Inflamed anal sac?
by Dean and Chico
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
For those of you who haven't heard my story, I'm a Canadian living in Korea. I don't speak the language very well, so communicating with the vet is sometimes a little difficult. My girlfriend helps out as much as she can, but she lives in a different town, so it isn't always possible. Anyways....I had Chico at the vet today to examine a sore front paw, nothing serious, just a sprain. However, when I walk him, he'll often just plop down on his butt. We mentioned this to the vet the last time we were there, and he said that Chico had an inflamed anal sac. I asked him to check his butt again today, and he squeezed some more pus out. (EWWW!) He also told me I should do this once a week when I give him a bath. He gave him a needle (antibiotics he told me), but I couldn't find out if there was a more permanent solution to this problem...ie...meds or even surgery if necessary. Since we got back from the vet, he's been sitting down and dragging his butt on the floor like he's trying to scratch it. Kinda cute, but I don't want this little guy to suffer any more than he has to. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
DISCUSSION:
Dean and Chico: I had a Shih Tzu in which he did the same thing......dragging his butt, and I had to have the vet 'squeeze' the anal glands once a month or so. What I finally did, was get his anal glands removed. Voila......no more dragging the butt or trips to the vet at $30.00 a shot. Maybe that's something you may want to check into. My shih tzu died about 2 months ago.......after 17 years. AFter swearing I'd never get another dog (didn't want to go through the heart ache of losing another pet) and after doing alot of research decided to get a Maltese. Will probably be getting a puppy real soon and and real excited! Been following the posts and finding some real interesting info.
Nanci
I've seen Sunny do this a few times so I took a stool sample to the vet for testing. Well he doesn't have worms, but they told me it could be because of the anal sac problem. I don't know for sure if he has this problem, because he doesn't do it often. I only notice him do it if he has poo stuck to his hair. I guess I should take him in and get it checked out. So how much does it cost to have this operation to remove anal sacs and do anal sacs serve a purpose? If he does have this problem, I don't want to deal with cleaning them out.
Charlynn
Dean and Chico: My 3 yr old Malt Pete had to have his anal sac expelled about 5 mths ago and I noticed that he is starting to drag his butt again. I guess it is time to go back to the vet. I did not realize the vet could surgially remove their anal glands. Sounds like the route to take if the problem continues
belle
From what my vet told me, the anal sacs do not serve a purpose. Just one more thing to get infected. At the time I had it done it was $90.00. But, I also had it quoted at about $300.00. Depends on the vet.
Nanci
Last year, I had a terrible time with Sunny having anal gland problems. After a couple of rounds with different oral antibiotics and repeated gland expressions, we were still having problems. My vet said that some dogs have to have antibiotics packed into the gland itself..luckily for us, the third antibiotic took hold and the bleeding and scooting stopped. As a precaution, we have her gland sqeezed about every 3 months and so far, no more problems.
Mary Ellen
My sister is a groomer, before I got Quigley she discussed this with me because I was going to do all the grooming myself. She suggested that I take Quigley to groomers no less than every 6- 8 weeks for this reason. Groomers express the anual sacs when washing if they need it. I had never heard of this before and she said damage could be done if this was performed incorrectly. Outside dogs do this themselfs when it needs to be done, one of the signs this needs doing is the scooching of bottom on floor, actually I think this is how they express the gland themselves.
Gloria
Hi,My maltese had this problem. She would scoot, go to the vet, get her anal glands expressed, and go about a week and need it done again. They became infected. She got the shot, and eventually went on 10 day antibiotics, and the infection was not cured so went on them again. They had to be removed. Anal sacks don't really do anything. The surgery cost about $60 I think, and that was at a very reasonable vet, I would bet it costs a lot more other places. My dog was fine after a couple days.
However, the person who posted ablout scooting and your dog having poop on their bottom, that is not necessarily anal sacks. My dog still will do that. Just get a paper towel or washcloth and wash your dog's bottom. If you can do the expression yourself, it is much better I think than putting your dog through surgery if you don't have to.
