Anal glands exploding!

Popouy · 2025-03-16T10:03:58+00:00

Anyone have experience with this? I think i have already found the solution as we struggled with this for a while then put her on a very expensive food and from the time she was on the new food up until a few weeks ago we had no issues. But her sister wouldn't eat the expensive food so was on something cheaper. Which Bumdog wanted obviously 🙄 So i stupidly (forgetting about the bum issue really) put her on the cheaper food. And this happened again. She shows NO signs of anal gland distress. No biting, no circling back, no bottom scooting, nothing. Then within 48 hours her bum goes from normal to a grape sized lump, to a huge red strawberry sized lump, to it popping. Was at vets immediately, when insaw what was happening. Only appointment was day after i saw the grape lump and by the time we got there it had popped. Shes now on painkillers and antibiotics and has a huge gaping hole in her bum and is leaving gunk and blood everywhere. Everything is covered in old towels :( I just feel so bad for her. Obviously this seems a pretty solif confirmation this is food related and I will keep her on the fancy food from now on in hopes of it not reoccurring. But just wondering if any other dog owners have experienced this?

CreationNat1on · 16/03/2025 10:06

I worked in a vets as a 16 year old, and I remember this was pretty common and the vet used to pop them.

Punzel · 16/03/2025 10:18

Yes we had this, one Christmas morning. Great fun, we had no idea and he had a huge hole in his bum when we came down and we thought he’d been bitten by a fox - emergency vets Xmas Day. Turns out he produces very gritty fluid or whatever it is.
I learned how to express them myself and now do it a few times a year. It’s quite easy, the vet showed me.

Original poster

Popouy · 16/03/2025 10:31

I tried to do it myself once on my other dog when he was scooting but nothing came out.

Hopefully with returning to the fancy food it will stop. And maybe preventative emptying at vets, think the nurses do it without a consult fee.

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NeonBeagle · 16/03/2025 11:04

This has happened to our poor beagle a number of times over the years and I could have written your description word for word. No symptoms such as bum dragging or scooting, no smells - nothing! Then the exact same experience as you with the lump and bursting.

The vet has said that the gland duct can get blocked, then the ‘stuff’ gets too hard to express resulting in an infection. It seems very painful when it’s swollen but our girl goes completely back to normal as soon as it bursts. It’s a bit of a nightmare on the carpets & furniture though!

When this happens we bathe the site using cotton pads and saltwater. Peanut butter on a spoon works as a good distraction for us and allows the wound to be cleaned. After about 7-10 days it usually healed enough to leave it alone. The vet usually gives us pain killer and antibiotic.

Our dog won’t let anyone near her backside to express her glands. She’s had quite a bit of trouble with them so is very protective and even with sedatives it’s almost impossible for the vet to it.

We added Protexin Pro-fibre supplement to her food, which bulks out the poos and is supposed to help.

The vet did say we could consider having the glands removed but it sounded a bit risky and there was a chance it could lead to incontinence. She’s 11 now so we don’t want go down that route.

I hope your poor dog heals quickly (for both of your sakes!), good luck!

biscuitsandbooks · 16/03/2025 11:57

Our beagle had problems with his anal glands - it's pretty common and our vet just said it's often just luck as to whether your dog is affected or not.

We found that increasing the number of meals made a difference - I think it just meant he was pooing more often and the glands were expressing more. We also switched to a lower fat food so he was having more food but the same amount of calories.

Original poster

Popouy · 16/03/2025 11:59

NeonBeagle · 16/03/2025 11:04

This has happened to our poor beagle a number of times over the years and I could have written your description word for word. No symptoms such as bum dragging or scooting, no smells - nothing! Then the exact same experience as you with the lump and bursting.

The vet has said that the gland duct can get blocked, then the ‘stuff’ gets too hard to express resulting in an infection. It seems very painful when it’s swollen but our girl goes completely back to normal as soon as it bursts. It’s a bit of a nightmare on the carpets & furniture though!

When this happens we bathe the site using cotton pads and saltwater. Peanut butter on a spoon works as a good distraction for us and allows the wound to be cleaned. After about 7-10 days it usually healed enough to leave it alone. The vet usually gives us pain killer and antibiotic.

Our dog won’t let anyone near her backside to express her glands. She’s had quite a bit of trouble with them so is very protective and even with sedatives it’s almost impossible for the vet to it.

We added Protexin Pro-fibre supplement to her food, which bulks out the poos and is supposed to help.

The vet did say we could consider having the glands removed but it sounded a bit risky and there was a chance it could lead to incontinence. She’s 11 now so we don’t want go down that route.

I hope your poor dog heals quickly (for both of your sakes!), good luck!

Thankyou!

I've just order some of that to add to her food.
She is the same with her back end, she just doenst like anyone around that area.

I feel so bad for her as she hates the car and has had to go in it so many times lately to the vets.

What breed is yours? My girl is only 5 but i dont think I would risk an op as she is a pug and they dont do well under GA.

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carrotsandtomatoes · 16/03/2025 12:03

Oh gosh. Our beagle has ab gland moments too. Is it a beagle thing?
they don’t pop. They leak and then seem to go away. No visible swelling. But the STENCH!!! I can’t imagine the horror of them popping everywhere

biscuitsandbooks · 16/03/2025 12:04

carrotsandtomatoes · 16/03/2025 12:03

Oh gosh. Our beagle has ab gland moments too. Is it a beagle thing?
they don’t pop. They leak and then seem to go away. No visible swelling. But the STENCH!!! I can’t imagine the horror of them popping everywhere

I think it is quite common with beagles unfortunately 😩

The smell is awful isn't it? One of our cats has issues too and my God it really stinks, haha.

NeonBeagle · 16/03/2025 12:19

carrotsandtomatoes · 16/03/2025 12:03

Oh gosh. Our beagle has ab gland moments too. Is it a beagle thing?
they don’t pop. They leak and then seem to go away. No visible swelling. But the STENCH!!! I can’t imagine the horror of them popping everywhere

Our Beagle’s stuff doesn’t smell - at all! I think that’s probably quite odd in itself because everyone says how awful it smells, but for some reason ours is odourless

Original poster

Popouy · 16/03/2025 13:18

Shes due back at the vets on Tuesday for a check up bit I think Im going to have to book her in tomorrow.

Just gave her a salt bath and clipped the area because of all the dried blood and theres a big lump under there again.

Like the grape stage :(

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Phillipa12 · 16/03/2025 13:24

My old lab had his anal glands removed when he was 5. His kept on filling and then got infected, as the vet said "I've given him enough antibiotics to knock a cow out and it's not cleared." We were warned about incontinence but this only happened a few months before he died of old age.

Original poster

Popouy · 16/03/2025 20:17

Phillipa12 · 16/03/2025 13:24

My old lab had his anal glands removed when he was 5. His kept on filling and then got infected, as the vet said "I've given him enough antibiotics to knock a cow out and it's not cleared." We were warned about incontinence but this only happened a few months before he died of old age.

I think if it happens again once we are back on the other food I will explore this further.

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