How often do you find you need to empty your dogs' anal glands? Sparky needs doing at least once a month. Is this normal? I noticed on another thread that someone said their dog had his glands removed. When is it necessary to do this?
Sorry - lots of questions in one!

It varies from dog to dog - I only need to do one of mine, and that's about every month. The others manage fine by themselves!

I've heard that if a dog gets them impacted repeatedly, leading to recurrent abscesses, then they can be removed, but the surgery has a fairly high risk (more than 25% I'm told) of resultant incontinence, so it's a last resort.

My Sam needs his doing once every couple of months at the outside.  I was advised by my vet that anal gland removal is considered a last resort and only then if there are repeated infections-thank goodness Sam has only suffered once!  Have you tried altering his diet, including more fibre etc?  Does your dog suffer from loose stools?

My Springer Bess used to have problems with hers but now I feed bones as part of her raw diet they no longer bother her. :)

Thanks folks!
JG - have to admire you for the DIY job!! I'm afraid I can't bring myself to do this one myself yet! Scared I'll squeeze something I shouldn't and do untold damage! Is it an easy process? It looks it when the vet does it, but I'm so clumsy...

Spaniel lover - yes, I have been altering Sparky's diet, and read up on BARF over the past year. Have finally taken the plunge, so hoping it might help. Even after a couple of weeks his teeth are gleaming, coat soft and shiny, and his stools are much firmer, so perhaps this might mean an end to that monthly trip to the vet too! I give him bio yoghurt, and mix a little bran in with his meat if he is having a mince meal, or with his veggies.

Kath - how long did it take to take effect after switching to raw feed? We've just finished the "switching over" weeks, and I now feel confident to say goodbye to commercial dogfood. Get quite excited about my trips to the butchers now - he's happy to give me a bag of bones and chicken carcasses for nothing as he says I'm doing him a favour taking them!

I'll keep you posted

A tip for doing it that the vet showed me was to raise the tail as high as possible, as with most breeds (some terriers are apparently awkward!) this makes the bottom stick out a bit so it's easier to find the glands. I'm incredibly grateful that the one whose glands need doing is unusual in that it doesn't smell at all - normally it's the vilest smell imaginable!

Get your vet to show you how it's done - they don't like doing it either as it makes their surgery stink, so will be only too pleased to teach you!
:)

Tara likes to do her own - usually when she is sitting beneath me at the computer :( :( :(

Daisy

*insert green-faced nauseous emoticon here*

Good for you TracyL taking the plunge with BARF-I haven't managed round to that yet!  I have eventually settled on naturediet with Burns, supplemented with bran, bio yoghurt and introduced bones to his diet, and we have settled on firm stools, it's just a case of Sam not being able to express his naturally!  And I will join JG in that emoticon-I've had a few occasions where sam's been up for a cuddle and you get the "overflow" left on your clothes...  one word-yuck!  My vet and I have cone to the conclusion that Sam's just one of those dogs unfortunately, but I too prefer to take him to the vet-not sure if I could face it to be honest!! :)  Anyway, hopefully you will begin to see further improvements with Sparky and the anal gland issue will become less so.  Good luck! :)

Neither of mine have ever needed doing yet, is that normal?

Think yourself lucky! (Actually, yes it is normal. Glands that don't keep themselves sorted are abnormal.)
:)

I have just got male golden retriever and never had male dog before do all dogs need this doing and how do you know when?
thanks louise

Both dogs and bitches have anal glands. One of the more common signs that they're not emptying themselves properly is 'bum-scooting', when they pull themselves across the floor on their bottoms. But some show no symptoms at all - the first we knew that my bitch had a problem was on morning when she had a small red swelling by her anus. By the time we saw the vet (2pm) it had swelled enormously and burst. Yet she never showed any signs of pain (though she wasn't keen on having AB cream squirted into the open abscess for five days till it was allowed to heal). She's the one who I have to check each month - though I check the others too now, in case they are symptom-free as well.

>Kath - how long did it take to take effect after switching to raw feed?

I can't say exactly as she just very gradually stopped the bum-scooting but it was weeks rather than months.  She's been on raw about 14 months and never scoots at all now.

Oscar has had his done twice in the last 6 months and apart from the brown saliva stain showing that he has been licking the underside of his tail, I would never know they were full.  Fortunately, there is no unpleasant odour.  Since I changed his food his poo has been much firmer so I am hoping the glands might decide on some useful employment.  I have thought that I would like to express them myself but I am scared that I will do some damage.  If he had to have them done more often, I would ask the vet to show me how to do it.