Has anyone experienced this?

[Lali07]

Hi all,

We’re hoping some pet owners who have experienced this might be able to help…

Our beautiful little dog has ongoing problems with her anal glands. We would never want to subject her to surgery (to have them removed) unless absolutely necessary, as there is a slight chance of complications such as fecal incontinence. Obviously this would be a horrible outcome for her, so I’m wondering whether any of your pets have gone through this procedure? If so, was it here in Hong Kong or overseas? I would only look at this as a last resort, to be performed by a vet who has experience with this surgery.

Thanks for any advice..

Lali

[dropdedfwed]

You are quite right in your concerns. It also depends on the size of your dog - the smaller the dog, the more chance of tissue damage during surgery. The sad thing is, this is generally a small dog problem.

I think it is divided as to how many vets would recommend surgery, and how many would try to avoid it. A lot of vets refuse to remove the glands unless it is really really necessary, due to the risks you mentioned.

There are a few specialist surgeons in Hong Kong, and a few that aren't specialists but VERY VERY good.

What is the problem? What have you done so far? How long has your mate had this problem? Sometimes this can be managed without surgery.

HTH,

DDF

[Lali07]

Thanks DDF,

She scoots her bum along the ground, and licks the area a lot. We take her to have the glands expressed but it doesn’t seem to help. Also, she spontaneously excretes them at least once or twice a day. When she does it, the foul smelling fluid is easily visible on the bedding, clothing etc wherever she is. It means I am constantly washing our stuff, as it’s a pretty vile smell.

We used to feed her Hills Science, but we’ve since changed to a higher fiber diet – with a bit of cooked pumpkin as we read this might help. It seemed to help for a few days but its back to how it was. We take her out about four times a day, and she is ‘regular’ in the poop department.

She is a healthy and happy dog apart from this discomfort (for her as well as us). I don’t really want to put her at risk with surgery, but I am hoping to find a vet experienced in delicate surgery who might be able to remove the glands, or even better help us to find other ways to stop the problem.

Thanks,

Lali

[Tanae]

My dog does the same. When she scoots more than usual and starts licking, I empty her anal glands. She always scoots after doing a poop, but scooting is also a scent marking behaviour. My vet didn't recommend surgery because the recovery stage is VERY uncomfortable for dogs. Even after surgery some dogs still scoot to leave their scent. But your predicament seems a lot more troublesome, so maybe the surgery is the answer.