Anal gland removal

[aperolspritzbasicbitch]

Has anyone had an anal sacculectomy performed on their dog?
This is due to glands not emptying naturally and having to have them expressed at the vets every 4 weeks.
I have discussed it previously with the vet but very briefly, she said there are risks and it can cause incontenience, I'm having an appointment with her tomorrow to discuss further and find out just how high the risks are.
I've tried adding protexin pro fibre to his food, have been using it for 2 months now and it's not helped.
I'm really not sure on what else I can do. He's really unhappy now, and has started to flinch when I touch him in that area, and getting shirty when other dogs approach him for a sniff.
Originally I thought I'd just suck it up and deal with the cost, and the grossness of it all, but it's making him unhappy now and actually, it's a big tie - what if we are due to be away at the 4 week mark? It's not as if whoever is looking after him wants the job of taking him to have it done and then clean up after.
I'm really stuck on what to do - it started in August when he was 2 years old, I changed nothing other than the flavour of his food which the vet doesn't think can have caused it. He's not overweight. He's a perfectly healthy dog.

I need to take my 3 to get them squeezed out every now and then, worst smell in the world. I did have one dog who got them removed, never had any issues post op.

My older dog had to have hers expressed quite regularly, I tried the protexin and found it did nothing, I now feed her a good handful of a store brand version of All Bran for breakfast, she gets it dry and happily chomps through it, she has touch wood only had her bum squeezed once in the last 6 months, I believe the op is brutal and a real last ditch type of thing as it can be hard to heal and can cause more issues and incontinence

Bran flakes helped my lab who had terrible gland issues.
Bone helps too, so as now raw fed have you thought about dried chicken feet to help.

My old girl had to have glands done monthly for most of her life.
She also used to get an abscess there from time to time,the vet suggested anal gland removal but I wouldn't put her through it as it's an awful operation and incontinance can be a result,I'd seriously get him on all bran daily and take him regularly to get glands emptied

Ours also has to have hers done every four weeks. Thankfully no complications with them other than that but our vet very kindly showed me how to do it myself. It's removed any stress of worrying will I be able to get her to the vet when she's in need of it. Don't know if it's something your vet could teach you for travel at least?

I know you've tried the supplement but what is your ddog fed?

Poor lad, sounds miserable 😞
Have you tried psyllium husk?

Bit late to this but this happened to my poor boy and he was so upset and wouldn't let anyone near his back end for ages. I tried everything. In the end he had the op. He got at the wound so slightly slower recovery, but Pampers with a tail hole cut, plus cone of shame and all fine. Fantastic results and VERY happy pup now and no continence issues. So worth it. I think he must have been suffering for a long while when I look back on it now 😞

Went to the vets on Friday, she expressed them again and we spoke about food - he's fed kibble, it's called Natures Way, and then I add a topper - so could be sprats, an egg, apple, carrot, broccoli, berries...anything dog safe really.

She recommended trying Royal Canin gastrointestinal high fibre, so we are now on day 3 of him having that (with his previous food) and no toppers.

I do feel like something else is going on at the moment too - he watched him in the garden on Saturday morning and he did 2 massive poos, one after the over. About 30 mins later we went to the beach and he had a little poo accident in the car, followed by another huge poo when I got him out? This was pre giving him any of the royal canin.

I haven't heard great things about royal canin so I'm not massively happy about the change, but if it helps then hopefully it's worth it.

I agree I don't rate Royal Canin at all.

Have you considered a switch to raw ( pre prepared)? The bone content reportedly helps reduce issues with anal glands ( poos are much more firm than with kibble). We notice a massive change in poos when we are traveling and only feed kibble.

DDog has raw in the morning and then kibble in the evening (red paw) has (touch wood ) never had any issues with anal glands.

No experience but our dog does have anal gland issues.

The vet said there is a procedure where they widen the anal gland ducts under sedation (to help with natural drainage) so we're considering having that done. It sounds less drastic than removing the glands but I've had a google and can't find any info on it. Sorry not really helpful but might be worth checking with your vet if that's an option?