Expressing Anal Glands?
 

Some of you may or may not have read the thread that I started last night about poor little Stedman being constipated. :( The thread is located here: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...stipation.html

Hubby and I are beginning to think that this whole thing could possibly be because he needs his anal glands expressed. Hubby tried to do this a couple of weeks ago (I'm scared to death to do it because I'm so afraid I will hurt him :() - what exactly is the best way to do this? Maybe he isn't doing it right? I looked it up online and a web site gave us instructions - but it didn't seem to work. Hubby is watching some video on his laptop now that will hopefully help, but I of course had to come here and ask also.

The video that he is watching now just said to squeeze from the OUTSIDE...however, the web site that I found a couple of weeks ago said that you are supposed to insert your finger (YUCK!!) into you-know-where :eek: but THAT is what didn't work for him. So we are totally confused here :confused:

I noticed that the back of Steddy's hiney is kind of "bulging" (none of my other babies have this) - so I am thinking that he really DOES need this done, and once it is, it may solve the whole entire problem.

Some PLEASE HELP :(

it's easy...once you find the little glands...you can feel the little knots on each side of his bottom..butt...and use a wet wipe and just squeeze kinda downward...there should be some brownish looking discharge on the wipe..ewww and it has a smell...and some do attend to yelp..when it's done.

Poor Baby:( I know my auntie helped me once before and she game the instructions, Make sure you take him to a nice and comfty quiet place.
Lift tail into the air with one hand and fill the other hand with a good sized piece of tissue/baby wipes and press and pinch against the anus and up towards the tail.
When you press and pinch either side at the same time with the tail up, the glands will release out onto the tissue and relieve hom of his discomfort. Wipe clear brownish fluid away from anus.

You're all set. The carpet is cleaner, sofa smells better and Stedman feels less like he has to lick himself constantly to relieve the backed up gland;)

Oh goodness, be very careful doing this though because if I'm not mistaken you can actually do it wrong and cause an infection or make it become worse! Bless Stedman's heart and bless yours and your hubbys for having to deal with this, I hope someone can help you!

Thank you so much...I am going to let me hubby read this - I appreciate your help!

Thank you so much Sandy....you are such a sweetheart! I will let my hubby read this as well and hoefully he will have some luck doing it :( This whole thing just freaks me out...I am so scared that we are going to hurt him :cry:

i used to have to do this to morgan every week during her shower. I do it from the outside as well. Even though i'm a tech i just cannot stick my finger in her butt. LOL its too small and i can't get a good grip with my pinky finger.

So here is what i do. Luckily Morgan will just stand there while i do this. I put her so that she is facing me. I lift her tail with my right hand. Then with my left hand i put my thumb at 4/5 o'clock and pointer finger at 7/8. Next squeeze and "pull" outward. You are trying to get behind the glands and squeeze the goo out the butt. Once i'm done i quickly put shampoo on her butt and let it sink in to get the smell off.

i hope my description makes sense. You are NOT going to hurt him doing it this way. Don't wimp out if he whimpers a little. he's probably just trying to use the 'poor me' whine to get you to stop. its going to feel weird to him because its probably never been done before.

You can do it!!!! Just go for it!! hehehe :thumbup::thumbup:

OMG....maybe we should just let the vet do it :( I am so scared and I DO NOT want to hurt him. Gosh this whole thing is just awful....Stedman is having so much discomfort and we just want so badly to try and help him but so far nothing has worked :cry:

I will have hubby try what the others said, being very careful of course, and if nothing works and he still can't go to the bathroom, we are gonna have to go see the vet tomorrow :( I can't take this anymore...and I know that Stedman can't either :cry:

Ok girl...well you gave me some confidence, that's for sure! :D LOL. I am going to print out what you wrote and give it to hubby - LOL. And I totally know what you mean about the finger up the butt thing :eek: :eek: :eek: When I told hubby that he about hit the floor!!!! LOL - seriously :eek: Thank you sooo much for your help girl! I just LOVE having a tech on the board, lol!! :D

The preferred way for vets seems to be internally but it can be done externally.

What size are they? Smaller than small grapes? Is he scooting? Is there a smell?

I am asking because it is okay to express if they need it but if they don't, you could start something that didn't need to be done in the first place and you may have to continue doing it then. The fluid will just build up again and if they get emptied too often, the sphincter (I think it is) can weaken. So I'm not saying not to do it but I would just try not to do it constantly and make it a habit if it isn't necessary (in some dogs it may be though).

Well the first time he did it (internally) VERY LITTLE came out...and I mean VERY LITTLE. I don't think he did it long enough or something :confused: Heck I don't know, I do know that I sound like a total idiot though because we have never done this before. :(

As far as their size goes...this is going to sound even more stupid but I honestly don't know :confused: All I know is that there is an area under his, ummm....."hole" lol...and it looks kinda puffy, like it's bulging a little. He isn't scooting on the floor at all, in fact, he acts like it kind of hurts him to sit down (he has only acted like this since the whole constipation thing though, which started last night) - and there is absolutely no smell what so ever.

I don't know what I should do :( I really do feel that he does need them expressed, but I know that I don't want to hurt him trying. I think I will let my hubby read what Kellie wrote and see if he thinks he is capable of doing it.

