After we found Tansy 'scooting' we took her off to the vet who evacuated her anal glands ... no problem there. However, as she scooted she got what appeared to be a carpet burn on that area which then got infected. After a week on antibiotics and a second evacuation she seemed fine.
The vet said that we need to keep an eye on her because if she was prone to her anal glands filling she may need them removed. Well...you have guessed it, just over 2 weeks since the last visit, I caught her scooting again.

Has anyone else had this problem, and did you dog need it's anal glands removing?? What do anal glands actually do anyway??

Thank you

Tansys Mum

Had similar problem resulting in two anal abscesses within 6 month period.  Vet said exactly the same thing that my dog would have to have glands surgically removed.  I changed him onto a raw diet instead.  Four years on and he hasn't had any problem's since. 

Infact took the dog in for his annual health check a fortnight ago, the vet check his glands whilst there and both were completely empty!

My OES girl suffered with this for the fist 3 years of her life.  Got to the stage where the glands were being emptied monthly.  This was causing her discomfort and she began to really hate the vet.

Vet strongly advised against gland removal and suggested a procedure whereby the glands were packed with some gel like fluid which basically cleaned them out and cleared any infection that might have been there.   The fluid is left in and we had to take her back 2 weeks after the procedure to see if the glands needed emptying.  Lo and behold, the glands were clear and only a bit of the fluid was present.  Were advised it should last for about a year. Well that was 4 years ago and she's never had a problem since.  Best £100 I ever spent!

>I changed him onto a raw diet instead.  Four years on and he hasn't had any problem's since<

The last time that I had anal gland problems was when I fed a  total commercial diet some 15yrs ago. Dogs have these glands to secrete their odour/smell and to also empty out the sacs if full, when defecating, it leaves a calling card to others that come across it.

Mine are also fed on BARF and they have never been troubled by their glands in recent yrs, I've also found their 'natural doggy smell/breath' far more attractive than my other dogs on a commercial diet and I can only put this down to their diet :-) 

Our youngest has this problem...at only 6 months he needed them emptying and lo and behold he has been scooting again!!!

has anyone tried adding extra fibre to their dog's diet to reduce anal gland problems? 

Googling the problem indicates that low fat high fibre diets work well.  My dog has been scooting in recent days and I have been using live yoghurt and bones to try to resolve this but wondered if it is ok to add fibre powder designed for humans in her food?  Any ideas?

My Am cocker needed his glands emptying by the vet every 6-8 weeks, which A was costing me loads over the time and B. was a pain having to make appointmet and take him. Then the nurse showed me how to do them and  Now I do them everytime I bath him as standard every 4-8 weeks, and now never see him scooting or smelling as I get to the before they are a problem :)
Lea :)

>Now I do them everytime I bath him as standard

Good point, Lea. Nobody asks the dentist to clean their teeth for them, or waits between hairdresser visits to brush their own hair, or books a mechanic to fill their car with petrol ... you're shown how to do it then do it all yourself.

The little b****r hasn't scooted once since I posted this!!! lol. I just can't do barf, because I would be sick. A while back, I did have a go with my teeth clenched for a few days, but she wouldn't even entertain it, and I have to admit I was glad to give up.
I took note though of what was said about diet as she is fed meat trays and mixer. I gave her a dried complete for a couple of days, and as I said, she doesn't seem to be scooting now. Lets hope she doesn't!! She did do a really hard poo a couple of days ago too which might have helped.
Thanks for all your thoughts.

Tansys Mum

> My Am cocker needed his glands emptying by the vet every 6-8 weeks, which A was costing me loads over the time and B. was a pain having to make appointmet and take him. Then the nurse showed me how to do them and&nbsp; Now I do them everytime I bath him as standard every 4-8 weeks, and now never see him scooting or smelling as I get to the before they are a problem :-)
>

Is it something you could get wrong and cause damage?

If not i will be more than happy to ask my vet to show me :-)

You can add oat bran (rather than wheat) to their diet or physillium husk which can be bought from your local health food shop.  Brown rice cooked with fenugreek seeds (very cleansing) is something else that's often recommended.

I retch at the smell of prepared dog food now!

>Is it something you could get wrong and cause damage?

If not i will be more than happy to ask my vet to show me

Yes it is, so it is best to get the vets or vet nurse or even a groomer to show you :)
It also depends on the dog which way you do it, Beano is easy as I do his externally, the one time my Rottie had them done on a just in case reason it had to be done internally!!!
Lea :)

I really can't feed raw as the one time I tried my eldest wouldn't eat it (just kept looking at it and sniffing and licking it!) and it makes me retch!!

I would be happy to change their diet although my new vet who is quite good told me that despite numerous studies diet wasn't the key factor, he said if you had a dog who's glands needed emptying then they would probably always need it.

I will have a chat with him this week and see what he suggests, if there is anything I can do that will prevent them needing to be emptied then that would be great :-)

I have found that my dog is worse at this time of year for it as she is always munching on the salad bar when we are out.  She loves the long grass and eats loads of it.  As a result I have to sometimes pull her poo out her bum as there is so much long grass and she can't get it out.  yuck yuck yuck

as she is always munching on the salad bar

LOL!!! That's just what I call it!! There's a patch of nettles/long grass in our garden right at the entrance to the field, and 3 of mine always stop there for a nibble  -  I always think of it as the salad bar, I thought I was the only one daft enough!! ;) 

Differing from the subject slightly, I find it really hard to poop a scoop properly in the long grass.  I always like to make sure that I get every bit but sometimes her poops are soft, and it's really hard cleaning it up!  Although it is nice to see the grass and wildflowers growing.