Hi All

As you know my westie has been suffering from blocked anal glands that have been emptied every week now for months and months with no sign of improvement, up until recently he was on wafcol salmon and potato and his motion was very soft and putty like, well 3 weeks ago i changed him over to natural instincts barf diet and his motion has improved greatly he now passes small amounts that are as hard as rock like pebbles, he absolutely loves the food, but the blocked anal glands are still happening they were emptied at the vets on thursday and tonight they are blocked yet again and he has been in the garden scooting, when he sat on me earlier for a cuddle he left the usual smelly circle on my clothes.
We thought that it was because his motion was soft that this was happening but now his motion is rock solid surely his glands should be emptying on their own by now shouldn't they?
I am not going to put him through any more anaesthetic at the moment as i feel he has been through enough at the moment but just wondered why as his motion is rock solid why are his glands still leaking?

One of my boys started to get very blocked anal glands when we were on a total raw food diet, I think part of which was he was getting too much bone, which in turn was blocking it up, as the vet said. When you mention his poo's they shouldn't be too white/light in colour, if they are then you have too much bone in the diet.

Not sure if this is any help either.

I'm sorry to read Robbie is still having anul gland problems. If his poos are really small they may not be bulky enough to press against the sacs to open them naturally, therefore the oatbran previously mentioned, sprinkled on his food may help bulk his poos. Not sure on the amount needed though.

Just looked on another website for you and quantity given for oat bran is (1 tsp per 10 lbs of body weight daily).
http://petremedycharts.blogspot.com/2010/04/anal-glandsac-problems.html

I also read somewhere that Protexin was something which worked too. As I've not had an ongoing problem I've not tried it.. Wonder if anyone else has used it.

Someone else has mentioned Protexin,this might be a good idea if he has been on anti-biotics,or even try pro-biotic yoghurt. Have used both but found the yoghurt made poo to squidgy with 1 dog. Haven't used since feeding raw but might be an idea to try the yoghurt + bran. I also cook frozen mxd veg and mix in with the natural instinct.

Garlic and Fenugreek tablets from Dorwest Herbs work wonders with this problem. Solved our Golden Retriever who had similar problem to above. Started on treatment dose then on to maintenance. Speak to Dorwest, they are very helpful.

Sometimes the anal glands just sit wrongly to empty themselves.  I have had this with 2 dogs that ended up having to have them removed.  It was the best thing I ever done for them.
Also when they have to be manually emptied so often it slowly causes the glands to thicken, so making the hole where they can empty smaller, in the end making it more and more difficult to empty them and more and more uncomfortable for the dog, till sometimes one or both cannot be emptied at all.
Have you had them flushed out?  Sometimes that helps but if it continues after that then removal may be the only option.

His motion isn't white its a normal pooh colour, but when he passes his motion the stools have got a wet looking cover over them as if they are wet, his stools are very small but when i put bran onto his food before it didn't seem to make much difference to the size just made it more softer. Just wish i could get this problem sorted for him as they seem to block in no time and he has always got a damp backside which is the same foul smell as the glands which the vet said its where the glands are overflowing, but surely in 3 days they wouldn't be overflowing again as he only had them cleared on thursday and yesterday when he sat up on me they were leaking out already!!!

How did you find the op though some people have said to me that they can be incontinent afterwards as its a big operation and the nerve can sometimes be damaged, did the recovery take very long?

The op went fine and they both recovered very quickly.  They were both doing normal poo within 24 hours, no discomfort and they had thier stitches out 10 days later and were completely back to normal.
The only thing I would say is make sure the operation is done by someone who is experienced and has done plenty of them before, as there is lots of nerves around this area and if they get damaged then that is when they can become bowel incontinent.  Done by someone experienced though it shouldn't be a problem.
I was worried sick before my first one was done as I heard all sorts of stories, however the vet doing my ones op reassured me there was no more risk than with any other op, so with my second one apart from the normal anesthetic worry I was not concerned.

Tiva has blocked anal glands which end up absessing. They are very hard to empty now- I have asked for the op but was advised against it due to her age- she's 12yrs old and was told the op would be very hard on her. When she was younger only had to empty them a couple times- if I new then that I would of had this problem now at her age would of had the op when she was younger :-(

If urs is young I would go for the op-

Im currently having problems with my flattie's anal glands,  they are infected and a swab has been taken by the vets, the options dependant on the results are to have them flushed and packed with antibiotics or have them removed.  I have tried adding fibre to his diet and also the protexin pro fibre but neither have work.  Like Hamish 75 said it seems to just make his poo softer.  up until 6 weeeks ago he has never had a problem with them and they have never required emptying (he is 3yrs old).  I am considering the options but he is so miserable at the moment:(

I'm having a problem with my dogs anal glands at the moment. I have been reading on the net about them and hot compresses have been mentioned.You soak a cloth in hot  water for a couple of minutes and then hold the cloth over the anal glands until it goes cold.I do this with one cloth and then with a second hot cloth i gentle massage the anal gland area .I do this before he goes to bed and before he goes for a walk first thing in the morning.I have done this for about 10 days and today his anal glands have gone down.
Fingers crossed that this keeps working for me !!!!!

After countless visits to the vet with my Golden, he had his anal glands flushed and packed, it worked for six weeks and then they were impacted again. That was when I turned to garlick and fenugreek as the only other option was removal. I'm glad I went the herbal route as he never had a problem again.

