My Louie is sick and has swollen anal area :(

[Lori-M]

This is the second time this week alone that I have had to come to YT for help. First off I live in a rural area and vets are just not available through the night hours. I have had 3 family members diagnosed with cancer within the last month and I am responsible for caring for two of them. My life is completely insane to say the least and now my Louie is having issues.
He has had issues with constipation, white stools, thread/ribbon size stools etc and the vet has really no info for me about how to fix the issue. He has never been a good eater and I jump through hoops trying to home cook for him and get him enough calories. Last weekend he began to drag his behind on the floor and I have read that this is due to his anal sacs being drained. (he is 5 months old by the way) The last two days he acts as though he is going to go poop but he cannot and now he has stool all stuck to the rear of him and matted into his fur. I know its gross but I am desperate. I can't really get him to eat this evening and he is kind of shaking. I just gave him a warm bath and let his rear region soak in warm water to try and wash off the matted poo but he seriously doesn't want me going anywhere near that region. I had to check to see what was happening and the entire anal region looks swollen. Maybe 4 inches or so across his rectal area. It is raised and looks quite sore. Tomorrow I have to leave by 10 am to get grandma to the hospital for her cancer surgery so I only have about an hour total from when the vet opens until I have to leave. I'm beside myself with worry for Louie and don't know what this could be. Any advice would be very much appreciated. I doubt I will sleep tonight and I have an almost 3 hr drive to St Louis tomorrow. Help!

[lillymae]

It sounds like his anal glands are full and/or infected and it is common this time of year as anal issues can be caused by allergies. I would say it's time to find a new vet.

[lillymae]

Has your vet even checked and expressed his anals ? It sounds like they are about to rupture now. They will often try to hold their poos as it hurts for them to go when the anals are full and a sure sign is the pencil thin poos that you described.
I can sense your desperation and I know all too well about the anal issues as I have a rescue that suffers terribly from these issues, well used to anyway. Now we have them figured out. Anyway you really need to get him to a vet tomorrow as hard as it will be for you as he is in terrible pain now. Maybe you can drop him off at the vet & pick him up when you are waiting for your relative to come out of recovery.

[Lori-M]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I think after tomorrow morning I will be finding a new vet. I've got to get Louie through this issue at hand and if I try to get into a new vet in the morning they would probably just laugh at the request. Hoping that they can fix him up so I can concentrate on the humans that need my attention so badly right now. He just ate a little for me and had something to drink so I can maybe rest til the morning. It breaks my heart to see him hurting and not being his normal spunky self. Poor little guy even looks sick through the eye region. ( from being in pain I suppose). I'll update here tomorrow late when I return from Missouri.

[lillymae]

Poor little guy, those anal glands are a real pain. He may have an infection going on there as well, it sounds like he does . Just tell them to express them, there in nothing ridiculous about that. Little dogs often have anal gland issues. Also if he's not eating well he may need some nutri-cal if he's a tiny. Sorry to hear about all your family and I'll be praying for ALL of you.

[gidget529]

I don't think a vet will laugh at you bc of anal glands. My 1st yorkie had anal gland issues and had to go to the vet on a regular basis to have them expressed - she could not express on her own. Some groomers also express anal glands if you ask. I would get him to a vet, preferably a new one, because he is probably very uncomfortable.

[yorkielady06]

Did you get all the poo off of his backside? Have you taken him to the vet?
The poo on his bottom can clump and make it so he cannot poop. Make sure that area is clean and dried. Just the irritation from that alone can make them not want to potty. Anal glands on a 4 month old should not be a big issue as not being able to potty due to plugged areas from feces.

[AlicetheYorkie]

Definatly sounds like infected anal glands, a vet should express them, apply a topical ointment and probably send you home with ointment and oral antibiotics.

For the future though - that's not too common for a 5 month old, so I just had the thought that he's probably not getting a proper diet since you said you're home cooking for him (which is fine, but you have to do it right).

What have you been feeding him and what dog foods have you tried so far?

Hope all goes well at the vet and with your relative's surgery.

