The health of a dog's anal glands

I spent an hour at the Vets today after Misha's anal gland ruptured this morning. It's the second time we've gone through this in a year (though it was the other gland last time). The first time was far more painful for her as it was impacted. This time the discharge emptied almost entirely on it's own, so the Veterinarian didn't have to do a whole lot.

Has anyone else's dog ever experienced this problem? The Veterinarian told me that most dogs will express their glands on their own, but some don't have the ability. Misha is one of those dogs. I have never attempted to do it because as you know Misha is not the most willing participant. She got through today because I gave her a sedated before we went. My brother has never done any of his dog's glands and they've never had a problem.

Anyway, at this point the Veterinarian doesn't recommend surgery. Sometimes if the glands do this regularly they must be removed. Instead, we need to take her in every 3 months or so and have them expressed. That will lessen the risk of them abscessing again.

So, it was a very tiring day. More poor pup is now sleeping off the sedative. She was kind of funny as she moved around in her dopey state today.

And, the sedative really helped. She was mellow in the waiting room. She allowed the Veterinarian to work on her glands without much fuss. The only time she got worked up was when the tech who assisted last time came into the room. She didn't even touch Misha but Misha screamed like a human. I guess she remembers the last experience.

 

Boy that sounded like Misha had some memory of her past experience.Poor girl.
I'd never known of this disorder and hope it will not occur for Mishka. I guess taking Misha in every three months will allow her to have an overall checkup.

 

I am so sorry to hear of this Melody, for Misha & you as well. One of my neighbor's dog has some issues there as well. She is a Rottie mix & in her case, they don't drain, so the Vet has to do it manually. When I next see her, I will ask her more of this problem.

I don't believe it's germane to any specific breed, at least what little I have heard. It may just be bad luck.

For you two, I wish you the best in this battle....

 

Wow, the vet tech must have had done something bad to Misha. Anyway, the only time I have heard something like this was when I read about teacup puppies... but Misha is nowhere teacup so this is the first time I have heard it from someone with a regular sized doggy.

I'm just glad it is manageable. Misha is lucky to have an owner who doesn't give up on her.

 

I'm so sorry to hear Misha has such a painful problem. I hope bringing her to the vet every three months won't be too stressful for her. For sure it's better than surgery. Homer has never experienced this problem.

 

I've personally never heard of this complication in dogs. I'm sorry Misha had to go through this. But it's great to hear she has a responsible and loving owner who made sure she was as comfortable as possible through out the ordeal.

 

Haopee, I don't think the tech did anything bad to Misha. I've known the tech for a few years and she is always very gentle with the dogs. Misha is not the type of dog who handles any kind of pain well. In fact, she is quite dramatic over any little slight. We call her the Drama Queen for a reason. LOL Most likely, the tech had to hold her while the Vet did the procedure last time (it was worst last time and very painful). Misha probably remembers that the tech was the face she looked at while it was happening.

I wondered if it was a small dog thing. However, the Vet said it could happen to any dog, any size. For whatever reason, for some dogs, the anal glands don't secret on their own. I've had several dog owners tell me their dog experienced at least one problem in their life, so I guess it's not uncommon. We've had 4 dogs ourselves, my sister has had 2, my brother has had 6, and, my other brother 1. Misha is the only one in the dog family to ever have this issue. Go figure. I guess each dog has their thing. Sierra had the worst digestive system, threw up a couple times a month, and had to have special food. Misha has a stomach of steel.

She is doing fine. She isn't in pain like last time. Then, the gland ruptured but was impacted. It was awful. She whined for 3 full days even on sedatives. My Mom and I took turns laying by her bed because she would freak if we left her side.

This time is different. It drained on it's own. The Vet had to do very little. The recovery is much easier. She is eating like a pig as I didn't feed her all last week. This is good because her medications are liquid and I squirt them on her food. She is somewhat spacey. The medications make her very tired. I did take her for a small walk 3 houses down and back. The Vet said it would be okay to walk her as long as she wants to. She enjoyed getting out though I'm not sure she knew what to do with the hood blocking her view. If you can believe it, she wears the hood with no problem.

 

I haven't been online much. Being a doggie nurse is tiring! There's not much to tend to, but she's been needy, probably an effect of the drugs.

Misha is doing well. She is healing and doesn't seem to be bothered by her injury. I decided to take her hood off this morning. Last time I tried to remove her hood we had a big scuffle. So, this time I tricked her. She was still asleep but it was almost time to get up. I loosened it and yanked it off before she realized what I was doing. Boy, was she happy to have that off! She ran around the house as if her legs had been confined for a week. You'd be surprised that she does just fine with the hood on even though she won't wear a jacket.

She goes back in a week to make sure everything is healed. Then, I will be taking her back every 3 months to make sure we don't do this again.