Just a friendly reminder to make sure to get your dog’s anal glands expressed/checked

[Dringo]

Just that.

Learnt this the hard way yesterday 🤣

Same here

I'm not really sure that all dogs need to have their anal glands checked. Obvs if there are symptoms, or if there is a history of blockage, it is important. But perhaps not for other dogs

For the most part, my dog just sees a vet for his annual jabs, and that is the point at which the vet does what is necessary in terms of an 'MOT'. And I don't think he checks my dog's anal glands.

While some dogs do have a vulnerability and need their glands maintained by humans, I suspect that for some dogs there is intervention that isn't very helpful - perhaps from groomers?

My dog has never had his anal glands checked. He's 10!

One more reason why I prefer cats

My previous dog never had to have anything done to hers in her 12 years with us either.

And it's only now, 2 years down the line with our current dog, that I've had to concern myself with anal glands.

I hope it was a one time only thing!

Absolutely no need to get the glands expressed unless they are causing a problem. (Usually dragging their anus along the ground indicates blocked or full anal glands and they need emptying.)

Never knew it was a thing until reading it on here YEARS ago.

None of my dogs ever had an issue/wasn't ever aware of the vet checking them either.

Yes, we learnt the hard way, no scooting but our 4 year old was licking his back end top of leg. Vet expressed his glands, said they were very full. 2 days later where he was licking he caused an infection, had to be put to sleep, shaved that area and samples of blood and infection site were carried out to see what type of infection it was. £1,600 spent in 2 hours, 2 lots of medication, 2 more vet visits to check infection was clearing up. Vet expressed his glands a month later, again they were full. I got some Glandex which I add to food, which has helped to increase fibre and he’s not had a problem in 18 months now.

My dog is 14 , he had one issue with his anal glands when he was about 3 and we’ve never needed to do anything with them since . A good diet and solid poo is the answer ( I think ) for most dogs .

My dog wasn’t scooting. But was licking his back thigh. Got vet to check and he said they were very full..

Feeling guilty. Dh had never even heard of anal glands so I’m glad I pushed in the appointment for vet to check even though dog was being squirmy.

I groom my dog myself so it’s not something a groomer checks in our situation. Just a PSA as knowing my dog was uncomfortable doesn’t make me feel great.

Mine is 9. They were expressed for the first time yesterday.

me too! 😱

Cats can have issues too @squashyhat - one of ours expressed his all over DH a couple of weeks ago 😂

It wasn’t the slightest bit gross. Vet expressed them in a separate room and gave him a wipe. And we put dog in the shower straight when we got home. Didn’t see or smell anything bad.

@FunnysInLaJardin

I'm on my 3rd dog and 27th year of dog ownership and no anal gland has ever been expressed. Let's hope it stays that way.

You say that, but my cat had an abscess in her anal gland a few months ago which only became apparent when it burst…!

I initially thought she was dying, she’s getting on a bit and I couldn’t tell where all the blood was coming from as it had burst overnight and dried into her very fluffy bum fur so it wasn’t clear if she was bleeding rectally, vaginally or otherwise. Rang the vets (and my boss as I was due in work, thankfully she’s a cat lover too!) in floods of tears and they told me to bring her in straight away. Got her in the car and then the unmistakable stench of abscess hit me as we drove to the vet 😅

My cat had a problem with it once bless her.

Over expressing anal glands isn’t a good thing. It should only be done if totally necessary.
None of my dogs have ever needed it done. My Mum ( who had loads of dogs over her lifetime) only had one who needed it done yearly

More confirmation of dogs being disgusting.

It's a little misleading to make such a statement unless you are an actual veterinary professional. The vast majority of dogs don't need this anal glands expressing. I've had dogs all my life and only needed this doing with a dog once by a professional groomer.

of course I recommend getting veterinary advice. My only point is that my dog has been in discomfort for a few days - we found him biting/licking his thigh. The vet said he couldn’t see anything but I asked for him to check the anal glands just as we were about to leave.

I’m glad the thought popped into my head as the vet says that the glands were very full and definitely what was causing the discomfort

That's what I meant. They were causing a problem with him licking (not that you knew it was that at the time) and so you did the right thing taking him to be checked, but they shouldn't be emptied as routine in EVERY dog. It can then kick-start a whole cycle of needing them to be emptied over and over again, when if left alone, they weren't causing any problems. (Ex vet nurse. Back in the day, we used to have to remove them surgically in some dogs as they were so problematic and difficult to ever resolve.) A diet high enough in fibre really does help, but it's the conformation of some dogs that makes them more prone.

Bloody hell @Mindymomo i had to read this three times - you do know that “put to sleep” is a common euphemism for the euthanasia of pets? I genuinely thought your dog had died from full anal glands!

Mine used to need his emptying frequently until we started using Fibor in his meals and since then we have never had a problem and his poos have been firm.