Hello Hamish. 1 of mine had infected anal glands. I asked for referal to see Prof Rob White who was then working few days weekly at vrcc,essex. My own vets had sent samples off for histology (this dog had Anal Furunculosis) but the samples were too "fried" to be of any use. In view of this decided I would rather have someone I felt would be more competent. This was 4 yrs ago. Both glands were removed + AF. No problem at all. Providing your vet has experience performing this op I wouldn't worry too much Hamish. You and Robbie will feel much happier  once you get this sorted out.

2 lots of bugs identified from the culture unfortunatley very resistant to most antibiotics.  The vet has advised removal as infection is likley to reoccur after flushing and packing and may then become resistant to the only antibiotics that work.  So unfortunatley removal has been advised. Henry is booked in next Thursday.  So now im worried sick :(

You are doing the best for him. Am sure he will be fine and it will be such a relief for you to be free of this constant worry. Will send out good thoughts on Thursday for both of you.

2 lots of bugs identified from the culture unfortunatley very resistant to most antibiotics.  The vet has advised removal as infection is likley to reoccur after flushing and packing and may then become resistant to the only antibiotics that work.  So unfortunatley removal has been advised. Henry is booked in next Thursday.  So now im worried sick

I think your doing the only thing you can for him and I am sure it will all be fine, but its only natural to worry.
Do you know what vet is doing the op and if they have lots of experience at it and a good success rate?  That is the only thing I would make doubly sure of.
I worried myself silly over both of mine, but there was no need and once those stitches were out I was so pleased I had done it and my poor dogs wouldn't suffer this way again.
(((hugs))) will be thinking of you both Thursday.

My Border Collie had his removed a few years ago after months of suffering. I was really worried that he would lose control of his back end and the first few days after the opp were awful as he had great problems doing his business but once we got over this early stage everything was fine.

Since removal of mine I was told not to- I have tried the warm cloth and that really didn't seem to help. She does absess from time to time and I clean her up. The one side empty's no problem, the other feels like a hard ball. The vet figures scar tissue. its very thick and pasty, I have had her flushed but that get very expensive every 2 weeks why I asked about removal but told at her age not recomended :-(

Any idea's on what I can do?

She still eats, plays, same lovey dog. When I see her scootin is when we try to empty. Maybe I will keep trying the warm cloth and messaging- just at a loss with her and I don't want her in pain either.

Hi Is it just warm water you use or do you put something in the water, somebody suggested epsom salts to me but i am not sure if this would work!!

thankyou for you kind thoughts.  the regular vet i see has passed me onto another vet in the practice who does the operation regulary.  she has had upto now no problems other than the usual loose bowls for the 1st 24/48hrs and discomfort.  I have been told the main problem after surgery come from clipper rash, due to them having to clip an already sore area.  I am am spending some time before the surgery getting him used to a buster collar to lessen any stress etc.

The strangest thing about his anal glands is that they never get blocked, this infection has occured and he is always slowly leaking fluid.  Rather than them getting blocked up and then getting infected.

I will keep you posted on his progress and thanks again for you kind words. (and sorry to hamish 75 for hijacking your thread)

Thats ok don't worry seems this anal gland problem is a right pain in the rear end for quite a few dogs, its nice to hear about other dogs in the same position (not meaning good for the dog but good for me to hear other views), please let us know how he gets on.

Will be thinking of you both today. Let us know how he progresses.

well henry is back from the vets and is surprisingly well in himself :).  He has tramadol and metacam for pain relief and baytril antibiotics.  He has passed two seperate poos and although small and a bit hard otherwise normal.  Although passing the faeces is painful he is ok otherwise and touchwood no incontenance.

Thankyou all for the support and hopefully he will continue to do well :)

So pleased he is ok. Is he wearing the "lampshade"? He has some good pain relief and will feel a little bit better as each day goes by.

he had it on to sleep in but have left it of otherwise while im with him.  he is more bothered about the clipped patch on his front leg lol

Perhaps leg feels a bit sore. You might have to put collar on him if he keeps at it.  I used savlon GEL to keep an area of skin that needed stitching moist,when I was unable to get to vet for several hours. This might make it bit more comfortable, Sudocream has been mentioned elsewhere on here.  Someone else on here with more knowledge than I can probably suggest a remedy. Pleased his rear is not causing any problems. My dog seemed to be unaware he had stitches which was good for me.

he has had some sudocream on and seems more comfortable think it is just a bit itchy.  im lucky in that the stiches in his bum are all under the skin and dissolvable.  I think its definatley cut down on the irritation side of things

Good news then. Also good that he has soluble stitches. Just back for check-up then? pleased all is going well and that you had vet experienced in this type of surgery. I am going to keep some Sudocream in now. 1 of mine has to have ct scan on regular basis and the hair just grows back when it is time for it to come off again. In fairness, I have to say there has only been 1 occasion when she has been a bit sore  and I did use the gel I mentioned. This site is so good for reading and gaining knowledge from the other posters on here.

I just use hot water for the compress.I use 2 compresses everytime.I just lay the first one on his glands until it goes cold then i lay the other one on his glands and give the a gentle massage to the gland area.I do this twice a day once before bed and once before his first walk. Someone mentioned Dorwests Garlic and  fenugreek tablets so i'm going to give him a try on those aswell as he already has garlic twice a week anyway.I also put bran flakes in with his meal daily.