Anal gland issues - any experiences?

[Thorinfling]

Bit of a grim one! Our lovely 7 year old boy has got leaky anal glands. We've tried the supplements (Glandex) and Psyllium Husk. His food is a combination of dried food (James Wellbeloved) with a Butternut Box topper. He is otherwise very fit and healthy. The supplements visibly bulked out his poos but this doesn't seem to be helping the glands to empty.

They leak when he's sleeping, we get the smell and then see a brown patch by his bum. It's awful and has been an ongoing problem, they exploded on me once in the back of a taxi so I now avoid taking him with me on public transport. (fortunately I also carry a full antibacterial cleaning kit everywhere) I have to have covers on everything and am constantly washing. The kids don't want him on their beds anymore and he doesn't understand why 😔

The vet checks them at his 6 monthly appointments and they always need emptying, they ran some tests and there was no infection. He doesn't scoot or lick excessively so doesn't seem 'bothered' a huge amount by his bum area.

He was a rescue with terrible tummy issues when we got him at 6 months old, I don't think he did a solid poo for the first year of his life so wondering if this might have caused an initial issue. We eventually got to the (ahem) bottom of his dietary issues and he's been fine since.

I'm getting desperate, has anyone found anything that works to help them empty naturally? I don't want to put him through any unnecessary procedures but this is becoming utterly miserable. Would changing him to raw food help maybe? We're going to the vet again today to chat about other options but thought some of the wise dog owners of Mumsnet might have advice!

Any thoughts much appreciated!

I give one of mine who has anal glad issues has the same supplements but raw food - that’s the only thing that helped her. She used to be on butterbox/kibble before though!

The problem is though, all dogs respond differently to different things/foods - and raw is expensive to try only to find out it won’t work (and then you’re also stuck with a freezer full of raw food).

Edit - because my spelling is so bad my dog has become butternutbox, apparently!

@LandSharksAnonymous Thanks for the thoughts! That's why I hesitated on the raw food, you go through the process of researching the best options and switching providers and slowly transitioning him over and then it may not help at all.

But honestly I think it may be worth a try at this point, we're getting desperate!

Raw feeding helped our rescue with in a few days. We tried a few but have settled on Bella and duke as they have a good variety of flavours and score well nutritionally.

if you just want a few packets to try I think some pets at home sell Bella and duke now

Once they are on raw you can switch between different raws without needing a transition. If you can get Ocado in your area they sell Nutriment so you could try that as a starting point without needing to buy a freezer load.

As PP said, difficult because different dogs will respond differently. I took mine off Butternut Box switched to Wolfworthy and three scoops of Profibre a day and that has made a massive difference.

We didn't feed him raw food initially as he was so ill when we got him. He had been kept shut away in a crate in appalling conditions and was covered in his own mess. Not surprisingly he had pretty much every bacterial infection going and (we eventually discovered) an allergy to chicken.

I did do some reading and some websites for cooked dog foods claimed that raw food can contain harmful bacteria which is why I've hesitated given his history. But I have friends who feed raw with no issues at all so maybe that's just marketing!

@Judashascomeintosomemoney could I ask what you mean by 'massive difference'? Was your dog leaking too or just scooting/irritated? It's just that I haven't come across anyone with this particular issue (leaking while asleep).

Wolfworthy looks great, unfortunately it's a combined recipe that has chicken in it so may put that on the reserve list for now! It may be that he's outgrown his chicken allergy, I'm not sure I've got the courage to test that theory just yet! 😂😷

I found the customer service at Bella and duke very good if you phone them. They definitely won’t recommend it if they don’t think it’s right. They have a vet they can get advice from.

I know you said you've tried supplements @Thorinfling but you might want to try different ones. Stoolrite is very effective. I wouldn't hold your breath but maybe worth a go.
I think raw feeding would be worth a go too. As pp has said, you can buy raw at Pets at Home now so no need to end up with a freezer full if it doesn't work.

Depending on the size of your dog, raw can be pretty cost effective. Mine are on Prime raw, works out at £1.13 per 454g, which feeds my 30kg plus lab per day.

Try adding bran flakes to their diet, worked for mine.

Or you could express them at home more regularly, it's very easy to do.

I'd just learn to express them yourself at home every week or 2. Sounds like you've tried most things. It's the anatomy of certain dogs that means they don't empty as well as others.

No idea if the same but my dog had an operation as she had problems. No big issues since. Just a fear of the vet going near her bum 😩.

Honestly with 3 kids and a dog I'm no stranger to all the various bodily fluids. I've also scrubbed off various types of unidentified poo when he's rolled in things, held his ears back while he puked, fished things out of his throat and cleaned up rivers of diarrhoea when he was little.

For some reason I just can't do anal gland expressing...🤢

Thanks so much for all the tips, I'll speak to the vet tomorrow and if he agrees I think we'll start looking into raw food and possible changing the supplement.

@labradorservant surgery was mentioned as a potential option at our last vet visit, vet seemed to think it would be straightforward but we'll exhaust all other avenues first. Good to hear you didn't have any ongoing issues after that!

Had the same problem with my boy.Presoaked oats in his morning food,just a small handfull.Gentler than psyllium husk on the stomach. Glandex for sure! And I started giving him a homeopathic remedy called myristica sebifera. Three pillules twice a day and despite my initial doubts it seemed to work. From four to six weekly bum clearing to no problems for three years.

That’s really interesting @MagpieMoonand gives me hope! Can I ask what food you use? Do you feed raw?
I would love to be able to treat this through diet or via gentler remedies so will definitely look at the oats and homeopathic treatment. My poor little boy. He’s such a gentle soul and just wants to snuggle on our laps! Kids are now suggesting nappies 😒

Thank you so much again everyone for your advice!

The one he tolerates most is Naturo trays,not the most natural but seems to suit him. Don't feed raw because of concerns about bacteria. He does have quite a lot of cooked chicken,easy on the stomach and obviously wolfed down as its "human food". Use 30c pillules bought from a reputable source,Family care Homeopathy.Hope this helps.

Also added vegetables to his food. Sweet potatoes seem to bulk things out nicely!

What’s the surgery? I think after 7 years I would be looking seriously at that.

Our local mobile groomer does anal gland expressing cheaper than a vet. Might be worth seeing if that's an option for more frequent clearing.

I wouldn't go down the raw food route, I don't think it will make a difference. Plus you have kids, you really don't want all that bacteria from the raw food around. People don't think about that side of it. At the vets we have to put up sounds to warn staff of raw feed dogs so we are extra careful when handlingthe dog etc. You can learn to express them externally so no need to put your finger in. May be an option to try

We were advised by the vet to add a small handful of bran flakes to our dog’s dry food once a day. She also has her glands checked/emptied every 6-8 weeks when she’s groomed.

Took the little fella to the vet today. He’s going to speak to a specialist about everything and see what they say. Initially we’re going to take him once a month to get them expressed and keep up with the extra fibre to see if that helps. I may hold off on the raw feeding for now, I did read about the bacterial concerns and given how serious his stomach problems were in the past.

Thank you again for your thoughts, it’s a mystery to me why he still drags me through the door to the vet! Nothing good ever happens to him in there! 😂
Vet must have some seriously nice treats!

I’m glad you have a potential solution. Are you thinking about internal or external expression? I ask because external using a wad of baby wipes….really not too awful. Whereas the thought of internal…..very very grim.