes through all the interesting colors. Oh yeah... and when they start eating solid foods, that's a fun time too! Hehe... we're all crazy!

[Crazy Cardis]

Dudley will occasionally have a very pungent, fishy odor that comes from his behind, which he has today and the entire house smells of it. It used to be really be a problem until I started feeding him pumpkin, and then it stopped, so I quit feeding him the pumpkin. Does this having anything to do with his anal glands? All I know is, our house smells like a fish market, and it's a bit nauseating:mad:

[sutulu]

I guess the firm poo thing was one of the real questions I had. Tuck and Lu tend to have nice firm poo. It didn't make sense.

I am now wondering about the whole behavior theory behind expressing anal glands.

Lulu is changing in personality. She is turning one soon and I notice things about her pseronality that are different today than they were 3 months ago. She is really developing a strong personality, that laid back baby has gone away.

She is getting very bossy and mouthy. I wonder of this too is a way of exerting her self.

The sitter drives the dogs around in the back of her van, she is with other dogs, is she expressing her glands to send a message to them?

Tucker needs charm school to be more likable to the ladies and I think Miss Lulu needs finishing school to learn how to be a lady.

[Jespah]

You have two interesting characters there Susan!!!

Miss Lulu is a teenager - she's going to be doing her darnedest to put you to the test at every opportunity - plus she's a Corgi girl - that's a wicked combo!!!

Tucker has just turned 2 - so he's supposed to be the man, the grown up protector of you and the teenage mouthy one!!

If you find a school that takes both of them, call me and I'll sign up mine!!:p

[Merlincorgi]

Keep in mind they also will express their anal glands in fear. Is it possible that she is intimidated with all the other dogs in the car?

[taflar]

I question my sitter's observation too. I don't see Lulu scooting, other than a little wet dog smell on those days when it's been raining because I haven't completely dried them off, I don't smell anything unusual.

Well, if you don't see anything unusual, scooting, licking her rear a lot or having trouble pooping, then I wouldn't worry.

They got in the car last Friday after 2 days w/ the sitter and someone smelled really bad but it was more like they had rolled in something, They were overdue for a bath anyway so I popped them both in the tub.

Could have been one of the dogs had gas. It happens...

And Lulu just isn't acting the least bit out of the ordinary. It sounds like I would notice something.

I don't think I'd worry unless you see signs of her being uncomfortable in some way.

Peggy

[Fluffypants]

Tucker needs charm school to be more likable to the ladies and I think Miss Lulu needs finishing school to learn how to be a lady.

If you find a good finishing school, let me know, so I can sign up The Beast! :p

[taflar]

Lulu is changing in personality. She is turning one soon and I notice things about her pseronality that are different today than they were 3 months ago. She is really developing a strong personality, that laid back baby has gone away.

She is getting very bossy and mouthy. I wonder of this too is a way of exerting her self.

That's typical of the age. Think of it as your puppy is becoming a teenager.

The sitter drives the dogs around in the back of her van, she is with other dogs, is she expressing her glands to send a message to them?

Might be because she's scared too. Why is the sitter driving the dogs around in the back of her van? Are they crated in individual crates? If not they should be.

Peggy