| pink66 | 06-19-2013 08:11 AM |
The reason they were removed
When Puff was several months old I noticed she started acting uncomfortable and licking her back end a lot. I took her to the vet(my motto is when in doubt run immed to the vet!) and her anal glands were full so they were expressed. It became a monthly routine for her to need them expressed, though, so I started trying different food for her in the hopes that the situation might improve. Instead, time between the vet visits started getting less and less, then suddenly she was having to go every week!:confused:
Throughout this time I'm researching it and talking to other vets about possible causes and solutions. My poor little Puff would start shaking and panting as soon as we turned down the road to the office! In May she couldn't even go a week between visits-we're talking only 3-4 days! At that point there was really nothing else to do but have them removed.
After the surgery the vet said that she's never seen such strangely formed anal glands, and she had had quite a time getting them out. She told me that nothing positive would have come from continuing to have them expressed because it was physically impossible for her to do it on her own.
Several years ago I had never heard of an anal gland, and I never would have dreamed how much trouble they could cause! On the positive side, I've gotten to know the vet pretty well. | 