# Anal Glands Need to Be Expressed Frequently



## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

My V is 2 1/2 years old. Over the last year (we have not changed her diet), her anal glands have had to be expressed more and more often. We are now at a point where she needs this every two weeks! I feel like it just can’t be good for her. Her stools are fairly firm. But she gets so uncomfortable starting about 10 days after expressing. All dogs are curious about her bottom. I don’t notice any odor. We have added pumpkin and green beans. We have tried Glandex supplements. She is on grain-free kibble with freeze dried pork (chicken seems to make the situation worse). 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.


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## A-arons Kodster (Sep 2, 2018)

ccelsa said:


> My V is 2 1/2 years old. Over the last year (we have not changed her diet), her anal glands have had to be expressed more and more often. We are now at a point where she needs this every two weeks! I feel like it just can’t be good for her. Her stools are fairly firm. But she gets so uncomfortable starting about 10 days after expressing. All dogs are curious about her bottom. I don’t notice any odor. We have added pumpkin and green beans. We have tried Glandex supplements. She is on grain-free kibble with freeze dried pork (chicken seems to make the situation worse).
> 
> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.


Try organic butternut squash and sweet potato puree* my Dog Kody gets this ether one every feeding in 3-4 dollops in each corner of the dish. Try that*

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk


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## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

I found Glandex next to useless with our dogs.

I use Protexin Pro-Fibre which seems a lot better, as well as a bit of pumpkin puree from time to time. The Pro-Fibre is now used as the correct dose each and every day (work your way up slowly or you might get a few unexpected results). After a few months of either going to the vet nurse to get expressed or self expressing on our sofa (thankfully onto the cover rather than the sofa itself), we have managed to nip the issue in the bud.

The food we use is a very high quality fish and veg dehydrated mix, which whilst is great in terms of protein etc, probably does not have the necessary fibre to keep our girl and boy happy in that department.


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

Travelstar said:


> I found Glandex next to useless with our dogs.
> 
> I use Protexin Pro-Fibre which seems a lot better, as well as a bit of pumpkin puree from time to time. The Pro-Fibre is now used as the correct dose each and every day (work your way up slowly or you might get a few unexpected results). After a few months of either going to the vet nurse to get expressed or self expressing on our sofa (thankfully onto the cover rather than the sofa itself), we have managed to nip the issue in the bud.
> 
> The food we use is a very high quality fish and veg dehydrated mix, which whilst is great in terms of protein etc, probably does not have the necessary fibre to keep our girl and boy happy in that department.


Thank you so much for these two great responses. I am going to try anything and everything suggested by this wonderful group!


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

Travelstar said:


> I found Glandex next to useless with our dogs.
> 
> I use Protexin Pro-Fibre which seems a lot better, as well as a bit of pumpkin puree from time to time. The Pro-Fibre is now used as the correct dose each and every day (work your way up slowly or you might get a few unexpected results). After a few months of either going to the vet nurse to get expressed or self expressing on our sofa (thankfully onto the cover rather than the sofa itself), we have managed to nip the issue in the bud.
> 
> The food we use is a very high quality fish and veg dehydrated mix, which whilst is great in terms of protein etc, probably does not have the necessary fibre to keep our girl and boy happy in that department.


Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such a thorough response. I am still looking for a comparable fiber that is available here, in the US.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I’ve known some people that have used Metamucil to increase the stool size. It helps the dogs to release the glands on their own.

I still would not rule out it being allergy related. Shine shows no signs of allergies. Other than at the same time every year, I have to have her glands expressed, then have them express again a month later. The rest of the year, she’s good.
So I’ve chalked it up to a seasonal allergy.


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## Cavscout107 (Jun 11, 2018)

WOW!!!.....thanks for posting this thread!!!....I was just about to ask this question today!!...our 3 yr old male has been to the vet a few times for this problem. It only happens when he sits on my lap,,,,,laying on my legs seems to trigger a release. Needless to say....time for a shower and a fresh pair of pants!!!.....he is on Diamond brand lamb and rice and is very regular with his bowels...(first thing in the morning and the last pee of the evening). Going to try the squash and pumpkin. I know cleaning his glands can be done at home.....but....not ready for that yet!!! Thank for all the great info!!


