Hi All

As you all know i have got robbie the westie who i have had problems with with his anal glands for a while now, well my friend has just got a westie boy puppy who was 8 wks old last sunday and from monday he started scooting his bottom when in the garden and also biting his back and front legs at times and his tail, he has been regularly wormed so cannot be worms and the breeder fed him royal canin veterinary dental and digest junior, she took him for a vet check today and the vet checked his anal glands and they were full so he emptied them, she asked me for my advice as knowing what robbie has gone through with having to have his glands emptied every 2 weeks she isn't keen on this being a regular occurence with her puppy, i am not the right person to ask as i have had nothing but bad experience with anal glands and robbie started at a young age and they have never corrected so i thought i would post on here for her and see what comes back the vet has said that this is nothing unusual and that this will correct as he gets older but as i was told this i am not so sure for her. i feel he should be on a proper puppy food but perhaps i am wrong, and advice we would be very grateful for, she has spoken to the breeder and they are happy to take the pup back if she doesn't want to keep him but she has become attached to him now so don't think she really wants to do this but then again she also said long term anal problems like i have had would not be what she wants either.

Would she be willing to learn how to empty them herself? 

Dont think so but not sure, i know i couldn't get the hang of it with robbie

>Would she be willing to learn how to empty them herself?

In all fairness I wouldn't be prepared to empty them myself, even though I could.  No puppy of this age should have anal glands that need emptying.  And they need to get to the root of the problem.

Thanks for your reply, i am not the best person to offer her advice after the problems i have had with anal gland issues with my current dog but wasn't sure if a pup got blocked glands whether it was nothing to worry about and that it may clear and not leave any permanent recurring problems, could it be the diet he is on? He also seems to be nibbling at his back legs an awful lot and he then starts whining and goes for his back end or tail a lot not sure if this is normal as i haven't had many pups in the past.

The pups actions do show signs of anal gland problems, but I was once asked to look at a neighbours dog who was doing this.  She was infested with fleas.

Not saying that's your friends problem, but worth ruling out.

I would just tell her to speak to another vet.  The likeness of an 8 week old puppy needing anal glands emptied has to be very rare. Never had to do it on any dog in my life.

The puppy probably has worms or something and knowing your on going bad luck issues she may just be putting two and two together. but as i was told this i am not so sure for her. Sometimes unintentionally we pass on our own worries to someone else.

I would never let a vet or anyone empty anal gland on a puppy.

I was told that once a dog has had its anal glands evacuated manually they are unlikely to do so naturally in the future. My previous vet practice was in the habit of emptying all puppies glands at their first visit with new owner which I was warned about by friends so made sure they didn't try such antics with any of mine. 

You don't mention the consistency of its poo, soft ones won't help with natural emptying.

I too have never had a problem with anal glands in my dogs but only ever had 2 breeds cockers and mini long dachsies so maybe some breeds are more prone than others.

From what i have seen when i have been round to her and from what she tells me the motion is quite soft (leaves a mark on the floor when you pick it up) not sure whether its his diet or not, the vet has said its not worms/fleas and just anal glands blocked, but she phoned me earlier and said he is still biting his back legs and whining and then going round by his tail area.
She is gonna take him back to the vets if no better, she phoned the breeder and they said he wasn't doing it there, they have got problems with the other little boy in the litter he has been diagnosed with a heart murmur but fine apart from that.

Is he kept clean there, even a small amount of mess can cause irritation or is he very hairy there?
Has he been trimmed and perhaps gone to short? He shouldnt be glandy at that age.

Hi All

My friend had to hand the puppy back last week as he was again having problems with his back end she took him to our vet for a 2nd opinion and he said there was definitely a problem with the glands and that a pup of this age should not be having to have them emptied so she made the decision to hand him back as the breeder was okay with this and gave her a full refund, his litter brother had also been returned with the heart murmour that was found.
She has been looking around for another pup and has found a show breeder that has got a 10 week old little boy she is letting go and has offered it to her, he hasn't been innoculated yet so will be slightly older before he can go out and don't think the breeder has done much with him so not sure how well he will settle at this age rather than 8 weeks she is keen to have another pup asap i said i would post a separate bit on the board about a slightly older pup but i don't think he is that old at 10 weeks.

So tell me - what happens to these poor little puppies that are handed back to the breeder? 

If they are a good breeder, they will get them sorted and then rehome to someone they trust, or if they cant get them sorted they will keep them.
By the fact that the breeder took them back and gave them a full refund it sounds like a good breeder that was just unfortunate.
Lea :)

I wouldn't think of a 10 week old pups as an older pup.  Until a few years ago and with some vaccines they were not started until 10 weeks and still many don't finish until 12 weeks.

At 10 weeks again the pups should not have been dragged hither and yon, so the not much may actually be exactly what is right for age, that is used to all household things, visitors perhaps a few car rides, seen traffic from the front of the house while in breeders arms etc.

What worries me is how pups are just handed back, yes all breeders should be accountable for supplying as healthy as possible a pup, but i don't think they would be high on my list of potentional puppy owners either after all what will happen to the next pup if it should happen to suffer from some sort of ailment?