Stress or Anal Glands?

[Brittney & Cally]

I took Cally to a new groomer on Friday and they did a wonderful job and said that she did great! But on Friday evening I noticed she kept passing gas that stunk like high heaven and she was scooting. She also had diarrhea and vomited a couple times. She slept for 90% percent of the time since she has been home. This all continued till about Sunday afternoon. I am wondering if this could be because of stress or if they did something with her anal glands or maybe both. She has never had a problem with her anal glands so if they did something to them I am not sure why they would. Is it customary for groomer to express those? If it had something to do with that could I ask them not to do it? I would think I could ask them if they see something wrong with them to tell me and I would have my vet look at them because she seems to be a little traumatized by the groomers already and I want to lessen that stress since she needs monthly grooming.  Sorry I rambled on but any thoughts or advice would be great!

UPDATE: I called the the place and unfortunately the grooming is closed for today because they did not want people bringing in there dogs in the below zero temperatures we are experiencing. I was able to ask the lady who owns the store that they do not give the dogs treats. She said she does not know if they expressed Cally's glands but they do not routinely do it as far as she knows. She said since they did shave around her anus that it could be a razor burn or her itching, like you said Karen. She told me to definitely call back tomorrow and ask them specifically because they would have made a note. She suggested maybe putting coconut oil on Cally's rear to help the itching? Would any of you suggest this? I do not want to make matters worse as she is back to normal again except the occasional scoot. I did forget to ask if I could ask for a specific groomer though so I will ask when I call them tomorrow.

UPDATE: I called on Friday and they could not remember if they had expressed them. I am a little worried that if they do not remember maybe they do not have a file for her and this may happen again! Should I give them one more try or would it not be worth it because I do not want her to become dependent on getting them expressed especially when I knew there was nothing wrong with them!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Many groomers do routinely express the anal glands, but I have been advised by my vet to ask them not to do it, as most of them do it externally, and that can actually cause the glands to become impacted. The correct way to express the anal glands is internally, provided that it needs to be done at all. If the dog's stools are firm and regular, the glands will usually express themselves. Some dogs do have more trouble with this though, and may need to have the glands manually expressed. if so, have it done at your vet's office.

I would ask the groomer if she did express the glands, and if so, ask her not to do it when you go in the next time.

There could be other reasons for the scooting; if she was shaved near the anus, she may have a razor burn or other irritation that is bothering her. That wouldn't account for the smell or the gas, though. 

The groomer might also have given her some type of treats that are causing the gas, so you might ask about that as well. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I do not let my groomer express anal glands....and actually I don't think she would do it anyway.  IMO that is a job for the Vet.  My Murphy has problems from time to time and I always take him to the Vet.  I would also try to figure out why this is so stressful....maybe you need a new groomer.  We were taking our Doods to Petco and they were always stressed by the experience.  We now have a new groomer who doesn't crate them and only does a few dogs at a time...it's more like a Daycare environment, and they are so much more comfortable there.

[Brittney & Cally]

These were my thoughts as well. She has had firm poops and has never had a problem with gas or diarrhea before, even when I switched her off of the food the breeder gave her. I will call them today and ask and I will look again for a new groomer. My thoughts on asking them not to  express them if they did is they may still do it because I take her to our local specialty pet supply where they have three groomers and I never know who is going to groom her so I am afraid it would still happen.  I will update when I call them. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In many grooming shops, you can make an appointment with a specific groomer, just as you do when you make an appointment for a haircut with a particular stylist. A lot of groomers have their own customers, or 'following" as it is called, just like hair stylists in human salons, and it's understood that her clients only use her. Just because there are multiple groomers working in an establishment doesn't mean you don't have a choice or have to be randomly assigned to anyone. Many places also keep a card on file for each dog, with any special instructions or info. If you like everything else about this place, you can ask that they make a note in your file that Cally's anal glands are not to be touched. You can also make your appointments with one particular groomer so that the person comes to know you and Cally, and what you like. It might also help to make Cally feel more comfortable to be handled by someone familiar each time she is groomed. 

[Julie and Max]

I also read (and I don't know how accurate this is so if I'm wrong someone please correct me) that the anal glands shouldn't be expressed unless they need to be done which your vet would know. The reason being is if it is done too much the dog can lose the ability to properly regulate the glands with their own bodies and that some groomers do this to kind of make you dependent on them. 

[Brittney & Cally]

Julie, I also read that and that is why if it was done I want to make sure that it will not happen again!

[Julie and Max]

Cally is adorable :) I took Max to his first grooming at PetSmart. I liked that it was a glassed in room so you could actually watch. They don't wait in cages there, they take your dog when they are ready to start grooming. The girl that did Max was awesome, and he didn't seem to mind it at all. I will for sure be taking him back there. They also didn't touch his anal glands. 

[Brittney & Cally]

Thank you, unfortunately I think she knows that and "tries" to use that to her advantage! I think I will try and find something like that if this does not work out!

[Brittney & Cally]

Thanks Karen, this is all new to me as I have never had a dog that needed grooming. That is a good idea and I will make sure that I ask for a certain groomer and to make a note in her file about that. I really do love this place and the people are great there so I would assume they would be able to accommodate us. We have used this place for 10+ years. They have great trainers, carry specialty food and have a great daycare.

Although it could be to much for Cally as I have to drop her off between 8-10 and then usually pick her up around 1. Maybe it is to much for her and I should find someone who can take her and groom her while I am there so she does not have to stay around in a kennel or maybe they could take her into the daycare area until she is ready so she can forget about the stress of being groomed. I will call and see what they did and maybe give it one more chance since she needs to be groomed every 4 weeks and make a decision from there.

[Brittney & Cally]

I posted an update in my original post so it would not get lost in the thread. Thank you all so much! I just hate seeing her feel miserable.

[Brittney & Cally]

Thanks for all your thoughts and help! I posted another update!