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I have these books:
Wellness and Longevity Program, Natural Care for Dogs and Cats by Robert Goldstein, VMD
Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health For Dogs and Cats by Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PHD
Nature of Animal Healing by: Martin Goldstein, DVM
Anyway, these types of problems are more common then we think and more painful too.
For the most part, Anal gland problems are directly related to food intake.
Let me summarize here what they say and it would be a great idea for you to pick up one of these books for future reference and I would try another vet, holistic vet would be a good one to try.
Many factors contribute to Anal gland problems: (food related)
2 problems can occur, How?:
1. either as abscesses that form within the glands themselves -or-
2. from impaction, which the glands become inactive and overfilled with secretion. this cause the dog to "scoot" their bottom along the floor to try to empty these glands which have exceeded their normal capacity.
Some factors that may play a role in leading to these problems:
*1* frustration in trying to establish territory, being "crowded" with other animals or not enough space for exercise.
*2* constipation or infrequent pooping, ***could be from food problems.
*3* toxicity, poor food and inadequate exercise, ***could be from food as well. often also has problems with the ears and skin as well.
So, What kind of food does he eat exactly? Does he truly get enough exercise? What are his bowel movement like? *It does help to watch and monitor, take note/record if needed, of his movements as to further evaluate possible causes etc. Does he seem happy with his environment, with other animals etc? Is he overweight?
Good nutrition is very important! for this issue and many other conditions.
This condition is associated with sluggishness of the tissues and often with toxicity and obesity as well. Regular vigorous exercise is needed.
Things that are really good: that help promote healthy skin:
zinc, the B complex, vit. A, lecithin, unsaturated veggie oil.
Olive oil is good, good for bowels.
To stimulate the natural emptying of the glands:
adding veggies and a little bran mixed w/ olive oil to the food each meal
that will help to regulate the intestines and encourage bulky bm's. which in turn will poop better and glands be naturally emptied with the bowel movements.
Hope this helps!
I am all for helping out others that would like to help their pets!
My dogs each get 1 raw carrot per day, they love them, and I haven't noticed any bum-skooting since I started it. They also have firmer bowel movements. It might help your dog. I'm sorry to hear this is going on so long and has been so expensive for you. It seems like the infusion that your vet mentioned might work. Good luck!
Anal gland problems are often due to skin allergies. It can take at least 6 weeks on the z/d with no other food or treats for it to work. If your dog accidentally gets something else to eat the 6 weeks starts over. It's a super-strict and super-restrictive diet, but sometimes it works.
You just may not have waited long enough.
I might have missed it, is the infection cleared up or is that an ongoing problem? Clearing up the allergy won't help an infection that's already going strong. It'll just help prevent a recurrence.
Good luck!
I don't think anyone on this message board can really help you. We are not vets. And even if we were, we can't see your dog, and we don't have the tests to review. You haven't even mentioned what tests were done.
Because I don't know! There were dozens.
Quote:
You seem reluctant to take any information here as the basis for any further research or attempts at fixing your dogs problem. Shroom mentioned infusing the glands, and you don't want to do that either.
Actually I said thanks and I'd talk to the vet about it. Please see above. The reason I posted is because I am sure someone has been thru this before, and I was hoping to reach out to them!
Quote:
If you decide to take cheap route and put her down, I really hope you don't run out and get another dog.
W.
If I (we) decided to go the cheap route we wouldn't have spent 2 mortgage payments on her already.
Anal gland problems are often due to skin allergies. It can take at least 6 weeks on the z/d with no other food or treats for it to work. If your dog accidentally gets something else to eat the 6 weeks starts over. It's a super-strict and super-restrictive diet, but sometimes it works.
You just may not have waited long enough.
I might have missed it, is the infection cleared up or is that an ongoing problem? Clearing up the allergy won't help an infection that's already going strong. It'll just help prevent a recurrence.
Good luck!
