My dog had her anal glands removing today and she has a collar on. She
doesn't like it and I doubt she can get to bite her stitches out, as she has
never been able to reach her bum.

As she usually sleeps at the bottom of my bed, she cant do it then.

Does anyone know whether it should be ok to remove the collar while I am
watching her through the day? I never take my eyes off her at the moment.

Please advise

If she is trying to get at her stitches then don't risk removing the collar - it proves somewhat expensive having to keep having them put back in let alone the added risk of infection and not healing properly.

Christine

i have never seen her being able to reach the stitches with her mouth... she tries to scoot to get to them.

Hi Heather,
Like Christine says, it's better they get used to the collar than having to return to the vet's with torn or chewed stitches. The risk of infection is great in that area anyhow without added complications. If the collar is to far over your dogs face, perhaps you could trim it down a bit. I had to do this with my own dog who had her glands removed as well as surgery for Furunculosis :(
As for the rest of the aftercare for this op'...I just made sure the area was kept clean every time she'd pottied (she got to love her sitz baths ;) ) and also kept her BM's on the soft side by giving her fibrogel (metamucil) in her food....'orange' flavour would you believe?!

Thank you for your help.

Poor little thing. She is on antibiotics and pain killers now and whenever she needs something instead of getting up she just whimpers.

The area is not as wet today.. yesterday it was wet and bloody :(

Any more advice is welcome.. thank you all for your help :)

I am very interested in this thread as my bitch has had problems in the past with her anal glands not emptying properly, they've not yet become blocked but they have become very compacted and sometimes leak. The vet has said we should keep an eye on things and if it continues to consider having her anal glands removed.

This is not something I want her to have done and would really prefer to have to empty the anal glands for her rather than remove them. Thankfully all has been well for quite a few weeks now. What do you guys think, particularly those who have dogs who have had their glands removed. Pro's, Con's and why were they removed ?

Many Thanks.

that is exactly what i got told. Her glands get full every 3 days. I had them out yesterday. I can let you know how she is after she has had the stitches out.

She has been to the vets about several times with the problem so hopefully this will solve it.
I dont know if anyone has had them out and the problem has continued so i pray that this will help.

She is drugged up at the mo with everything they gave me.

I hope i can claim this back on my insurance... I dont know the cost til Friday. Does anyone know roughly how much it costs for them out??

Claire My friends Vet showed her how to empty them herself as she was going a lot to have it done,dont fancy trying myself but she says its easy.

My bitch's glands have never been right ever since she was apup, but i'd rather empty them myself (foul as it is!) than have her have an op. They don't cause her any problems, just need regular "poppin", she's so used to it know she follows me into the bathroom and stands when she wants it done! I'm obviously very flattered ;)

My dog (GSD) had her glands removed because of the Anal Furunculosis or Perianal Fistulas, to give it it's other name. The P/F's had badly diseased the glands so they had to go.
She'd never prior to this had a problem emptying her sacs...I understand your concerns though...all I can say is that, if it gave relief/cure from the problem then I'd have it done but only when the vet's had exhausted all other treatments. My own dog has never missed them IMO but just as an afterthought, diet can play a big part in whether the dog can express their sacs without help or like yours, whether they need the vet's assistance. Have also heard that the more you express them for the dog, the more it has to be done.

Both my dogs have had theirs removed (they are both spaniels which are apparently particularly prone to this problem). I would have been happy to keep going back to have them emptied or learn how to do it myself, but apparently they just get worse and can tend to get infected the longer it goes on, so as my dogs were young, they had the op. The youngest had it two years ago, had no side-effects or problems whatsoever. The second dog had his op last month and did have a slight incontinence problem for the first twenty-four hours, and he still has this occasionally, when he barks and gets excited. (This has only happened about once a week, the mess is tiny, like the size of a baked bean! but obviously doesnt smell very nice, and the vet is confident the problem will go completely in the next month or two).

Overall I would say that I am glad they had the operation, as it looked very uncomfortable when they got full, also I was glad to get it out of the way as if the problem got worse later on, it would be more risky to have the operation when they are older.

I think it cost about £150 for the operation, but the insurance paid for it.

I am going to claim for her operation and hopefully the tablets as well on petplan.

does anyone know when i should claim? Should i claim after i have paid and she is better?

Thanks

I usually give a claim form to the vet instead of paying, they claim the money directly from Petplan. Before they made this arrangement, I used to get the claim form signed when I paid, so that I wouldnt have to wait too long for the money.

Anyone who has had the op done, can u tell me whether it should hurt her now 1 day after the op? She hurts and whimpers a lot. I think her bum hurts and the collar

I had to take the collar off Jake (the younger one who was done a few weeks ago) as he is quite highly strung and it was really distressing him when he bumped it into things. He was immediately much more himself again, and relaxed a lot more. However I did have to keep an eye on him at all times so that he couldnt get a chance to try and get the stitches out.

WRT pain, he did whimper occasionally if he sat down or moved quickly, other than that he was fine and we had trouble keeping him still, even the evening after the op. If she is still whimpering tomorrow it might be worth taking her to the vets. It should just be sore or a bit achey and not really really painful, especially when she is still - altho different dogs react differently I guess.

It's horrible when they are unhappy but I am sure she will be back to her old self by this time next week - I keep forgetting how recent Jake's op was as he is now so 'back to normal' - and then you won't have to see her in discomfort from her glands ever again so it will definitely be worth it.

I think the collars cause more distress than the operations dogs have our Vet put them on and I take them off and watch for them licking or biting stitches and if so put it back on but generally dont need the collars on.

She may be wimpering b/c of the collar Heather but, I'd say it's pain mainly from the op'. If the pain meds are given just morning and night, check with your vet whether you could split the dose but give it more often....that's what I had to do with mine, also you could try the fibrogel in the meals so the stools stay soft. if they're too firm it just starts off the pain and maybe bleeding again!

I have taken her collar of for today while i am watching her.
She is still bleeding a bit.. but she did go to the "toilet" today.

She also leaked a bit last night blood mix not much though
i hope she will be ok :)

I hope she is feeling a bit happier today, especially having a rest from her collar. It's a good sign that she went to the toilet OK. What type of dog is she?

She is a jack russell. She seems a little better without it on especially as her had the blood taken from her neck right underneath the collar.

She sounds cute. I had wondered if she was a spaniel as they are so prone to it. I am glad she is feeling a bit better, I am sure she will be fine. Is she whimpering as much now? Mine seemed to perk up when extra-special food was offered!

Hehe.
She is still whipering occacisionally and sometimes when she hurts she runs quickly and hides.

I got a chicken the other day and shared it with her. She looks better though.. still not herself though

She is now over her operation but she is still scooting a little. Could this be the hair growth itching her. She doesnt do it a lot.. only occasionally. Also.. not very nice but, when she is standing and you can see her bum it is a little red in the middle. Is this just because her glands have been removed?

any help is appreciated

Would think the scar tissue is itching a bit and the hair regrowth. The lining of the rectum is pink and I would think what you are seeing is that because it will still be a bit swollen. When was she last seen by the vet and were they happy with her? JH

They saw her a week or two after the op. They were happy with her. She has had her stitches out now

Would have thought she is fine but if you are worried take her back and ask your questions, it will put your mind at rest. After all you don't want to spend your days looking up, errr sorry, at your dogs op site do you. All the best. JH