Gross but does anyone clear their dogs glands themselves?

[Snobawl]

My dog has an ongoing issue we are addressing through food and supplements but he is always getting full glands and at 20 quid a pop at vets it adds up.

Does anyone do it themselves?

I have gloves but I'm not sure!

I have done it for one dog I currently own and on previous dogs a handful of times.

One of my sisters dogs is an English Bull Terrier who is prone to having impacted anal gland and he now knows what 'Botty time' is and is eager to have it done. 😬😂

I think it's quite rare for insurance companies to cover anal glands. Even if they do, I doubt it's one excess payment then you can express throughout the year!

I do my own dogs, use gloves and put some lubricant on your fingers and it's easy enough to find, they feel like two balls either side. don't press them too hard. If your dog is steady you won't hurt the bond

Have you tried carrots and pumpkin purree? My girl
used to need it done lots and this really helped for ner

no way I would have been confident enough to do it myself

I agree with looking at diet. We had to regularly go to the vet for this and it was becoming more frequent. We then decided to go back to a very simple diet, stopped giving meat and stuck to a high quality kibble. On the advice of the vet, once a day we add bark powder mixed with a small amount of gravy. Have not needed to go to the vets since.

Yep. I’ve always done jt myself using the external method. Works well. Yes it smells but it washes away quickly

Internally is an act of veterinary surgery as defined by the veterinary surgeons act and should only be carried out by a veterinary surgeon or a registered veterinary nurse under the direction of a veterinary surgeon.
Externally anyone can give it a go.

I've done it when I worked in a vets as a teenager on Saturdays (wouldn't be allowed now!), it is grim. You need a strong stomach.

It's generally diet that causes it or so I was told they eat raw in the wild. Maybe. I wasn't thinking of switching but he wasn't keen. Vet told me to crumble a bit of Weetabix on his biscuits.

I know how to do it externally in theory having being taught by my vet, but couldn't manage it in practice with my old girl so had to go back to the vet. Fortunately current dog doesn't have those issues. I'd do it if I could. Actually, I'd get my totally unsqueamish DH to do it under my supervision.

No I'd be too worried about rupturing them and of course the god awful smell . It's unusual that all your dogs need their glands done. You definitely need to address their diet

Go wrong how?
Just curious as my dogs need to it every so often and I've always taken them to the vet, but YouTube has so many tutorials on it.

https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/health-and-dog-care/health/health-and-care/a-z-of-health-and-care-issues/anal-gland-impaction/#:~:text=Not%20all%20dog%20experts%20agree,painful%20complications%20for%20your%20dog

I once had someone bring their dog in after they tried to do it themselves. The dog had bitten them because they ruptured the dogs anal gland, so the owner had to go to A&E, and we had to sedate the dog because of the pain and agony it was in. Cost about £1.5K worth of treatment (really serious damage was done to the dog)

It’s why a groomer won’t do it and, even if a vet is willing to explain, it’s a terrible idea to try.

I’ve done it once. The liquid sprayed out quite easily, all over me. I couldn’t get into the shower fast enough.

We successfully addressed the issue with diet. Our dog has salmon based kibble which produces a firm stool.

My dog has very firm stools but his still need doing every now and then. I taught myself to do it so I could do it straight away rather than living with that awful stench until the vet could fit him in.

It's very easy to do. The trick is not to squeeze but to ''milk'. Instant relief for the dog and the smell goes straight away.
It's fucking awful though I'm not gonna lie.

My dog used to need her bum squeezing every other month, we tried expensive chews and food additives, and the I started feeding her bran sticks, for breakfast, like Kellogs All Bran but shops own, she has a handful dry every morning and has only had her glands expressed once this year and that was because she had a dental and had a tooth removed so could only eat soft food for a few weeks.

Oh no, not ruptures. One of my dogs had both anal glands form huge abscesses and rupture within 24 hours of each other. She was in SO much pain, and was in pain for a couple of weeks, and then because she is already an anxious dog, it made her so very much worse, and we had an absolute nightmare of a month, she hardly ate, lost weight, was doing anxious wees everywhere, she was an emotional wreck. It was really really awful.

Hence why they have regular vet checks for anal gland expressing now!

I was previously a long time dog owner and have never heard of this being a thing.

I haven't read all the comments so apologies if this has already been asked or answered , but have you tried changing their food ?
It's not always the case but cheap food tends to play havoc with their digestive systems and in turn anal glands . I know you said money is tight but might be worth seeing if a change to a better quality food makes any difference

Just adding to this as my dog has to have his emptied now and again. His stools are extremely firm so I asked the vet recently why this is and she said it could be his allergies as dogs with skin allergies sometimes also have anal gland issues.

My vet showed me, I do it every week from the outside into kitchen roll.

Dog doesn't mind and no issues for 5 years. I was worried at the beginning as it needs doing every week and the vet has 4 of the same types of dog I have and he just shrugged and said the food was perfect and all dogs are different and this breed is known for needing it done.