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 :)

 

[Dori & Rua]

I don't have any advice.  Just want you to know we will keep you and Remington in our thoughts and prayers as you make a decision on what to do.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Hi-Poor baby. I KNOW what you are going through, as a puppy Chloe had this issue anw we did not know anything we were like what's that smell and why is she licking herself that way? She had a bright red but sowe took her in and they said the anal glands were full and they could express them-ok no problem, 2 weeks later same thing, then it was over and over again. Like once a week or so-he never suggested anything to us and finally he said she NEEDS surgery-we switched vets at that point (other staff issues also) the first time we took her to the new vet-he said did they ever suggest an infusion? We were like hugh? Takes her downstairs and 5 minutes later she's fine and since 2008 she's never been expressed again. I was hoping I would get to that part of your story when you mentioned the infusion. I'm sorry it didn't work, he looks sad. I know I would call a specialist to so the surgery-more peace of mind and I Know there's info online because my husband found quite a bit of it. The old vet said he could not guarantee the outcome also. But the way I see it, if he's having these issues anyway and you tried so much already that if you find a reputable surgeon that I would go ahead and take the chance. You will never know otherwise and he may always be miserable, if the surgery works then you will be so grateful. If not, you know you tried. Tina always has great research advice so follow the links and keep us posted! I really feel what you are going through-he's so young not to try right??

[Lynn D.]

Kendra-

My previous dog had anal gland issues, not as bad as Remington's. We "lived" for a long time with this. She eventually had to be put down because of this. I wish I had the surgery done when it was first recommended to me.

I am a nurse (familiar with surgery) and the approach I would take is finding the surgeon that does a ton of these surgeries and get a consult. Ask him/her how often a dog is incontinent after this surgery? How many has he done? What is the healing period like? Ask the questions as if you were having the surgery yourself.

Do you have a vet school near enough to you? Try looking into having them see your pooch too.

Good luck to you and Remington!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I am so very sorry you are dealing with this difficult problem. I can only share our experience. We had a Clumber Spaniel who had trouble with his anal glands. When he had the surgery the vet told us that Dudley's anal glands were completely deformed and never would have been fully expressed causing the constant struggle with this issue. There were zero complications with the surgery. It was the best thing we could possibly have done for him and for us. Of course, no one can guarantee anything when it comes to surgery. It worked out perfectly for us. Hoping for the best for you and your sweet Remington.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Specialist, surgery.

Just know that we all support you in whatever decision you make.

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

I wholeheartedly recommend a specialist.  We had a regular vet do bladder stone surgery on our cocker-lab many years ago and when she couldn't get them all out she closed him up and sent him home.  Two days later he had to go back into surgery to have the rest of the stones removed because of the blockage and pain.  We were young, naive and didn't have the internet or doodlekisses friends at that time - seems like a lifetime ago.  You've done the research and it sounds like you know what you feel would be best for him but are worried about the "what ifs" - that is normal but it sounds like Remington's life will be much happier without having this issue.

[Leslie and Halas]

I'm sorry you guys are having this problem.  I feel so bad for all of you.  I agree with everyone else who said that you should find a specialist.  There are risks with every procedure, but I think the benefits of this outweigh the negatives, especially since the negatives are pretty rare.  I hope everything works out for you and Remington.