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OT: expressing dogs anal glands

wtf lol - this is REALLY "OT"...
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One of our dogs burst a hole out the ass and was dripping anal gland juice everywhere. Fun times
 
Don't do it unless it's absolutely necessary. Its one of those things that will probably resolve itself but if you do it regularly the dog can lose the ability to do it naturally. Anything short of a situation where they have become swollen just leave it be.
 
Needs to be done every so often, the right was impacted/full and the left was near empty. You can do yourself, or your vet do. Around $25 or so!

Also pet insurance has saved our BUTT like never before.

May I ask who you use for pet insurance and how costly it is?
 
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Always had this done on my smaller dogs < 50 lbs when they get groomed. My bigger dog, never been a problem, I guess he does it himself naturally.

Can be bad for them if it doesn't get done.
 
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If they can reach well enough to give them a good licking they mostly take care of them.

If they're having issues pooping or dragging their butt a lot, they may need them expressed. If they get impacted it's a bad deal. Can get infected and it hurts them.

Place I used to work the groomers would do external express, you'll want gloves and paper towels and I recommend doing it outdoors because it stinks.
 
May I ask who you use for pet insurance and how costly it is?

Nationwide -> Whole Pet with Wellness. Mixed large breed dog and a $100 annual deductible, then 90% reimbursement there after. We pay $80/month, last year we had the same plan but did their $250 annual deductible.

IF we kept our original policy ($250 deductible), our new rate was going to go from $62.55/month to $67/month, this also includes a $2.00/month installment fee.

The $100 costs more per month but ends up saving $10 on the year, now next year the $250 may be cheaper so we might go back.

They don’t cover tax, waste disposal, boarding, or grooming. We also use zoetis per care rewards (free program).
 
As the rescuer/owner of about 12 Dachshounds I recommend having a Vet doing it. I have large fingers and tries it once with no success.

You can have the anal glands surgically removed when a dog is young.
 
It’s their diet if you are having to do this. Allergies, yeast, whatever. It all comes back to their diet.
 
Not accurate.
Then tell me, what causes this in dogs?

Unfortunately, I’m right.
It’s related to their diet. If the dog has a diet consisting of table scraps and or human based foods it can cause the dog to have shit that is soft, and or loose. And if a dog has 7 out of 10 poops where their poop is soft or loose and not pressing on those glands, then the glands can’t be expressed naturally, thus causing them to build up and swell to infection. It can even happen with crappy dog food and no table scraps at all.
 
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Needs to be done every so often, the right was impacted/full and the left was near empty. You can do yourself, or your vet do. Around $25 or so!

Also pet insurance has saved our BUTT like never before.
Have had a dog or dogs continually for over fifty years, and have never done it, or seen it done.
 
Then tell me, what causes this in dogs?

Unfortunately, I’m right.
It’s related to their diet. If the dog has a diet consisting of table scraps and or human based foods it can cause the dog to have shit that is soft, and or loose. And if a dog has 7 out of 10 poops where their poop is soft or loose and not pressing on those glands, then the glands can’t be expressed naturally, thus causing them to build up and swell to infection. It can even happen with crappy dog food and no table scraps at all.
It's not exclusively diet because some dogs have that vulture stomach and tolerate anything, others if they look at a bread crust across the room they're a mess for a week. Or they could get soft stool from another cause like illness or stress.

Yes, usually good poop keeps the glands in good working order as well. However, you can feed them perfectly and they could still end up needing their glands expressed.

A variety of factors like breed/genetics, physiology, age, the dog's weight, arthritis, can all alter the likelihood of them having issues. Especially if they're one of those cursed breeds we've engineered not to be able to lick their own butt to clean themselves.

My male dog never licks his own glands, my female does it all the freaking time, usually on a cloth couch if she can possibly help it. Her poop is immaculate, he's the one who likes to wander around the yard and force out anything he can and drip it around the lawn here and there.

They both get the same kibble and the same share of what they can beg/steal from the children. Good old nature vs nurture, it's always some combination of both.
 
my question is, does this nasty anal gland juice squirt out in a spray or stream? or is this like an oozing type of 'expression' type thing?
 
Don't do it unless it's absolutely necessary. Its one of those things that will probably resolve itself but if you do it regularly the dog can lose the ability to do it naturally. Anything short of a situation where they have become swollen just leave it be.
Wrong. These need to cleaned out regularly . Dogs can’t effectively release the gland themselves . They try by rubbing or dragging there rearends on the ground.
 
Wrong. These need to cleaned out regularly . Dogs can’t effectively release the gland themselves . They try by rubbing or dragging there rearends on the ground.
Every time they poop it expresses the gland. Its only when one of them gets inflamed that it doesn't, and that's when a dog will drag its ass.
 
How the h*** is this a thread. Belongs on the Kansas State animal husbandry forum
 
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