Joey had this problem when he was a puppy. He was scooting on the floor and the vet said it was due to his anal glands being too full. He said that when dogs poop, they leave a little scent from the anal glands on their poop, and some dogs don't push hard enough to empty the anal glands. He showed me how to express them, and warned that doing it improperly would push the contents further down the canal, and could lead to impaction. Impacted anal glands are different than anal glands that are just too full, and this is serious. We had to express them about ever 2 -4 weeks, until he was about 8 months of age. It bothers me that your vet wants to do this at such a young age. Joey outgrow the problem, but it might have been due to things that have been added to the diet. I can't be certain, but we added ground milled flax seed, about a tsp, and later we added about 5 chopped green beans. Both of these add fiber and may have helped with empting his glands, or he might have just "outgrew" the problem. Before surgery, I think you might want to get a second opinion.
Last edited by Nancy1999; 01-13-2009 at 07:35 AM.
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