[OwnedByJezebel]

If this were my dog and I had as much on my plate as you do, I would drop him off at the vet and let the vet look into it. You can stay in touch by phone and the vet can identify the problem and get your dog started on medication if needed.

I'm sorry about all of your other problems, I hope your grandma's surgery is successful.

[Buster Brown]

I am so sorry about your Louie and your family members. May God bless you and strengthen you. After you cleaned Louie did you check to see if his hair was matting up around his anus. When Buster's sanitary area hair gets to long poo easily gets clogged there. I hope you are able to find a great vet as poor Louie is in obvious pain. Problems with the anal sacs are common.
Anal Sac Disease
I also looked up Vets in your area from your zip code. The Little Egypt is a mobile vet so they could come to your house if you could not leave as you are taking care of your family members. There are some other vets on the list as well. Another site recommended but did not review Little Egypt, Quality Care Animal Hospital and Dr Michael Troop.
Veterinary Medicine in Marion, IL on Yahoo! Local
Sending prayers and best wishes to you, Louie, and your family.

[Patti]

I am sorry you have so much to deal with. I would try the mobile vet mentioned above. Maybe they will come out yet today. It is important to get the area cleaned up and put a little vasoline or neosporin on his little but until you get him to a vet. I have had mine get poop stuck and get swollen and red and vasoline helped ease their discomfort. My male had his anal glands rupture and that is very painful for them. Hopefully you can get him taken care of. I will keep you all in my prayers.

[kjc]

I hope your little one is doing better. There is a more serious problem this could be where the stool forms pockets just before the anus and the pup can't pass it... May be a congenital defect, but it is serious and he should be seen to rule this out. It is a very painful condition.

I'm sorry for all you're having to go through right now and I will pray for the people you are caring for in their time of need, and I'll pray for strength for you to help you get it all done....

[sweet_tikka]

Anal glands for sure, we had two malteagles [malteseXpocket beagle] at my mom&dad's and they were both prone to needing their anal glands drained every so often, a really good sign is when the try to chew on their bum&drag it, it'll be swollen and red around the hole. Also if his poo is getting in his bum hair, get him a sanitary trim you'll be able to do it yourself once you watch your groomer do it, it's usually pretty cheap to get just the bum hairs trimmed up!

Also, your vet can show you how to drain the glands yourself to save you time and money especially with a vet that isn't open at your convenience... if you can stomach doing it... my mom did it for our malteagles!

[Lori-M]

I don't have much time to type but Louie is really not good. I took him to the vet and will not be returning there. It was awful. I was told that Blue Buffalo food likely made him sick along with my home cooking and that it was the worst diet. They looked at his rear and said no anal sac problems and cut some of the matted stool away. Louie went #2 in the room and they did a stool sample that came out normal. Then a rectal exam on a tiny yorkie with no pain meds etc...it was the most awful thing I have ever seen. I can't even type about it without getting sick my stomach over what he went through! Was told to put him on science diet and give him a warm bath to loosen up what was on his back side. They didn't take his temp although I said he felt warm. While giving the bath this evening we noticed that he looks barrell chested. I feel that something is horribly wrong with Louie and I cannot help him. He has swollen extremely tender area on the spine right behind his front legs and on both sides of the spine in the same location. I'm baffled. No other animal in here to have hurt him and of course we didn't do it. He has not went pee all day and its so so sad. My husband has to take him to a different vet tomorrow if we can find one open that will see us. My two children have prom and I have sick humans to tend to so I can't be with him. Just wanted to update here as to what was going on since you were all kind enough to reply to my plea for help.
Please pray if you have a moment.

[lillymae]

Oh No , poor baby. Do you have an ER vet that you can take him to tomorrow or better yet tonight ? I would just shave the hair totally off his bum so it can't cause a blockage as that can make him deathly ill. Do you have any plain canned pumpkin that you could give him as that will help with both hard & soft stool. If you do not have pumpkin you can give him some apple as it has pectin witch is in both Kaopectate & Pepto. Also he may have jumped off of something & hurt his back. How is he walking ?