# Anal Glands



## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

:afraid:

Since I became a member in May...I've noticed that quite a few folks who post here seem to do their own grooming.

That being the case, do you then also do this most odious of tasks that I am happy to pay my groomer to do?

And do dogs who do not ever need to go to a professional groomer somehow not need this done?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

If my dogs need their anal glands emptying I go to the vet. In over 8 years Poppy's have been done once, and Sophy's never. The glands are designed by nature to function without interference - if the diet is right they should not need manually emptying, and if they should need doing the vet is the best person to do it. Some jobs are worth paying someone else to do!


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

Beautiful Blue, you should be able to feel whether or not they need to be done. If they are very hard and feel like marbles or grapes, that is a sign that they are impacted and aren't draining correctly. Sometimes a dog will pay extra close attention to the area or drag their bum all over the floor if the glands are bothering them. 

If you are thinking of home grooming, I would have your vet or groomer show you how to check them, and then you can just check them each time you groom and if there is a problem, you can make an appt with the vet or groomer to empty them. You could even learn how to do it yourself... It's not the most pleasant job, but after a minute or two of horror and gross smell, it's all over


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Rocky's glands don't empty properly - didn't know it until he had one burst when he was young. I get the vet/vet tech to express them at his annual check up and then usually get my mom (not a groomer/vet tech or anything - just a dog lover) to do it a few times in-between appointments. My aunt was a vet tech, so she taught my mom how to do it for both my dog and hers. Rocky's have to be internally expressed and tend to harden. I have tried before, but haven't been able to get them. There's also quite a bit of scar tissue around the one that burst, so it's a bit difficult. If you can use the external method, it is pretty easy to learn. Internal method is a bit more difficult, but still easily learn-able.

Shae is just a pup and hasn't scooted or shown signs of anal gland distress. Sometimes when she goes to the washroom, I have seen a few drops of a liquid come out at the end. I don't know for sure, but I am presuming that's her glands emptying, so think hers are working fine. I won't touch them until I have signs that they aren't emptying properly.


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## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

No, chinchilla, I am happy to have the groomer check and take care of the matter if need be. I was just curious what the home groomer does.

And when I was reading about turkey necks for clean teeth (and a tremendous amount of enjoyment! I might add) it was said that dogs who eat bone have a firmer stool and that might help with compressing anal glands naturally...while warning that too much bone can lead to constipation.


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## RylieJames (Feb 3, 2016)

I don't do it myself. With the two dogs I currently have they don't have any problems and don't have to be expressed. With my previous dog, she didn't need to have them expressed until she was about 9 years old and then we started bringing her to the vet regularly for that. It was a free service at my vet, so I was happy to have them do it for me.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

Once you begin expressing the glands regularly you will have to do it forever. They are best left alone if they do not need expressing. Some groomers do it as a matter of course. In my opinion this should not be done. If the dogs diet gives them a firm large stool the act of defecation expresses the glands naturally. If you do it too often the dog loses this ability in time.

Eric.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

I'm a professional dog groomer and I do not offer anal gland expressing. If people want that service I tell them to refer to their vet.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I have never had to express Molly's anal glands ( I HAVE checked them though!) but I'm pretty sure it's because she has firm bowel movements that take care of it. 
If a dog has normal healthy glands it is better to let them express naturally because like Eric says, once you start routinely doing them manually, you will be doing it most likely forever! If you are unlucky and have a dog that needs to be expressed manually, it is really an easy procedure.........Google it LOL!!!!


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## Poodlemanic (Jun 27, 2016)

I do my own grooming but I do love to take the girls to a luxurious spa when we go to the city; none of us have ever expressed the anal glands in their 7 years of life. Until one of my standard poodle's anal gland burst a couple of months ago! She showed no sign of impaction, never scooted on her behind, never even showed any discomfort until it burst. NOW I check all the time and take her to vet for expressing as needed. She's on a top-quality diet and gets lots of exercise and regular grooming...sometimes it just happens.


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## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

Thanks for all the input, and the range of experiences and advice.


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## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

Beautiful Blue said:


> Thanks for all the input, and the range of experiences and advice.


One more thing...

It has been so much fun to watch Rio go from…well, a dog who needed daily exercise, and play, and running in the great outdoors - but wasn’t getting it – to what he has become in the last 2 ½ months.

The first few days we had him I would hear this noise out on the deck outside my office and go to the window to see him running from the deck to the farthest most corner of the yard, around the tree and back to the deck. Repeat as necessary. ALL BY HIMSELF! LOL

(Drop down to dotted line to avoid reading rambling explanation…)

Fast forward… he has discovered and is fascinated by squirrels – and with the oak trees in our neighborhood there are quite a few. We have a pair of turkeys who have 5 (remaining) chicks wandering around the neighborhood. They actually nested in our next door neighbor’s back yard which had become extremely overgrown due to their late return from wintering in Arizona – like a wildlife refuge back there until a couple of weeks ago.

I believe a deer or two leaped through our yard a couple of nights ago – angling from the back fence and over the side fence…tipping over 2 empty (so not a raccoon) Rubbermaid trash cans by the one fence, and tipping halfway over one of my tomato plants and its cage…possibly clipping it with its hind legs as it leaped the final fence. That’s my best guess. Hubby wants to put up our infra-red game camera, but the chances of it happening again are slim I think…meanwhile the camera will catch my rear end as I weed the flowers.

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So, this morning as I was working in the back yard Rio was intent – more than usual – on following a scent trail along the grass over to the chain link fence - much careful sniffing of the fence about 2 feet up off the ground. I was careful not to distract him, and just observed. 

Then he came back closer to where I was, still engrossed in sniffing. And he followed the trail again, this time stopping 3 or 4 times to lightly lower his rear end and touch it gently to the ground. Go another couple of feet. Again, lower his butt quickly, gently, and continue on.

So now I know what the anal glands are for!!


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