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Are my dog's anal sacs blocked?
My dog was acting strange. So I looked at his anus and well it's red and to the left side of it's swollen and hard.
He recently went to the groomers about a week ago. And I was assuming they expressed them (which I think they did)
He isn't licking himself and he isn't scooting across the carpet.
To the left side of his anus it's swollen and hard and red. Kind of hard to describe.
He has had trouble with his anal sacs before.
What I was wondering: I know I can squeeze the anal gland sacs at home. But I was wondering if it sounded like it was blocked anal glands? Or if it was already impacted and had an infection?
What do you think?
And would it hurt to express them at home? Like say they were infected and I expressed them at home, would it injure him?
So do you think they are just blocked? Or impacted and infected?
Thanks so much!
If you need any more information I will edit back!
P.S. This afternoon when I looked at him. It was just red. And tonight it it's swollen kind of, it seems to have gotten worse, though he hasn't been licking.
Thanks!
Loraine: So it really sounds like they are infected and or imapacted?
Because from the sites I have been reading it sounds like blocked anal glands, also.
If I expressed them and they were impacted/infected would it injure him?
I plan on calling my Vet first thing in the morning and explaing him what it looks like and see if I should bring him in or not.
What do you think the Vets will do? Do you think he will have to have surgery?
It is definitley not an abscess yet.
Thanks again so much! Please respond back to my edit!
Thanks MamaBas!
I actually do know how to express the glands my Vet has shown me before. But I will not express the glands at home in case it does do more harm than good.
I will be contacting my Vet first thing in the morning. Do you think they could rupture in that amount of time? Should he be taken to the emergency vet?
What do you think the Vet will do? Do what your vet did and empty them and put antibiotics in there? It is not an abscess yet.
I had a link I can't find it now, with some holistic solutions, could that work? Or still the Vet?
Again, it doesn't really seem to be bothering him, he's acting pretty normal, eating, not licking, not scotting, etc.
Thanks again!
scooting.*
I found the link with some holistic solutions, could those work or not?
scooting.*
I found the link with some holistic solutions, could those work or not?
Also: He has not had any diarrhea lately nor has he had constipation (at least that I have noticed anyways.)
So I don't know why they would have become clogged!
Loraine: I know what an anal gland abscess or rupture look like, because it has happened to him before.
As for the diet part of it for preventing it from happening again.
What "diet?"
Like a Raw Food Diet? Or just a diet high in fiber?
Thanks again!
UPDATE: My dogs anal sacs were inpacted and infected and it turned into an abcess, luckily a small abcess.
We treated it at home, and didn't have to go to the Vet. We soaked his butt 4x a day in warm water and Epsom Salts and expressed them 3x a day and gave him a homopathic remedy.
The remedy helped the inflamation squeezing it helped get rid of the infection and Epsom Salt helped kill the infection and prevent it from getting any worse.
After about two days of soaking and squeezing, nothing more would come out, because we had emptied it all out.
Now a week later, the swelling and hardness has gone down completley, the abcess has healed, and the hair has almost completely grown back.
We are done giving the homopathic remdy (only had to give it ever 6 hrs. 3x)
We are only going to soak it once more to help prevent any infection.
We have been taking his temperature and he has no fever, he is eating, drinking, acting ok.
And he no longer licks it, (he was licking it ALL of the time, so we had to put an E Collar on him.) So the infection definitley didn't spread.
So he is almost completely healed now, the abcess is gone, and he he doesn't have an infection.
I am just to work now on preventing it from happening ever again (by diet, more fiber and expressing the anal glands more frequently.)
It cost me less than $10 to do all of this and if I would have gone to the Vet, he would have to have surgery and it would have cost me more than $1000. (I know because it has happened before.)
If you have any questions/comments/concerns feel free to email me.
I just wanted to update you all on his progress.
Thanks again!
4 Answers
- LorraineLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
I think this needs a vet.
Does sound like that side is infected and it can easily go into an abscess which is quite mucky and drawn out.
If you catch it in time then hopefully anti-biotics will be enough.
Add on. It is impossible for me to advise further as I would not want to give wrong advice. I have had a b*tch with an abscessed anal gland and it didn't look as huge as you'd think. They did need to give a GA and drain, and I then had to keep the hole open by bathing every day so that it healed from the inside outwards.
I don't know why groomers always insist on emptying anal glands with lots of dogs on a regular basis. Dogs should secrete from them naturally and as MamaBas says they shouldn't actually be empty. You do sometimes find that those dogs who do have them physically emptied frequently have more problems with them.
To be honest - I would use a salt water or hibiscrub wash across the surface and get the vet to look at it before tampering any more.
Add again --- just looked at the link and don't see a problem with that at all, as it is a non-invasive treatment. However I wouldn't be trying this for a couple of days and then seeing, I would only be doing this long enough to get a vet appointment.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
Get the vet to sort out what's going on! It's never a good idea to have a groomer do this unless the groomer has enough knowledge to know whether what comes out is normal, or not. I know how to express mine, and what I'm seeing, but unless you have been shown what to do, leave it well alone. In any case, it may well have become impacted, and you may do more harm than good. It is possible to rupture the gland.
As I've said many times on here, anal glands are scent glands. They should never be empty. Provided the dog is passing a normal healthy stool, they should express just a bit of fluid, with every BM. However, during a period of loose stools, or even if the dog is constipated, they may not be emptying normally, and become clogged, and maybe as a result, infected.
My vet, before we moved, and when we occasionally had one that started having problems, would empty the glands and pack them with antibiotics. This usually cleared up the infection, but again very occasionally, it might be necessary to have the glands surgically removed. This isn't a nice surgery, and should be avoided if at all possible, although if a dog starts having repeated problems, this may be the only option.
So get him to a vet - and do it today because it's painful, and if it does rupture, he'll be in trouble.
And for the future, look to his diet to make sure he's having a normal stool, and exercise will help to ensure normal BMs, so the glands get the chance to work as they should.
- 1 decade ago
idk wat to tell u... call and ask ur vet tomorow, phone calls dont cost ne thing
