# Abnormal Anal Gland



## Carla Billington (Jun 12, 2017)

just wondering if anyone else has experienced the same problems with their dogs. Billy is one next month but so far has had his anal glands emptied five times. We took him the vet today as he was very restless and in the early hours his stomach is bubbling. We got up three times last night to let him out. He was eating grass and straining to go the toilet. The vet said he needed his glands doing again. We were only there a fortnight ago. Anyway the vet discovered that one of the glands wasn't emptying and was swollen. We have come away with four lots of tablets, antibiotics painkillers etc. The vet mentioned if this doesn't work he will need an operation and this can be a bit risky 😕 Just looking for some advice and reassurance. Thanks


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

What is his poo like? Generally dogs need to be producing firm poo in order to properly empty the glands so might be worth looking at his diet if poo is not generally good and this might sort things out for the future.

For now it sounds like he has an infection which will hopefully clear up with the vets treatment. The operation I guess would be to remove the glands. I had a dog who had this done years ago - it is generally considered a risky operation in terms of having a small risk of leaving the dog incontinent. Not an op I would have done lightly but if the infection can not be otherwise cleared it may be necessary - for now I would not not worry about that and just hope things clear up with the treatment.


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## Carla Billington (Jun 12, 2017)

Hi thanks for replying. His poop is often very soft and pale in colour. We know that this is why his anal glands need emptying all the time. He is on antibiotics to try and get rid of the swelling and any infection that may be there. The vet said if the problems continue he will have to have surgery as they can't empty one of the glands and it could turn into an abscess. I'm convince he has an intolerance to kibble as he doesn't seem fussed on it and his stomach is often bubbling in the night as if it's full of acid. We are thinking of putting him on the raw food diet and visited a place at the weekend. They do a four day trial so tempted to try this and see if he is any better. What food do you feed your dog?


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

It certainly sounds like what he is on currently is not suiting him. With food intolerances it can be difficult to work out the best food to eat but generally it is recommended to try a different protein source and different carb source to see how he does on that. It will take several weeks of a new diet though to know if it really suiting him or not so may take a bit of experimenting. Many dogs do well on raw too but again might need to work out which foods best suit him

One of mine eats Millies Wolfheart and the other has homecooked food as she has pancreatitis


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