dog an*l (butt) gland question

[patandchickens]

Sorry for the asterisk but the autocensor here would have changed it to "picky gland" and that's just *silly*

Russell's a. glands have gotten clogged up three times now in the past 7 wks or so, to the point of noticeable swelling and he was starting to lick and chew the area a lot. They were emptied by vet techs the first time, I've done it myself the other two times (including about an hour ago, and let me tell you, if you have long hair, make sure it is up in a ponytail or something, because I didn't and was careless and just now got out of the shower from washing my hair, eeeuuwww!)

My question is, why is this happening so much and what can I do to prevent it?

I don't know if diet is involved but fwiw he is eating Fromm large-breed puppy kibble (http://www.frommfamily.com/products-g-d-largepuppy.php).

Is sometimes 'holding it' detrimental to normal emptying of the glands? this has only started happening since temperatures got cold enough that when I take him out at 5 a.m. to pee he fairly frequently decides he'd rather dash back inside (for warmth, and because he's going to get his breakfast any moment now) rather than pooing at that time, so that when I take him out again at 7:45 on those days he poos right away immediately as if he was holding it.

Or, other causes, other things I can do?

I really don't want this to be a chronic thing, first because I hate to see him uncomfortable and second because I'm not excited about the idea of emptying his stinky butt glands every three weeks for the next ten or fifteen years

Thanks for any suggestions,

Pat

 

[Ema]

I don't know why it happens to some breeds more than others, my black lab is notorious for issues, then I found he is just a picky pooper....sorry the only way I can describe it.

Anyhow, my black lab goes out every three to 5 days on the loose on the land and he literally cleans himself out thoroughly, when he gets like that you can visibly see it and when we bring him back home after his run int he woods its gone down back to normal. the rest of my dogs are fine. but I still allow them to take their runs through the woods. The vet told me it was kind of odd but it works for him so just let him be....for being 12 years old and rather slow he can sure move like a pup out in the woods...lol...

and by the way if his food has too much corn or additives then that will increase his issues.

 

[jason_mazzy]

it is somewhat important for a dog to strain a lil bit when defecating. this squeeze generally excretes the glands. Sometime when you start manually expressing the glands you start a cycle that makes you have to do it more and more. I have heard of adding more fiber, and adding bones and gristle, which both can make the dog squeeze a lil bit harder.

 

[breezy]

Try adding a teaspoon of canned pumpkin to his dish for each meal. Sometimes that helps them empty the glands on their own.
Good Luck

 

[Ema]

Quote:
yes I forgot to add this earlier...well the first part anyways....

 

[GalloFino]

Quote:
Yeah, just here to second jason_mazzy regarding the cycle that can happen. If the problem has just now started, you may be able to head that off at the pass with some diet changes. If you're comfortable with feeding raw bones, they can firm things up quite a bit and the glands end up getting emptied naturally.