Impacted Anal Glands problem
 

Hi everyone, I have seen that this Forum is a great souce for answers, so any help would be appreciated. I have a 10 week old teacup yorkie that we have had for a lil over a week now. He has been to the vet 3x since we had him, b.c his anus seems quite swollen and he is scooting.(NOT worms poop came back normal 2x) The first time we brought him, they expressed the glands, 2 days later he was scooting again and anus is still swollen. So we brought him back. She only expressed a little saying that it seems a tad impacted and since hes a baby and so tiny she didn't want to hurt him. Told us to feed him pumpkin pie to help with the fiber, and if not that fibercon or fiber supplement for his food. Of course he didn't like the pumpkin pie so we are using the benefiber hoping it helps. Problem is, if not she wants to drain the glands with saline but hes to young to be under anesthesia, so she is hoping the home remedies help. As of now they are NOT helping, and our main concern is the glands abcessing. Hes so young so we have been watching him non-stop. He is having about 2 small bowl moments a day, we soaked his tiny tush in warm water. Last night his tummy was so swollen and hard that he looked pregnant so we were concerned about that. (thank god it went down a little after he pooped) So if anyone has any other ideas we can try I would very much appreciate it! Thanks for reading.

What are you feeding him and is he getting enough water? Water is not only essential in general (I know..."duh" :p), but also very much needed for proper digestion.

Also, when you say you gave "pumpkin pie" - what do you mean? Canned pumpkin is fine, but not pie.

When he does poo, what is the poo like?

Yes, he is drinking plenty of water. and its the canned pumpkin. His poo isnt soft, but not so hard either.

What are you feeding, for food and treats?

Oh sorry forgot the add that, We are feeding him the Innova puppy food. I forgot the name of the treats we are using for training but they are all natural.

Anyone else? Thanks!

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.

What worries me is that we are having a problem expressing the glands. Even today he is still scooting, and he had a big bowel moment this morning. So we are just keeping an eye on it for now since hes so young. I will just be so upset of the gland abcesses :(

The vet's having a problem expressing the glands? I wonder if the first time she did it incorrectly and pushed the contents further up? Very few would admit this though. The exact placement of the fingers is very important.

Here's a couple of links that might help: Anal Glands (Sacs): Impactions, Infections & Abscesses in Dogs
The Anal Sacs Page
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...d-removal.html

The first time it expressed, the 2nd time she had trouble and she didnt want to hurt him so she left it alone. He's still eating fine, running around, etc so I don't THINK its infected b.c i read if it is infected, hes fatigue, no appetite, and fever. I guess I am looking to see if anyone has other home remedies we can try to release the glands on their own.

I think what's tough about making recommendations here, is that it's unclear as to what's going on. So, it's tough to know what might help.

If you suspect in any way that he is not digesting properly, causing back-up in the glands, you might consider a probiotic/digestive enzyme product to help and heal things in the intestine. I use this one:

Nature's Farmacy - Store - Product Details

If the area is getting irritated, you can put diaper cream or hydrocortisone cream (best, as it helps w/ inflammation) on the area, btw.

What about switching entirely to canned food?

isn't it healthier for them to be on dry food instead of canned food? I understand what you are saying. So I will keep you all posted as to what happens with baby Diesel :animal36

No - canned food is less processed meat than kibble (dry). Kibble is way more processed than canned. Also, canned adds moisture to the diet, which could be very beneficial to your baby.

first i think the vet may have damaged the surrounding tissue around the anus if she had squeezed to hard to get the fluids out of the anal gland...
that would cause swelling in that area...i would for this try a cool compress epsom salts or u can make( a cup of boiled water with a teaspoon of horsetail herb..let it steep 10 20 minutes) and use a little on a wash cloth hold it on his butt for as long as they will let u 10 minutes or so and repeat as often as u can in the day..u can clean his butt with clay soap as it inhibits the bacteria there..and we put a touch zinc ointment on if it is red with baby powder every time he poops...
if it is impacted it means it is a thicker substance in the glands..so u need to soften the substance to get it out with the compress of epsom salt or horsetail...
it should be fluidy...
then as for diet ..fiber is needed...
most dog food are over processed and do not have the correct fiber content... add some veggies to the diet like a little shaved cabbage, broccoli, celery cooked till real soft or fruits apple cherry plum...also calcium is needed as it hardens the poops to get the softened stuff out of the glands...u can give as treats daily or change over to homecooked..as it may also be an immune related problem...
also walking is important to get things moving...
i would never let the vet use the latex gloves to squeeze the glands or he will for sure have an infection and then they will give antibiotics several times and then recommend surgery..
we have been through this with the vet several times but NOT with a puppy..Ours was 5 years old and we think it is due to the vet using the latex glove in the glands..and we finally after more problems arising from the antibiotics found our own way to help our little one ...there is so much information out that vets do not offer for these little ones...
holistic is the way to go with this problem...
we have resolved it for ours along with all the other problems created from the antibiotics ...but he gets no dog products at all...
Hope this will give u a little insight on the way we handled the anal gland problem...

Thank you so much for taking the time out to write me this. I am definitely going to take your advice and not have the vet play with the glands anymore. I really want to try doing it all from home like you have suggested. So thank you again for your insight.:teeth: