Anal Glands.....(Yikes!)
 

A week or so ago, I took my yorkie to the vet because she was doing this head turning, butt licking thing. The vet said that pain any where can cause them to do that with their head, and that her anal glands were swollen. The vet expressed them and off we went. She told me that there wasn't anything I could do to help or prevent the situation. She has been acting better, but has started acting the same way again. What can we do to avoid this anal gland problem?

Have them checked monthly.....I usually administer Panalog after expressing, especially if they are extremely full.

Here is a reference you might want to read: A Guide to Dog Anal Gland Problems
It includes :

"Tips To Keep Prevent Anal Gland Problems:
•Keep your dog at a healthy weight. Obesity increases the likelihood of anal sac problems.
•Feed a high quality food that contains a named meat as its first ingredient. Add carrots, bananas, pears, squash, peas, bran and olive oil to your dog's rations. These foods will provide bulk and improve
•your dog's overall digestive health.
•Regular, vigorous exercise will stimulate the gastrointestinal tract.
•Dog digestive problems such as diarrhea and constipation are often improved by the addition of a probiotic supplement. These supplements will increase the beneficial bacteria naturally present in your dog's gut."

You often see this problem after a dog has had a lot of loose stools. They don't have to bear down to defacate, so they aren't emptying the anal gland each time. So, treating for loose stools can sometimes clear the problem. Changing food may be a good idea. Yorkie stools should be tiny little tootsie roll type stools. Keep treats healthy and to a minimum and feed a premium food. I find mine do well with Solid Gold Just a Week Bit. Others like Orijen, Merrick, Tast of the Wild, really any of the premium foods should do ok.

Excellent advice!

Max had anal gland problems for a couple weeks when he was a pup after our (former) vet manually retrieved a stool sample. :( Following the same advice Debra gave above, I have never again had to manually express either of my dogs' anal glands.

Thanks for the advice. I tood Remy to the vet because she had really really bad breath. The vet said it may be because she had impacked anal galnds and was licking herself. This was the same time she was spay and had baby teeth pulled.. so one of the three cured the problem!! :D

There is a product called poopity doo by First Choice Naturals that helps with anal gland support. You should also be feeding a high quality food. Raw food diet is very good. Lulu still has to go to the vet to get her anal glands expressed every 5 weeks, but the poopity doo has helped with keeping them much easier to express. For some dogs, it clears up the problem completely.

Brandy's vet recommends against expelling anal glands. She said that another vet in her clinic suggested it be done regularly for her patients. They did a check of the records for dogs that my vet handled and the ones that the other vet dealt with. They found that the dogs that had theirs expelled regularly had more problems in that area than the dogs who did not have them expelled. Not truly scientific, but good enough for me. Brandy eats Solid Gold and so far, no issues. Maybe she is just blessed with a good digestive system.

Anal glands
 

my dog is a year old and has been having issues with her anal glads for months. they randomly express themselves and its when she is relaxed. laying on me or in her bed, that sort of thing. Took her to the vet and they are puzzeled as to why this is happening b/c she is not scooting on the floor. She is biting at her rear end but he says thats usually fleas which she doesn't have. He is against expressing them. She is on wellness small breed and wellness core. Im am at my wits end with this one. any suggestions?

I would think if the anal gland are "randomly expressing themselves" they must be full and expressing them should be done. But, I can't go against what your vet has said, so instead, I would suggest seeing another vet. I don't recommend ever routinely expressing the anal glands. Some people do this all the time and it causes problems. If done too much, the dog may become unable to clear their own as God intended. So, I would never recommend expressing them UNLESS their is a problem. But you have a problem -- you describe symptoms usually seen with full glands (the butt biting) and then you are getting evidence in the form of random expressing! That has to be horribly gross! I think I would ask the vet, "would you express your dog if he was having this problem around your home?"

I would not express her glands unless you have been instructed on how to do so by a vet, an experienced breeder, or groomer. It is easy to do, but easy to hurt them if you don't know what you are doing too. So, just a couple of minutes instruction and you should be able to do it yourself just fine. Until then, might try a warm bath and then just gently wash the anal area with a soft cloth or baby wipe. If they are super full (as I am guessing with the spontaneous expressing they must be) then they may express some in the bath and help with the problem.

Have you tried adding some pumpkin to her diet? Pumpkin helps with both loose or packed stools -- a nice GI system aid. I would also think about changing foods. You are using a good premium food, but all dogs don't do the same on each food so maybe try a food that is NOT grain free. Maybe she needs some more fiber? (Brown rice is a good grain, better to avoid corn and wheat when your dog is already having trouble.) The pumpkin addition might take care of things tho, so you could continue with the Wellness Core.

Some family of mine is going through this with their dog. It happened randomly while she is sleeping on the couch. It's either that she gets really relaxed and they just let go or that she gets relaxed and then startled (by a dream of something).

We aren't into expressing glands unless needed here either. But in this case, it's not a bad idea to make that expressing doesn't work. That is, what if expressing solves the problem? It may be worth a try.

I expressed this dog's glands awhile back and haven't heard if there have been anymore problems.

If they keep releasing like that and it can't be stopped, you can have them removed.

anal glands
 

I think I will make her an appointment to get them expressed. they have 2 vets at the office i go to so i think i will try the other one next time. I had her on pumpkin a few months back just to give it to her as a little something extra with her food, and the vet is telling me to take her off of it but that was months back she was on it so needless to say i dont really listen to everything they tell me i do my own research and do what i think is best so i will get some more pumpkin and try that and the warm bath until someone can express them for me b/c it is soooo darn gross. thanks for the advice. I think we know more than some of the pros out there. lol

We had a problem for a short time when switching foods and green beans solved the problem.I just bought a bag of frozen ones and ran a handful under hot water for a few seconds and then dumped them in their dishes with dinner. They loved it and the problem solved itself within a few weeks.

oh cool, i have plenty bags of frozen green beans. I will try that

oh cool, i have plenty bags of frozen green beans.