Not sure if this is a general or medical question but...
Submitted by Fatboy on August 23, 2012 - 10:31pmDoes anyone here express their bully's anal glands themseles? If so, is it hard to do or do you even recommend it? I don't trust the pet grooming places and our vet is over an hours drive away.
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Fatboy aka Stinky :)
WTF
How do you mean? Like a colonic irragation?
I don't do Farley's myself because of his spine issues
His anal glands are deep and down to the left not right inside the anus like they are supposed to be so I have the Vet's office do his. I do my Boxer's myself though her's are normal.
We do Onslows at home
Actually I hold him and Sam is the one that gets in there. We watched an informational youtube video and the vet do it a few times. Once you know where they are and what it feels like its not too bad and saves a lot of money. Have the vet show you how to do it.
Internal & External
I will do external expression myself, but some dogs are really difficult to express. I have never done internal expression and would rather not, ewwww. But I would caution over expressing can cause problems as well. The body should naturally express the anal glands, first figure out why they are not getting expressed? Maybe it is food, stools, etc. that can be corrected. If none of that works and the dog just has problems expressing them then consult your vet. Like over cleaning wrinkles, tails, etc. you can end up with more problems by not letting the body do what it was made to do. If it becomes absolutely necessary to manually express them then you can learn to do it yourself, either externally or internally.
I think our issue is
the food. He always has a food issue. Fatboy has been on Honest Kitchen for 9 months now and he's starting to get soft stools. I've noticed there is never any consistency with HK; one month his nose fold needs more care than usual, another month it's feet chewing, the next he's got an upset stomach/gas, and last month it was his ear infection. Now the soft stools are starting to create an issue with the glands. But HK is the only food he loves to eat. I rotate between proteins with every new box we buy.
He will eat kibble only when he absolutely has to. But with both humans working day jobs, it's hard to keep him on a "schedule" for potty/poop breaks when he's not eating when he's supposed to. With HK we know he'll eat when the bowl is put out for him.
Fatboy aka Stinky :)
I have never done it.
In fact I didn't know this should be done. I will bring this up to Loulou vet the next time she goes for a check up. But my vet less then 10 mins away so I will look on u-tube to see what this really is and how it done. Looks like I still have a lot to learn.
Karonelaine
I have tried with Sophie twice now......
I haven't been able to get them to express, though, and I'm so afraid of hurting her. Of course I read about
it, watched videos, watched our vet do it, etc......I know what you mean, our vet is kinda far and I also would prefer
to do it so it's not so TRAUMATIC for her.....poor baby HATES going to the vet now! She gets all upset, shivers, etc.
Luckily, Meaty has NEVER had anal gland problems, but he does have a tight tail pocket that he's good about letting
me clean regularly.
Our sweet Archimedes "MEATY" Bones (or as we say...boneSHHH!) ---born 11/28/08---- our first bullllyyyy!!!
And SOPHIE Bubbles *Rapscallion* (LOL!) ---born 4/3/11----our second bulllllyyyy!!!!
poor baby =\
Fatboy gets excited when we go to the vet. But when it's time to go back into the room? THEN he starts to get scared lol
Fatboy aka Stinky :)