I know, I know!
What’s going on? You may well ask.
Well, after reading Beths’ Post about a less than satisfactory Sunday it reminded me of the many problems we had with our first Dog Sam (miss you awfully, oh buddy of mine).
He was a great Guy, but boy was he an expensive Dog to keep! Apart from the odd lumps and bumps (all benign) that had to be removed over the years and the astronomical Dental bills we faced, the next and most regular expense was related to his anal glands.
Look I know this is not a “frolicky in the meadows, I love butterflies and knit my own yoghurt post” but it is a problem that faces many, many Dog owners as their Dogs get a little bit older.
Dogs Anal (or Anul) Gland Problems?
Once Sam got to a certain age he had to go to the Vets at least three, if not more, times a year to have his anal glands (or anal sacs) emptied. I bet a lot of you (unless you came here via a search engine) have no idea that these stinky things were even in existence but trust me, unless you take some action you could be facing some serious issues in the future.
OK a few basics:
Dogs Anul Glands
Dog Glands (i.e Anal Glands) are situated just inside the anus of Senor Pooch on either side. They contain small amounts of fluid that basically are their own unique smell. This is why Dogs sniff each others Bums! Bet you never knew that one!
The Dog Glands are supposed to express themselves naturally when your Dog has a Poopie Woopie but this is not always the case. There can be a myriad of factors why this does not occur, but normally, and in most cases it is because of a lack of Fibre, or roughage.
In Sams case and in many other Dogs it can be a real problem. The Dogs Glands slowly fill up and it becomes a real torment to the Dog causing a lot of discomfort as I am sure you can imagine. They can also then empty voluntarily, and trust me on this, you will never have smelt anything quite so nasty EVER. More often than not though they will continue to fill and be a great discomfort to your Dog. Many Dogs have hard to empty anal sacs making the problem even worse.
Sam had a real problem with his glands and without warning we would wake in the morning to discover he had basically torn the fur out of his back end in a failed attempt to get to the cause of the discomfort!
This is by no means an uncommon occurence as our Vet told us, but there is much she FAILED to tell us.
Owners of small Dogs need to be even more vigilant, as they have smaller sacs and may need to be emptied more often if you do not try the suggestions I give later, or if they do not work.
Dog Anal Gland Problems?
How To Spot Anal GLand Problems
- The little pooch is pulling his Bum across the floor as if trying to itch its backside
- The little Monkey keeps trying to gnaw at its back or Bum
- Foul smells emanating from its nether regions
- Excessive Bum licking or gnawing
So if your Dog has any of the above signs what do you do?
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Go to the Vet! Your Vet can easily empty the Dogs Glands (rubber gloves definitely on) and can even show you how to do it at home although I could never build up the courage personally!
Here is where I was very disappointed with our Vets advice. We were told to get as much Fibre and roughage in to our little Sammy Dog as we could. Our Vet advised dried food over canned and for us to see how it went. Well, it didn’t work, so basically we always had a good few trips to the Vets every year to get his little problem sorted out.
It is only now, years later, in another country, that I found the best solution.
Oh c’mon, I hear you saying. Not that again!
My regular readers (hello), may well know what is coming next as I am such an advocate of…….RAW MEATY BONES!
That’s right. After we borrowed a book on raw meaty bones from some friends I never looked at a Dogs diet the same way again. Also after getting to know many locals and seeing what many supplement their Dogs diet with I was quite taken aback. Apart from the advantages of cleaner teeth, no bad dog breath, peace for hours on end as the little Bone Munchers get stuck in, raw meaty bones are the perfect solution and preventitive measure to a Dogs Gland problems.
The roughage and Fibre obtained by your Dog from munching on a suitably sized, correct for your Dog, Raw Meaty Bone will vastly improve, if not eliminate a very serious problem that many Dogs face. The passing of stools by Dogs that have slowly become accustomed to munching on Bones is hard and fibrous and helps dramatically in keeping the anal sacs as they should be.
Sorry to have made this such a long post but I really do hope you take this advice seriously, it could save your Dog a lot of problems in the future and also save you a shed load of cash.
Do an Amazon search, borrow one from the library, nick one off your friends, or however you can get your hands on one, get a book on Raw Meaty Bones. I recommend this one, but there are others, and if you only read one Dog related Book this year make sure you get one on the many, many, benefits of letting Dogs chew on Raw Bones.
If you want to ensure you know what is in your Dogs food, download 245 Homemade Dog Food Recipes and make sure you give them a suitable treat.
May the Doggie Force be with you all,
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