# Anal gland rupture



## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Demi had this happen a few weeks ago but is all healed up from antibiotics from vet. 

Has anyone had this happen here? 

I have never expressed anal glands in any of my 4 but will definitely be keeping an eye on this now. 

Any information anyone has on this would be great. I watched a video on youtube on how to express them as well 

She eats newman's own organic which is high in grains and fiber and has large volume stool which i read helps to not get this and why i am stumped as to why she had this happen. 

Posting a pic to show how it looks when it happens in case others have this happen and not sure what it is. She was not really scooting or acting like in any pain at all. She was completely normal. DH called me at work and said she has poop on her butt so i came home and we bathed her and that is when i saw the hole and new what happened and called for vet appt asap. I just do not want this to happen again


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Deb -- haven't had this happen with the Malts, but it happened several times with one of my Lhasas. Never happened to any of her brothers, aunts, mom, dad, etc. but she had difficulties and had 2-3 ruptures in her lifetime. Didn't seem to have anything to do with her diet (she was eating what everyone else was) and it didn't seem to be genetic because none of her relatives had the problem.

I think that Crystal (Crystal & Zoe) has had problems with anal glands with Zoe and she's posted a couple of great thread on it.

It's so sad when it happens. I felt so sorry for Chennie (my Lhasa). So glad that Demi is better.


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## bailey02 (May 1, 2009)

Thanks for the picture at least now I will know how it looks.


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## susie and sadie (Jun 22, 2005)

Deb, I'm so sorry this happened to Demi. I'm glad to hear she's doing okay now. Susie had an anal gland rupture back in 2006. The scary thing was how sudden it seemed. She had not been scooting or showing any signs that there was a problem prior to the rupture. She was on antibiotics for two weeks, and the vet recommended hydro-therapy (a gentle stream of tepid water over the area) twice a day for about five days. 

Susie has always been one to need her anal glands expressed ever since she was about a year old. It does not seem to be genetic or diet related for Susie, as Sadie, her half-sister, eats exactly the same thing and has never once had an issue with her glands. I give Susie a small spoonful of plain, canned pumpkin once a day on her food, which seems to slow the frequency of needing them expressed, but hasn't totally solved the issue. If memory serves me right, I believe I once read Dr. Karen Becker say that sometimes the issue can be with the location of the glands, and that for some dogs they are either lower or deeper set than others, and that makes it harder to empty on their own. I don't know if that's the case for Susie or not, but maybe. 

I used to take her to the vet to have them expressed as soon as she started scooting (I've never been able to do it on my own for fear of hurting her), but after the incident with the rupture, I started taking her in on a regular schedule once a month whether she was scooting or not, just to be safe. She now seems to be able to go about four months without needing it done. But of course, if she starts scooting, I have it done sooner. 

Hopefully this won't be a recurring issue for your sweet Demi.


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## coco&nina (May 8, 2008)

Poor Demi! Coco gets swollen anal glands every so often and ruptured glands twice. Poor thing was so uncomfortable. After the last rupture, I also took her to the vet monthly to get expressed. Now I take her every 2-3 months or when she scoots, whichever comes first and she hasn't had one since


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

thanks so much everyone for the info. 

I watched the video on how to express but still nervous to do myself or have a groomer do it. In some areas groomers will not do for fear of hurting the dog. My vet said it is $32 I think to express them so may just take her once a month for now and see how she does and then maybe we can get to 2-3 mos or vet can show me how at appts. I just do not want to go through this again as i felt so bad for her even though she acted like nothing was wrong. 

My cousin has a big dog and they removed her dogs anal glands and it was HORRIBLE. She would never recommend that ever so that would not even be an option so need to prevent this from happening.

I guess I will not worry about the others for now. When i took dee dee in for her derm appt she said dd were full but i said no do not express as i do not express my dogs and then a month later this happens to demi  Demi is the only one I have ever seen scoot. If i see her scoot i will take her in asap for expression though


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

Animal Essential's Phytomucil Powder has enabled Zoe to express her glands naturally herself. We really thought we were going to have to have them removed surgically, but this is really working. I'm down to just giving her the Phytomucil Powder once or twice a month and will continue that as a precaution.

In Zoe's case, the fluid was so thick it would require internal expression that is only done by a vet. From all I've been told, once you start expressing the glands on a regular basis, you usually have to continue. You may want to give the Phytomucil Powder a try. If you want to express them yourself, I would have your vet show you and not try it from watching a video. I know of too many times where a groomer has injured a dog by not knowing what they were doing. Scared me enough that I never wanted to try...even though my vet would have taught me.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Crystal&Zoe said:


> Animal Essential's Phytomucil Powder has enabled Zoe to express her glands naturally herself. We really thought we were going to have to have them removed surgically, but this is really working. I'm down to just giving her the Phytomucil Powder once or twice a month and will continue that as a precaution.
> 
> In Zoe's case, the fluid was so thick it would require internal expression that is only done by a vet. From all I've been told, once you start expressing the glands on a regular basis, you usually have to continue. You may want to give the Phytomucil Powder a try. If you want to express them yourself, I would have your vet show you and not try it from watching a video. I know of too many times where a groomer has injured a dog by not knowing what they were doing. Scared me enough that I never wanted to try...even though my vet would have taught me.


