Hi all
Have just been looking through some old threads about various things and was wondering, if a dog had severely blocked anal glands could it affect their general wellbeing overall?

Reason I ask is that Sadie (cross breed retriever/some kind of terrier) is a rescue dog who had a serious skin condition when we got her (loved her so much I couldn't leave her behind even though I knew I was in for a lot of hard work and expense!). She also had very full anal glands which the vets have expressed three times (we've had her ten weeks! both vets say they are extremely difficult to express) and she's also had antibiotics for them. I would say they are still not right (she looks like she has two sacs above her botty) and they are up for discussion again on Friday when I go back to the vets.

Sadie's skin condition was 'under control' that is to say it is by no means gone. She has piriton three times a day every day and I bath her every other week with a special shampoo (was every other day when she first arrived). She has been fine for quite a few weeks now but just for the last few days she has been itching much more and her eyes are very watery (staining a lovely shade of pinky/orange!).  I know it could just be the pollen is worse, plus she's in season so I'm not sure if that has made her more sensitive. I even had to put her head-bucket on last night as I didn't want her licking her feet all night!

She's on James Wellbeloved as we're tring to see if she has a food allergy, but as she's been on this for 8 weeks now I'm guessing that's not the case although I'm going to carry on.  I'm tempted to start giving her chicken wings once a week as other posts have suggested to see if this helps but not sure if this then defeats the object of the JWB food.

Phew, this is a bit long winded isn't it! Basically I was wondering if getting her anal glands still being blocked/infected could be causing the rest of her system into some kind of overdrive.

Any thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

Ali

I am sure that they can effect general well being. Certainly if there is any hint of infection they will be having an impact on her immune system. Even if there is not I should imagine that they could make her feel a bit down and uncomfortable and I know that can have an effect on all sorts of things in humans, dont see whay it should be any different in dogs.

I would certainly give chicken wings or a nice meaty bone a try, so long as you supervise I cannot see taht it would do any harm and it may do a load fo good. If nothing else it may take her mind off of things for a bit :) 

Hi there is some good information on anal glands and the effect it has on a dog, on www.Burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk. I have a dog going through problems with her gland needing emptied once a month she is on Naturediet pet food, I am in the process of changing her back to Burns, they mention that even overfeeding by as little as one ounce of food can be enough to trigger, all sorts of problems, glands, itching ,foot chewing, tear staining. They also mention that a dog with allergies should be fed less than the recommended amount of food for normal healthy dogs. Hope this helps eleanor

hi alic,

i'm not sure about anal gland problems affecting the overall wellbeing, but i can imagine it would to a certain degree.

my friends rottie has had chronic gland problems, and is having them removed in a week. For the past couple of months he's had to go weekly / fortnightly to have them expressed, but the problem has been apparent since a pup. He has atopy and the glands have started due to that i think. Like your dog, his conditions have been 'managed' since he was a baby. He has malaceb shampoos every two weeks  i think, and is on constant steroids for his glands.

the only effects its had on him is that he's in discomfort a lot of the time. He's had them packed twice, but it only clears them for a few weeks, then its back to square one. He's fed on burns high oats to help solidify his motions, but i think its just got too far now.

my lab bitch gets full anal glands when her poo's have been a bit soft for a while. I switched her back to burns high oats a few weeks ago, and she's been much better, although she's been licking and nibbling again, so i think its time to get her in to see nice uncle keith! I find that she huffs and puffs a lot, bites at her paws etc when they need dong, which can't be nice. I wonder if its like having piles

i asked my vets, and a second vets opinion on anal glands, and they both said that if the problems were managable, they would just express them when necessary and thats that. If it gets to the point where its every few weeks, and theres no improvement, they'd consider taking the glands out, but would be a last resort (hence friends dog having them packed twice first).

i know none of that probably doesn't answer your question, but just thought i'd let you know my experience!

nicola

Gabi used to suffer with her anal glands not emptying themselves and also skin and bladder problems. We switched to feeding BARF and in the last 4 months, no problems with any of them. The glands now empty themselves (previosly had to be done at the vets, every month) and no sign of any other problems.