Its not pleasant i know but i need to ask about anal glands....YUK

[alwaysrunninginheels]

I have a fantastic little spaniel. She is 2 and she frankly sometimes stinks. It started to become really unbearable and got to the point my DH refused to be in the room with her. Turns out its her anal glands...so had them milked(or whatever they call it) at the vets just before xmas. Had to be redone just after xmas but they did warn me that sometimes it needs done a week later the first time. That combined with a course of antibiotics and bliss. you never knew the dog was in the room....and it had gotten to the point you could identify her presence from rooms away. So now she stinks again. Started on wednesday and taking her to the vet later. So my question is has anyone found dog food that helps, and pointers....and advise at all really would be v v welcome.

You might find changing what she is fed on will help, the anal glands should be naturally emptied when she does a poo, however for this to happen the poo has to be firm and large enough to put pressure on the glands as it is evacuated.

What do you feed atm and what are her poos like?

Hi. My 6 month old pup has the same problem. I have tried diet changes, adding bran to his food, raw carrots etc to try and help. Unfortunately, nothing did. He ended up getting infections :(. Now, it isn't for everyone, but...I now do it myself. I bought some latex gloves, hold a tissue over his anus and squeeze gently at 4 and 8 o'clock (if you imagine the, er, bumhole as a clock face). You can feel two small pea sized lumps. You push inwards and towards the anus. The fluid then comes out and you catch it with the tissue. I have to do this weekly for my little chap. It takes ten seconds tops, doesn't hurt and gets much easier after the first 'Oh my God I'm touching a dogs bumhole' moment. It has got marginally better now that I give him raw chicken wings a couple of times a week, but I suspect I will always be well aquainted with his rear end. It's nasty, but I love the little sod so I do it

Her poo is much softer than any other dog i have had, Never lifts cleanly up if you know what i mean. I changed her from Hills Science plan to Royal canin hoping it would help. And she is loving the new food...to the point she has gone from skinny to filled out in 2 weeks which isn't ideal. But the change hasn't improved her poo. She gets no tipbits/moist food as i thought the harder i could get her poo the better within reason.Not sure what food could help with that

I feed Jasper Burns Mini Bites, and he does have firm poo. Might be worth a shot? He was on Royal Canin, but his poo was always a bit sloppy.

Ohh just got yr message chicken!! I had wondered how easy it was to do as i can see this costing a fortune if it needs done every 2-3 weeks for her life. How did you know how to do it and are pea sized lumps obvious????

Haven't heard of Jasper Burns, where do yoy buy that?

Oops, the dog is Jasper the food is just Burns . I get it from Pets At Home. My vet showed me, but you can youtube clips of people showing you how. The vet actually, er, inserts a finger, but I haven't had to do that. Just gentle pressure, like squeezing a spot, gets things flowing unless there's already an infection. I've made it part of our grooming routine, and it really is very easy to do.

Ha ha sometimes i can be really thick. Yes makes sense that the dog is Jasper!!!! Will ask the vet to show me later as it makes sense to try it myself if its going to need done often.......especially as my DH kept saying the dog would have to go if she kept smelling as she was. Didn't make for a harmonious house.......

Oh, tell me about it. Jasper smelled so bad I was on my knees. I tried every air freshener going. I began to wonder if I was just over sensitive to the 'dog' smell. I even bought 'dog deoderant' which just overlaid the fishy honk with sickly sweet baby powder . Once his glands were sorted it was a much happier house

That's made me laugh as i too have dog deoderant.....bought in many varieties before i realised what the problem was. Had even started to Febreze the poor hound!!!! Its much nicer when you can have the dog beside you without the fishy stench...as i worked near the seafront in Aberdeen years ago i had pts who came straight from the fish gutting place. The aroma was dreadfully familiar....

I beleive doggy groomers (?) do it too. Could they be more reasonably priced?

We feed ours Nature Diet and they have lovely firm easily-pickupable poo and not a single anal gland problem among them in 11 years :o

I think it is a problem in the breed, tbh. Honestly, it is an easy thing to do once you get past the 'ick' factor. I don't think twice now, and Jasper is much more comfortable (and less offensive to the nostrils). Try the diet stuff, though, in case you have any luck :) I'm still looking at Jasper's diet, but it's unlikely that any more changes will have an affect. So me and my gloves are friends . It was costing £7 a week for the vet to do it.

Trip to the vets, followed by some serious tooth brushing and a bath and I have a much more pleasant smelling spaniel. Next off to nick some gloves from work as I am inspired by chickenGoMeh and see if some regular maintenance will help. Vet suggested "chappie" dog food which surprised me. Think I am going to try the recommendations from here first. Last time I get a "posh" dog. My 2 previous Heinz 66 variety dogs were a lot less maintenance......but she does have a lovely personality for a dog!

Ps where do you get Natures diet from?

Vets always recommend Chappie. Stinks of fish.

How odd. Our last dachshund had bad glands; the current one rarely has a problem. I attributed this to the fact this one happily eats dry food and does very solid poos. Royal Canin Dachshund food - surely they don't make 'hard poo' variety for dachs and 'squidgy' for spaniels?

Please take care if you are going to diy anal glands. My vet says he has had to treat internal injuries caused by amateurs and not all dogs survived. I get my boy done twice a year when he has his jabs. It is one service I happily pay for and the peace of mind. I think going down the diet route is sensible. Mine are on Milburns (cheaper than JW or Burns) and a chunk of a Nature's Diet, Wainwrights or Forthglade's tray. (Pets at Home or local pet suppliers). I cut up each tray into 10 chunks and freeze. Seems to work.

My Jack Russell is on Ardens Grange which is the best food we've ever come across. His poos are great.

I wish you luck. Awful problem. I know a black lab who just smells like poo all the time. No-one will stroke her and it makes me sad.

I've never contemplated DIY since the first time the vet did my last dog. The stinking contents shot out and splattered the treatment room wall!

It's ok if you only do it gently externally. Obviously, if the dog has an infection, is swollen or red, or in pain, you go to the vet. But routine bum flushing is easy and over in seconds. If gentle pressure doesn't expel the oil, you shouldn't start digging in (so to speak). And yes, it really can fly. My top tip? Always have the dog's arse pointing away from you. Always.

we had terrible problems with our Lurcher and his sensitive stomach. His poo's were slop and consequently he had issues with his anal glands .
We changed to Raw diet, he has raw minced chicken for breakfast then 5-6 chicken wings for tea. He's had no problems since.