Anal Glands

[Tina Patton]

Recently Bella has been licking herself more and because she is so white her fur is stained a reddish brown color around her anus. I have tried to wash it off and wipe it and I know there is no blood.   Her stools are normal and she is eating Canidae All Life Stages Food.  She has not been to the groomer since December so do you think she needs her anal glands expressed or should I take her to the vet?                                  I have never noticed this before.  Bella is 2.

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

I will give you some sage advise about anal glands...then you need to google anal glands and educate yourself.  My puppy had lots of issues with anal glands...or so I thought.  So the vet and the groomer would express them for her.  Now I learn I should have left them alone!  When they express the glands for the dog they are actually traumatizing the glands.  So, unless you think they are impacted, leave them alone!  There is an excellent vet that has educational video's online about what to feed your dog, allergies, all other problems...Dr. Karen Becker she is wonderful with her advise and I learned a lot.  The licking drives me nuts too, but this time I did NOT take Skadi  to get her glands express, I started giving her a tsp. of ground flax every morning.  So far, so good.  She just had surgery and is licking licking licking at her surgical site and it's been 2 1/2 weeks!  She also licks her paws and her butt and yes it drives me crazy.  Some of the things you can do for your dog is to make sure you rotate proteins ... this is very important so they do not develop a sensitivity to one protein, ie:  chicken.  Mix the food up, wet, dry, raw, homemade.  I also give Skadi Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil...you can get it online much cheaper than the Vets!  The reddish color is from the saliva...its benign, but I give Skadi Angel Eyes...also bought online.  This stuff keeps that reddish color toned down.  PS.  when you do have the peri area groomed tell them not too short...this sets up irritation in that area, promoting the licking.  Gosh, I hope I've helped, my furbaby is only 2 1/2 and been through sooooo much of these problems!  One vet said it was because the cream/white colored dogs have more allergy problems. UGH

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I take Cubbie to the vet every 3-4 months to get his glands expressed.  I started doing this when he started scooting on my carpets.  I only take him when I see him scoot.  I can't argue or agree with what Joani said because I haven't done the research, but I do know that I don't want anal gland fluid on my carpets or furniture and if he is scooting he is probably uncomfortable.  Ollie doesn't seem to need his done as often which is good because he has plenty of other issues for us to deal with.  lol

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

Even the vet told me NOT to have the anal glands expressed manually...Of course then she proceeded to express them...go figure...I just beg of all dog owners to do the homework.  Education is the key to happy puppies and happy owners.  Scooting is a way of expressing the glands...yes, unfortunate they are scooting in the house..., no answer for that.  Really, check out Dr.  Karen Becker  on line...quick easy to listen to videos, chock full of great info.

[Tina Patton]

Joani,  Thanks for all of the information and I will be sure to check out Dr. Karen Becker's site.  

           Bella seems fine and eats well and her stools are good, just seems strange that all of the sudden her butt looks so ugly!  She does not scoot on the floor just licks herself a lot!!  So if they are impacted how would I know this?

            

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I would imagine that for every negative thing i read online about having the glands expressed manually I could find just as many positive things.  I'll look at Karen Baker's site sometime but don't know that I"ll necessarily base my decisions on how to best care for my pet entirely on what 1 vet posts online.  Thanks for the info though.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The anal glands will express normally if the stool is firm enough and the dog has enough fiber in her diet, but many dogs often have trouble with impacted glands, and sometimes do have to have the glands manually expressed. Some dogs just have chronic anal gland issues; we have one member whose dog had to have an anal sacculectomy and have the glands removed. This can be genetic.

It is not true that the glands should never be manually expressed, or that doing so traumatizes the glands, but it must be done correctly, which means internally. Many groomers will try to express the glands from the outside, which can make things worse and lead to more problems. It's best to let the vet do this when needed. Impacted glands do need to be expressed manually from the inside. 

Dogs may also scoot or lick their anal areas because of itching from worms. I would have a fecal done to be sure this is not the problem. 

I am very familiar with Karen Becker, as she practices in my area, and I have friends who have consulted with her. There is some valuable information on her website, but not everything there is accurate or true, particularly her information on allergies. She is rather controversial, even in holistic vet circles. JD has four specialists, including one holistic veterinarian who does his acupuncture treatments, and all of them disagree with much of  Dr. Becker's advice. So take it with a grain of salt. Lots of sales pitches going on there. 

Flax seed is not a good source of fatty acids for dogs. They lack the ability to efficiently convert the Omega 3 fatty acid ALA in flax seed into EPA or DHA; fish oil is a much better source. The flax seed may provide fiber, though, which is helpful. But you can get fiber from other sources.  

Angel Eyes contains Tylosin, which is an antibiotic. It's best not to use antibiotics for cosmetic purposes. 

[Tina Patton]

Karen & Jackdoodle,

   So your advice is to take Bella to the vet to make sure the glands are not impacted?  As I have said previously we have never had any issues with her scooting just the licking and it has just been a recent development.  

    Also should I be giving Bella Flax seed and Fish Oil along with the Canidae Dog Food?  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would not give flax seed to any dog. Fish oil can be beneficial for skin and coat, and many other conditions, but there is no sound evidence that it is helpful with anal gland issues unless they are part of a larger problem. 

If you give me the exact Canidae formula you are feeding, I can check the fiber and fatty acid sources for you. 

If my dog were licking the anal area to the point of discoloring the fur, I would have her checked out by the vet. Something is bothering her back there, and of course, you want to try to alleviate that. I think that rather than guess at what might be causing it, it would be best to have the vet take a look so you can effectively and efficiently remedy the situation, whatever it might be. When dogs lick a certain part of their bodies repeatedly, it is usually due to itching or irritation. A fecal might be a good idea to make sure there are no worms, and the vet can check the anal glands at the same time. 

[Tina Patton]

Canidae All Life Stages

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The fiber is adequate, but the Omega 6:3 ratio could be better. Giving her fish oil wouldn't hurt in terms of general health, but it probably doesn't have anything to do with the anal issues. The easiest way to give a dog extra Omega 3 fatty acids from fish is to use human softgels. Nature Made has a good product, Omega 3 minis, which are easy to find just about anywhere. They're smaller than most fish oil supplements and you only have to give one a day. 

If it should turn out that she does have anal gland issues, you may want to consider a grain-free food, but until you know what the problem may be, I would leave her food alone if her stools are fine and she has no digestive problems

[Tina Patton]

Taking Bella to the vet tomorrow, will let you know the outcome.....Thanks for the help!

[Tina Patton]

Took Bella to the vet and he expressed her anal glands.  He said they were not that full and could not see anything else that would cause her to lick so much.  He said to keep an eye on her and it may be allergies and she may need prednisone.  What do you all think.  Maybe change to a grain free food and see how that goes.