To Remove or Not To Remove... That is the question!

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

WARNING: This is a long post, but please take the time to read and respond, as my heart is being pulled in many directions with this decision and I truly need some good advice!

As many of you might already know we have been battling with anal gland issues for over 2 years.  To give you a little background info, it began when our Goldendoodle Remington was 6 months old.  This is when we first noticed the odor and finally took him to the vet, not having a clue what the problem was.  We soon learned of anal glands!!!  The vet expressed the glands and we thought that would be the end of it.  Never in our wildest dreams did we think it would progress into the problem it is now.  After that first expression, Remington began having to have them done every 6 weeks. When we would take him they would be completely full and leaking out of his bum at times.  The vet suggested many things... switch foods (we did), feed him green beans (we did), feed him pumpkin (we did), give him this medication (we did), feed him two meals instead of three to give him bigger poops (we did)... NOTHING HAS WORKED!  The vet told us that he isn't able to express them on his own because the s sit back a lot farther than in most dogs.  So we even tried being taught by the vet how to express the glands ourselves (we have only be successful with this once) and believe me, it is not an easy thing to do with an 80 lb dog.

 

Fast forward to a 1 1/2 years old... Remington was now getting his glands expressed every 4 weeks.  They were filling up so fast.  He needed them expressed like clockwork each month.  We could always tell because he would often leak anal gland fuild... whether it was on our couch, bed, floor... where ever he was.  Now, if you have ever smelled this, you will know that it is a nightmare of a smell.  A drop the size of a pencil easer can clear you from the room.  Can you imagine getting it on things!  YUCK!  Me being the clean freak I am would "freak out" every time this happened!

 

Fast forward to 2 years.  By this time we were thinking that this was just something we were going to have to deal with for the rest of his life.  He was now getting the glands expressed every 3 weeks.  The vet suggested we try something called an anal gland infusion.  This is when the inject antibotic fuild into the sacs.  You let the fluid sit there and it can prevent the glands from filling up for 6 months to a year in some cases.  However, it may not work at all.  We thought what the heck let's try it.  We had nothing to lose.  We paid the $106 dollars and had it done.  Within a week the antibotic fluid was seeping out.  We had this happen on 3 occasions until we finally took him into the vet not knowing if it was antibotic fluid or anal gland fuild.  They expressed the glands and said it was mostly just antibotic fluid... but that they didn't think the procedure was going to work on Remington.

 

A few months later we took Remington in to get his annual exam.  He is in perfect health except for this problem.  After 2 years of trying everything suggested by the vet, by our friends, and by our DoodleKisses family... we were asked to consider anal gland removal... this is where my heart drops.  I had heard about the surgery by several people, but I have also heard about the many risks, the main one being the dog becoming incontenient after the surgery.  This is our worst nightmare!  If you know my husband and I... we are obsessed with our dog and love him as much as we would our own child.  The vet told us that Remington has a long life to live and the surgery would not only help us from having to constantly shell out money to have them expressed (which adds up every 3 weeks) and the frustration we deal with daily, but it would also take away the stress and pain Remington is experiencing with the glands.  We were also told that he might end up having to have them expressed every 2 weeks or 1 week in the future (judging by how the time frame had been going).  They quoted us at around $1000 for the surgery.  Now, to me the money really doesn't matter if it fixes the problem, but what if we end up with a much bigger problem of incontinence?  Is this a risk we are willing to take.  The vet said that this is something that would RARELY happen... but what if it did?  What would we do with Remington then????  How could he lead a good life with this problem?  How could we?

 

So here is my question?  Should we have the glands removed and hopefully things turn out just fine and we never have to deal with those suckers again???  Or do we not remove them and deal with anal gland issues the rest of Remington's life and more than likely have to have the suckers removed at some point in time anyway?  My heart is so torn.  I just want the best for my dog.  Please give me your opinions, advice, horror stories, success stories... I just need to know what I should do! 