Ann
This anal gland thing seems to be a problem with some dogs, especially small breeds. The fluid is suppose to empty out with their bowl movements but sometimes this doesn't work. If it doesn't empty out on its own, it can cause infection and this could be very serious, even life threatening. Angel used to have this happen every few months. Except for the first time, I'd catch it before there was an infection. I'd take her to the vet and he would express the glands and she'd be fine again for a few more months. He mentioned surgery but even he said she was only borderline for surgery because it didn't happen very often. I told him if he would show me how, I would try to empty them myself (is this true love or what) but he said this is not something unexperienced people should do. I know groomers sometimes express the anal glands so I don't know if I should believe the vet or if he just wants the fee. In any case, Angel hasn't had to have this done for at least 6 months (knock on wood) so I'm especially happy I did not subject her to surgery.
Sandee
My Turbo has never had this problem - but his son Diesel does. Diesel takes after the mother in many ways and this is one of them. I have been told the sacs produce a viscous liquid which expels out when they are having a bowel movement - the purpose being to make it easier to havea bowel movement (ie. more slippery). Diesel's butt scotting episodes are pretty sporadic - so I basically take him in when it seems to be really bothering him (ie. he's doing it at least once a day). I also asked about doing this myself - but the technician told me that it's a very unpleasant thing to do (ie. you can squirt yourself and the smell is less than pleasant). I obviously deferred from learning and figured it's okay to have it done once in a while. He's never had a situation where they had to put him on any medications and i've never heard about surgery options. The last episode he had - she had to squeeze him out twice to get it all out because she said it was quite backlogged (poor puppy).
betty & Turbo & Diesel
I have had a cocker-mix with anal gland problems for 5 years and after having to have hers expressed several times in a relatively short period her first year, my vet in Atlanta suggested she may have some food allergies and also suggested I put her on a natural diet with a higher fiber content. Bingo!! It got better quickly. However, we moved to this desolate area 2 years ago and can't get the food here. I checked her for allergies by process of elimination and found she is allergie to corn and beef. Most foods have one or the other in it! We have not had her glands expressed in several months......indeed a record for her!! She's now eating Innova that I get from Atlanta via a friend.
Also two things you might take into consideration:
(1)--The more you express their glands, the more you have to, so having the groomer do it on a regular basis isn't a good idea at all. Once every 5-6 months is normal for an inside dog getting the right amount of fiber and exercise. (Higher fiber makes the stools larger, thereby helping to express the glands naturally.)
(2)--Surgury, according to my vet in Florida as well as the one in Atlanta, is a last resort since chances of infection in that area are very high. I personally would try a natural diet higher in fiber and add more roughage even to that diet. Also I would see about the allergic aspect if you don't get the desired results with higher fiber natural food. (I give Gaddy extra veggies with her dog food...such as broccoli, sweet potatoes, raisins. I have a cookie recipe in the recipe file of Maltese Only that is perfect for high fiber)
ahudson
Thanks for all the replies. The vet showed me how to sqeeze the anal glands myself, but after reading these posts, I think I'll let a prefessional handle it! However, Chico does this quite often, especially when we go on walks. We keeps 'skipping', trying to look at his butt, and then eventually sits down. After about 2-3 minutes of this, he's usually okay, and walks no problem. Perhaps I'll have to consider surgery. In fact, I think I remember the vet telling my girlfriend that when Chico was neutered (by a different vet), he should have had his anal glands operated on too. I'll have to check it out. Once again, thanks for all the input.
Dean and Chico
Dean, I don't have any experience with the anal gland problem with Lily, but I live in Seoul and Where Did You Find an English-speaking Vet?????? I mean, any English at all is better than the guy I have now...AAAAGGGGHHHHH! If you also are in Seoul, please email me and let me know. You can find my email address in the Forum User Directory. Thanks!
Lori & Lily
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