OMG! Anal Glands!
 

I was bathing my girl and I was doing her anal glands and out came all the liquid discharge and Uh! it smell awful. I just kept gagging. I will still empty her anal glands every time its need but I just had to share cause it was horrible. I don't know how many out there do this but it pretty bad:( .

How do you do it? My vet usually does it, but now that my oldest only needs to go back once a year and I am grooming them myself now, I probably need to know how to do it. Otherwise, it won't get done! Isn't it true that if they have hard stools then that will express the anal glands and you won't have to do it manually?

How do you know if it needs to be done? Do some dogs need them expressed more often than others? Oscar is 9mths and I don't think he's had any issues yet... certainly doesn't smell or seem to have any bum issues unless he's got a cling-on...:rolleyes:

You know they need it done when they start rubbing their bum on the carpet. :p Maybe someone else can answer this, but I am pretty sure that if they have a hard stool, then that will do it and you won't have to do it. If Oscar has hard stools, that is probably why you've never had to express them yourself.

OMG, isn't that the WORST smell in the world!:eek: I don't think I could do it myself but years back we had a Lahsa Poo and one time he leaked or expressed his own or something and I literally almost got sick! HORRIBLE!!!

The groomer usually does this for me - YUCK!! :eek:

Doesn't sound very pleasant at all by the sounds of it! The things we do for our furbabies!!:eek:

LOLOLOLOL !!! You learned the hard way - that's what the VET is for ! I was in the room when he did my cocker and let me tell you - she was on her OWN - I couldn't get outta there fast enough

Yucky I would never do that myself

ooh....don't think I could do that myself...I've never smelled it, but sounds like I'm glad. I don't handle gross smells like that very well. Since I've become a "mommy", and Sadie's had some poopy problems & stuff, I've gotten a little better, but have had my share of queasy stomach moments. I've usually gotta cover my nose!

You really have to be careful or you can hurt them. They must get doen regardless specially with toy breeds. It is true that hard stools help get them empty but let me tell you my girl poops out some hard logs and every time I do it sure enough that great smelling liquid is there ready to squirt out so it must be done whether they scoot their but or even if they have hard stool. I know it sucks and believe me I gagg my life out when I do it but I don't think twice to have it done on my girl as i want her to be well. I am not saying those of you who don't do it don't have babies that are well but you know what i mean. I just think of her wellbeing.:thumbup:

OH! FOrgot to add and with this by no means am I saying you should try this. You lift their tail up, then feel for two little grapes on the 3 and 9 o'clock positions of the anus. Then once you have located them positions your finger behind squeeze and pull foward and out comes squirting that wonderful juice.:thumbup:

Ok here is what my vet told me "dogs useally express the glands themselves in some dogs they don't but don't have it done unessasaraly because they will lose the ability to do it for themselves" so in other words don't do it unless they have a prob and don't let your groomer do it automatically just to do it or they will have problems. Mind you i know nothing i'm a new mommy to but it does make sense.

Yup - you said just what my vet said. My husbands cocker Lady had to have it occasionally done ...and you are SO not kidding about gagging.

neither of my Yorkie girls have ever had to have this done and neither has Tessa...My cocker spaniel.....(there IS a God) lol but you if anyone sees their dog 'scooting' ...sometimes that's a sign the sacs are full.

and I never let a groomer do this - I tell them upfront I do NOT want that done.

Yup that's what I was told. So I let Coco handle that..lol..She has scooted before and I've kept my eye on her. She usually only does it once and is not persistent about so I don't worry. If she was to do it consistently for over a day I would but looks like she is handling it herself (thanks GOD) :p

I have never done it with any of my Yorkies, and neither has a vet or groomer. I groom my own. I guess if they behaved like they were uncomfortable I would take them in, but have never had a problem.

LOLOLOL @ "cling-on"

Oooh I must say that I am not proud to say that I am an expert in this area lol.It's true that most dogs express their glands on their own and it's usually left in the poop. But some dogs have issues either with being so small or they just can't. I HAVE to squeeze Cookie's anal glands at least once a month. He will start to scoot his butt in the carpet or is constantly sitting on his butt and is smelling himself there. Let me tell you that it smells l10 times than rotten fish.It has a strong tuna/ammonia smell.

This is how I do it:

Get at least 2-3 small napkins

Lift his little nubby tail and gently start to massage/squeeze his anus with the napkin. You squeeze at a 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position. Soon you will feel their anus sort of push out and this is when you squeeze like if you're milking a cow. Take a look at the napkin . You should see a dark brown liquid that looks like dark vinegar. Repeat one or two more times and that's it. It only takes like 1-2 minutes to do this. After it's done I do spray his little butt with puppy cologne.

It's disgusting I know! But I won't drive 20mile roundtrip so the vet can do this lol.

I also have to do this to my Maltese! Just my luck! Her's are much worse!! One day I squeezed it while I was giving her a bath and it shot out like 4 feet away! YUCK!!!!


Genie, Cookie & Lola

Thats a perfect discription for the odor. Rotten fish x 10.:(

lol It is an awful smell, which is exactly why we don't do it at our groom shop. I do my own babys' every week when they get their bath though. And for those who don't do it, you either need to learn and start to or have your vet do it. The groomer at our shop didn't think her little poodle's needed it and next day she looked and there was a hole in her butt. And no, not that hole. When she got to the vet, they told her is was a RUPTURED anal gland. Larger dogs are typically able to do it themselves when they go to the bathroom, but our little babies can't. But yes, it is an awful awful horrid smell! lol And I suggest doing it with gloves on!

Oh no, my little chi has been scooting lately.
 

She's due for a bath tomorrow so I may have to give it a try since I groom her myself. Gross, I'll probably start gagging. Wish me luck.

I have never had it done and it has never been an issue thank goodness. No scooting or butt problems. I only feed dry food and maybe that is why she has hard stools anyway?:confused:

I never did it either. The vet or groomer never mentioned it. He does not
smell or pass gas. Should I do this anyway? It this a Yorkie thing? Having
dogs in the past I never even heard of it until I bought Buddy. Could it
be because he is 13.7lbs and not very small? :confused:

I think I had this done once by a groomer. If I were to get it done again you wouldn't suggest a groomer?