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

texasred said:


> I’ve known some people that have used Metamucil to increase the stool size. It helps the dogs to release the glands on their own.
> 
> I still would not rule out it being allergy related. Shine shows no signs of allergies. Other than at the same time every year, I have to have her glands expressed, then have them express again a month later. The rest of the year, she’s good.
> So I’ve chalked it up to a seasonal allergy.


So interesting! Thank you…


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

Cavscout107 said:


> WOW!!!.....thanks for posting this thread!!!....I was just about to ask this question today!!...our 3 yr old male has been to the vet a few times for this problem. It only happens when he sits on my lap,,,,,laying on my legs seems to trigger a release. Needless to say....time for a shower and a fresh pair of pants!!!.....he is on Diamond brand lamb and rice and is very regular with his bowels...(first thing in the morning and the last pee of the evening). Going to try the squash and pumpkin. I know cleaning his glands can be done at home.....but....not ready for that yet!!! Thank for all the great info!!


I am with you…not quite ready to handle this on my own at home. I have had another friend not on this forum, who said her dogs problems were resolved by adding 1/2 cup green beans to her dogs meals. My V is not a huge fan of green beans, but I am going to keep trying.


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## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

I would strongly recommend you don't try and do anal sac/gland expression yourself as you can easily make the problem worse, to a point where it's only ever possible to deal with via a bit of human intervention. They can also become impacted, which may end up resulting in your V needing some surgery. Really do leave this to the professional. Even some groomers get this one wrong, although not that a V requires a groomer in the first place.

The goal at the end of the day is to ensure your four legged family member has a good large poo with nice shape/form, as that will help the sacs to empty naturally without intervention. Fibre added to some dog probiotics really are the key here, with fibre being the most important component.


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## Pupmum99 (Jan 4, 2022)

Both of my boys have had issues with anal glands. Best thing to do I’d say initially is try to resolve it with diet and there are some great suggestions here, because as others have said previously the more intervention by manual expression the more help they may need to empty them themselves. I was told by a vet that the more they have it done the weaker the musculature around there can become for that reason. I’ve found pumpkin in every meal really does help and so far it’s completely resolved one of my boys problems with his anal glands. Good luck, it’s not a pleasant problem to have to deal with!


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

Travelstar said:


> I would strongly recommend you don't try and do anal sac/gland expression yourself as you can easily make the problem worse, to a point where it's only ever possible to deal with via a bit of human intervention. They can also become impacted, which may end up resulting in your V needing some surgery. Really do leave this to the professional. Even some groomers get this one wrong, although not that a V requires a groomer in the first place.
> 
> The goal at the end of the day is to ensure your four legged family member has a good large poo with nice shape/form, as that will help the sacs to empty naturally without intervention. Fibre added to some dog probiotics really are the key here, with fibre being the most important component.


Thank you so much. We now use pumpkin at every meal, have added a probiotic, and have added Missing Link. I really appreciate your feedback!


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## Ericce (Dec 19, 2021)

ccelsa said:


> Thank you so much for these two great responses. I am going to try anything and everything suggested by this wonderful group!


Hello
Had similar issues with my vizsla and changed his food to Instinct limited ingredient single protein food (lamb). Watch out for foods that claim to be one protein but list chicken meal etc in the ingredients list. The lamb protein seemed to be most gentle and this food worked wonders. I found overcomplicating things with all the extras added to his food just made things worse not better.


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

A-arons Kodster said:


> Try organic butternut squash and sweet potato puree* my Dog Kody gets this ether one every feeding in 3-4 dollops in each corner of the dish. Try that*
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk


Thank you so much. We are doing organic pumpkin and have added a pre/pro biotic and Missing Link. Her stools have already improved so I am very hopeful!


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

Travelstar said:


> I found Glandex next to useless with our dogs.
> 
> I use Protexin Pro-Fibre which seems a lot better, as well as a bit of pumpkin puree from time to time. The Pro-Fibre is now used as the correct dose each and every day (work your way up slowly or you might get a few unexpected results). After a few months of either going to the vet nurse to get expressed or self expressing on our sofa (thankfully onto the cover rather than the sofa itself), we have managed to nip the issue in the bud.
> 
> The food we use is a very high quality fish and veg dehydrated mix, which whilst is great in terms of protein etc, probably does not have the necessary fibre to keep our girl and boy happy in that department.


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## ccelsa (Mar 15, 2019)

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to respond to my plea for help. I am using every single one of the suggestions!!!


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