Thanks that's what I was looking for! THANK YOU. We will keep going with the z/d diet we just can't stand to her our dog like this. She is miserable, it's like a parent watching their child and not being able to do anything about it!
We're not sure on the infection, it was cleared up but then came back again. No blood in the anal glands on 1/10/09 but there was a little on 1/26/09 however we started the z/d diet on 1/26/09. I am going tomorrow to get them expressed to see if there is any blood in there, to see if the antibiotic is even working. Her stools have been firm before the switch to z/d, so the vet thinks it is more of a problem with hyperactivity than being able to express them. The dog hasn't ever "scooted" but we notice she constantly licks her behind and then a few days later they start literally leaking. What has me concerned is even on the antibiotics and prednizone she is back to leaking.
For the most part, Anal gland problems are directly related to food intake.
Many factors contribute to Anal gland problems: (food related)
2 problems can occur, How?:
1. either as abscesses that form within the glands themselves -or-
2. from impaction, which the glands become inactive and overfilled with secretion. this cause the dog to "scoot" their bottom along the floor to try to empty these glands which have exceeded their normal capacity.
See her case doesn't fit those normal cases which is frustrating. The glands haven't ever been impacted. They just get infected. There are no abscesses and no tumors can be felt. She doesn't scoot, she just licks and then they start leaking out and she leaves marks all on the floor. But the glands are able to be expressed by her.
Quote:
Some factors that may play a role in leading to these problems:
*1* frustration in trying to establish territory, being "crowded" with other animals or not enough space for exercise.
*2* constipation or infrequent pooping, ***could be from food problems.
*3* toxicity, poor food and inadequate exercise, ***could be from food as well. often also has problems with the ears and skin as well.
So, What kind of food does he eat exactly? Does he truly get enough exercise? What are his bowel movement like? *It does help to watch and monitor, take note/record if needed, of his movements as to further evaluate possible causes etc. Does he seem happy with his environment, with other animals etc? Is he overweight?
She's been on multiple foods in the last 2 months. Prior to that we fed her Beneful which I know wasn't the best, we fell for the marketing. But she was on that almost 4.5 years and only developed the problem at the end of that, which is why we started switching food (again because we thought she was farting and going to a higher quality food would help). Now she is currently on Hills/Science Diet z/d ulta which is a hypoallergenic food, but she just started it 1 week ago.
She walks about 2-3 miles a day, which seems good for her because she is a very sedated dog to begin with, although I suppose we could all use more exercise. Her poop is mostly firm but has been soft the past few days due to the recent food changes. But all these anal gland problems started before switching food.
Yeah we're trying to bulk up her stool but I've been reading online, there are so many suggestions from oats to bran to carrots to the fiber supplement at the grocery stores. In addition we don't want to mess up the z/d diet because we wanted to be extremely strict as to give her the best shot she has at narrowing down exactly what is causing her glands to go haywire.
Yep still leaking, did quite a bit today, she's been on antibiotics (baytril 136mg) almost 1 week and same for prednizone. Maybe she just needs to poop more? She typically goes 1-2 times a day?
Do infected anal glands cause leakage? Or is it just that they are overfilled?
The best thing for anal glands is pumpkin puree (not the sugary pie filling). Add a tablespoon to her food every day and you should see a difference within a week.
Are you sure the dog does not have perianal fistulas? It is not an uncommon condition for middle aged GSDs. Signs are straining to go, bloody pus coming out of the anal glands then later additional holes opening up, licking anus frequently. Ask the vet about that if you see these symptoms.
You know, each person has to make their own decision. I love my dogs and care for them well, but going broke over a dog when things appear not to be working does not make sense to me.
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What kind of food does he eat exactly? Does he truly get enough exercise? What are his bowel movement like? *It does help to watch and monitor, take note/record if needed, of his movements as to further evaluate possible causes etc. Does he seem happy with his environment, with other animals etc? Is he overweight?