 

Thanks in advance for all the comments :)

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

What a terrible dilemma. I think to really decide you need to think through what you would do in the worst case scenario, that is fecal incontinence. If you could not cope with this, understandably, euthanasia might be the choice since it would be very hard to place a dog with this problem. I think the surgery is a reasonable choice since the complication is rare and Remington is apparently suffering from the anal gland malfunction. If he were suffering from some other condition that cannot be treated with medication I think you would opt for surgery. Perhaps you could try to find a vet who has done many of these procedures. I hope this all works out well for all of you.

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Find a specialist, ask for patient referrals, do your homework on the doctor.  From what I've heard if you find a vet that specializes in this area the outcome is usually successful.  No one can guarantee a 100% and I would not just let my regular vet do the surgery.  Good luck, keep us posted.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree to get a 2nd opinion first.  My thoughts are to NOT do the surgery.  Just gut instinct. I guess you always run risks with surgeries - getting Tacky's teeth cleaned reminds me he could simply not wake up.

[Tanya Sheldon]

My vet does teeth cleaning without putting the dog to sleep and it only took 5 minutes and her teeth were coated with plaque when she went in and clean as a whistle when she came out. Not all vets do it yet. I think they actually had a hygeniest come in twice a month to the office to do them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm just stunned to hear this, because JD is the most cooperative dog in the world, and had a thirty minute surgery to remove a growth while standing up under local anesthetic, but when I asked if they could clean his teeth w/o general, they said that the sound of the ultrasonic instrument would be too disturbing to him, and that the amount of scaling they would have to do would be very uncomfortable for him if he was awake. The tech did take him back and see if she could get any of the tartar off with a dental instrument, but it was not going anywhere. After he had the full cleaning, his mouth was very swollen and sore, so I'm sure it would have been painful if he'd been awake for it.

Jack is 6.5 years old. How old is your dog? I suspect the problem may not have been quite as bad for your dog as it was for JD.

[Tanya Sheldon]

Yes Pepsi is only 2 years old.  The vet did a quick exam to make sure there was no serious dental issues and even picked some of it off while I was there. So maybe if you keep it up on a yearly basis it could be done without going under in the future. Worth a try.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I think Taquito could die of a heart attack due to the stress of being awake!

He has the worse breath EVER; poor dude (not dood lol).

[Tanya Sheldon]

Ya, Cozi is our outgoing and friendly one but I can't take her to a groomer she freaks out. The one and only time she went the groomer said she had to bath her 2 times because she pooped on herself while she was being groomed. Yet Pepsi is timid around strangers and she has gone to the groomer and had a broken foot and they said they may have to sedate her to change the cast, nope they didn't and had her teeth cleaned with no problems. Go figure!

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with F and Tina. I would find a veterinary surgeon who has lots and lots of experience with this procedure, even if that increases the cost. And after discussing the possible risks in depth, I think I would have the surgery done.

I have not had to deal with something of this magnitude, but I have had to make decisions about having surgery done on both human and canine loved ones. It came down to having a procedure done by someone who did 10 of them a week, and someone who did 10 of them a year. It's no guarantee, but I tend to believe that with the person who does it 10x/week, the odds of having a successful outcome would be increased, and I know you want to increase those odds as much as you can.

My heart goes out to you and Remington. Hang in there.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Kendra, I think you have gotten some great advice, so all I will add is, I am so sorry you and your family and Remington have had to go through all of this stuff. Our old Lab needed to get her anal glands expressed on a regular basis and that smell is something you will never forget. Good luck in whatever you decide!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I think that I would definitely go for other opinions ....... I've learned recently that just because a Dr. says this is what you need to do and it is the only option, that isn't always true.  It might just mean it is the only option he has for you.  Research (which I'm sure you have probably already done) and talk with other specialists.  Keep us posted ...... hugs!

[Corinna and Krimmi]

I am so sorry your family and Remington have to go through this.  It definitely is quite the dilemma.  Having his anal glands expressed on such a regular basis can't be fun for Remington either.  I agree with some of the other posts, check around for a vet who has experience in this kind of surgery.  I have heard that is the same procedure as de-scenting ferrets, but I am not totally sure.  If it is in fact true then there have to be vets who do that type of surgery on a regular basis.

Hopefully all will turn out well, I am keeping my fingers crossed