thanks so much - the vet said to use pumpkin but it stains her face  so may try this powder - do you have this on your site? Did you have vet express in beginning?

i did not want to start doing to all my dogs for that reason as once you start you have to keep doing it  but if i ever see scooting they are going in asap 

I just never saw demi scooting this time. It just happened so fast but we did see that morning after that there was a mark on our blanket so she must have done while we were sleeping  poor baby


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

dwerten said:


> thanks so much - the vet said to use pumpkin but it stains her face  so may try this powder - do you have this on your site? Did you have vet express in beginning?
> 
> i did not want to start doing to all my dogs for that reason as once you start you have to keep doing it  but if i ever see scooting they are going in asap
> 
> I just never saw demi scooting this time. It just happened so fast but we did see that morning after that there was a mark on our blanket so she must have done while we were sleeping  poor baby


The Phytomucil Powder works so much better then just pumpkin. Once you have some, play with a tiny bit and put some water on it. You'll see what it does and understand why it helps them to express their anal glands themselves naturally. You will start out by having them do it a certain # of days with a couple of days rest in between with the hope that you can get their body back to working naturally on it's own and get to the place where you only use it once a month or so. If you go back and look at the threads I've started about Zoe's anal gland saga, you'll get a good feel of what all we've been through. I think there are at least 3 threads I started on it so hopefully our experiences could help others.


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## Chalex (Feb 19, 2010)

Preston had this happen about a month ago. He has the exact same look on his bottom (a hole next to his hole). The vet put him to sleep and drained everything out of the second hole. He gave him a shot of an antibiotic that kept working for two weeks and asked me to clean him after he did his business with hydrogen peroxide.


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## maltaangel (Nov 20, 2005)

Ouchie !!!! I have heard of this, but have never seen it. I had an old time breeder tell me years ago that she never expressed the anal glands because she felt that it made the muscles weak, thus making it hard for it to happen naturally. Remember, any medical information is usually generalized. Every animal is different. You will definately need to keep an eye on it in case it happens again. I am glad you posted the picture so we could all see what it looks like. The vet can show you how to express the glands. It is really easy, just don't stand behind the dog when you do it. )


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Crystal&Zoe said:


> The Phytomucil Powder works so much better then just pumpkin. Once you have some, play with a tiny bit and put some water on it. You'll see what it does and understand why it helps them to express their anal glands themselves naturally. You will start out by having them do it a certain # of days with a couple of days rest in between with the hope that you can get their body back to working naturally on it's own and get to the place where you only use it once a month or so. If you go back and look at the threads I've started about Zoe's anal gland saga, you'll get a good feel of what all we've been through. I think there are at least 3 threads I started on it so hopefully our experiences could help others.


thanks again everyone I really appreciate this so much and will definitely do a search on here Crystal and review your threads as this is an issue here I need to educate myself more on this now


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## romeo&juliet (Jun 23, 2011)

OMG:SM Rocks!: THANK you so much for this thread i need to get Romeo done asap hes been scooting on his but for the last two days i just thought oh what is that a new thing hes doing you ladies are the bomb i thought i was going crazy when i saw him scooting ....


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

romeo&juliet said:


> OMG:SM Rocks!: THANK you so much for this thread i need to get Romeo done asap hes been scooting on his but for the last two days i just thought oh what is that a new thing hes doing you ladies are the bomb i thought i was going crazy when i saw him scooting ....


so happy this helped you  yes if scooting check butt to see if something stuck if not take in to have the glands expressed as I just talked to vet techs when i picked up dd food and they said the rupture comes from scooting to release it and if too full it will break open and if breaks open from inside then surgery is what some have said.


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## DiamondsDad (Jul 14, 2011)

Diamond had horrible anal gland problems. We posted threads on this site (they should come up in a search.) She had to have her glands removed, unfortuntely. It was a very unpleasant experience for all involved, but she recovered and is a very healthy, happy girl. 
Dried sweet potatoes seem to be great fiber for dogs. They could be a nice treat that might help your pup express naturally.


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## coco&nina (May 8, 2008)

dwerten said:


> thanks so much - the vet said to use pumpkin but it stains her face  so may try this powder - do you have this on your site? Did you have vet express in beginning?
> 
> i did not want to start doing to all my dogs for that reason as once you start you have to keep doing it  but if i ever see scooting they are going in asap
> 
> I just never saw demi scooting this time. It just happened so fast but we did see that morning after that there was a mark on our blanket so she must have done while we were sleeping  poor baby




Have you tried spoon-feeding her? Put a tiny bit of the canned pumpkin at a time on the tip of a spoon and let her lick it off. I swear by canned pumpkin for loose stools


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