Thank you so much for all your help!

No you don't sound like a total idiot:). I would be the exact same way except I just couldn't see hubby trying to do this so give your dh a big :thumbup: from me. I hope little Steddy gets some relief soon.

Awww, thanks girl :hug: I tell ya, 3 years ago I would have NEVER imagined my hubby doing this to a dog either, lol....but he has become SO attached to our Yorkies, and he loves them SO much, I swear, they are just like kids to us as we don't have any of our own (yet :() so we would both do anything in the world for them or to help them. Plus, he and Stedman are best buds and he just cannot stand to see him in any pain...and I can't either :cry:

I will give him that :thumbup:'s up for you, hehe! :D

Hey Brooke! Brodie has that buldge you speak of so I know what you are talking about! Its between his "hole" and his testicals. Its soft to the touch. Same thing as Stedman?

OMG!! YES!!! :eek: That is exactly where it is, and that is exactly what it feels like! What IS that exactly??? Is it there because his anal glands need to be expressed, or is it something else??? :confused:

I'm really not sure that his anal glands are the problem.
Ellie's vet felt Ellie's to ell me whether she thought they needed expressing.
They were somewhat full but not enough to worry about a problem.
They both stay about 1/3-1/2 the size of a small grape.
I can never get them to express externally (because sometimes they do smell and I know something isn't right) and I've never tried it internally.
If he did it internally and very little came out and it didn't look like infection, there may be something else going on...

And you don't sound like an idiot either.:)
You are an educated Yorkie owner who wants to learn more to help her furkids and so are the rest of us.;)

How is the constipation issue?
Next time Stedman goes to the vet, he/she would probably show you how to express the glands if you are having trouble and think there is a problem.

Brooke, I didn't read through the entire thread so you may have told what I am about to tell you.

Put your fingers at two o'clock and ten o'clock (the spot you will most likely have luck) There are times I cannot do it either and when I go to the vet, I always ask for the woman vet since they usually use their finger to go up in them to see if there is more and I would want thin fingers for these little guys.

Hi Brooke - I'm just back from vacation and catching up :). Poor Steady :(!

I totally agree with Crystal here. I don't know how this came to be in the dog world, but a lot of folks have come to think that dogs automatically need their glands expressed and they definitely don't (automatically, that is). But, they can set their dogs up for a lifetime of needing it once the vets/groomers start doing it without it being necessary (MANY groomers do it every time, without it being necessary).

Unless there is something physically wrong in the anal area -or- if they are on the wrong diet, there really is no reason the glands should not empty on their own (and/or barely fill at all really).

Isn't Steady on NV Raw? If so, his poos should be nice and hard and small - so the poo should be "pushing" against the gland and emptying them naturally. If he is on the raw and this isn't happening - then there might be something structurally going on there. If he is eating something else and his poos are a bit less than firm, then that is probably your issue there. How does his stool appear to you (if you don't mind going there)?

Anyway, don't know if any of that helped. I do hope you find something that works. We love us our Steady and I hate to think of his little tushy bothering him - you know how Marcel's tushy suffered so much as a puppy, so I feel your pain. Let me know if I can help at all. If his area is irritated (the skin red), you can always put some diaper cream on it. Give him a kiss.

this is so true. if it ain't broke, don't fix it! :D

unless there is a problem, you shouldn't just express the anal glands by hand. Dogs can do it themselves. i always tell the groomer not to do it because a lot of them will just automatically do it without asking.

I'm sorry if I missed it somewhere in this thread - but how often do the anal glands need to be....squeezed? :confused:

They *don't* - please read the 2 preceding posts. :D

omg - my groomer totally did this to darwin today, I was hesitant, but she says she does it for all the dogs. did i create a problem here, will he need to have it done all the time now? can you stop expressing them after doing it just once?

It should be fine. One time shouldn't hurt anything but unless your vet thinks it is necessary, I wouldn't let the groomer do it anymore.

Maybe it would be a good idea to call the Vet's office & have the Vet return yr call if needed. I do this all the time. They are happy to return yr call if busy with patient @the time. Since sweet Stedman may have these blockages, I would be afraid to make things worse?? Hope things get better!!

so sorry.....should have noticed the date it was posted! Thought this was going on today after taking little Stedman to the vet.

Stedman's anal glands and constipation aren't related.

In animals these glands can be expressed voluntarily and were used to "mark" their territory. Dogs have lost the ability to express them voluntarily. They get expressed by the movement of feces through their bowels. Some dogs do have problems with their glands emptying in that manner. Those dogs need to have their glands expressed.

More power to you and your hubbie... because I am scared to death as well to do this!

I have not had to do this for my yorkie but our beagle (who is very old 17) has had to have it done a few times. I don't do it though. either the vet or the groomer will do it for me. it is too :eek:scarry.

BTW Stedman's mommy I love your myspace page very cute...

Diesel has this same buldge. He doesn't scoot his butt on the floor or act like it bothers him at all. He doesn't even mess with his hinny. Just curious are your little ones fixed? Diesel isn't fixed so I wonder if this has anything to do with that buldge. I wonder if it was from him getting excited! LOL:o