I didn't know this could happen but one of my ridgebacks has a problem with her anal ducts. These ducts are right insider her anus at the 5 o' clock and 7 o' clock positions. My understanding is this is where the dogs scent comes from and why dogs are always sniffing each others' butts. Originally, these ducts developed for dogs to lay their scent when they were wild. Now that most dogs are domesticated, it's basically an obsolete bodily function...kind of like the appendix in humans. Anyway, my dog has leakage. Ugh!!! Apparently these ducts(which contain glands is my understanding) can become infected or develop a mind of their own. Normally, when a dog takes a dump, these glands secrete at the same time and it's a non-issue. However, when things go awry, the ducts do their own leakage whenever they want. So, I have to wipe my dog's butt basically. I took her to the vet. He gave her penicillin and some antibiotics but they don't appear to be working. So, they might have to remove these ducts/glands via surgery. I wonder how much that is going to set me back? I think they also have some kind of ointment that you need to manually apply but the vet didn't mention it. I'm worried that if they remove them...that an infection could occur as that is not the most bacteria-free area. The only good thing is it appears to be confined to her anal area and it doesn't appear to be leaking inside the house(this is a house dog). I never knew this could be a problem but I know I'm eternally disgusted. Apparently, it is more common with smaller dogs and they can develop this chronic leakage. Anybody ever heard of this? It kind of makes you not want a dog anymore. LOL. Sorry if I grossed you people out. You we're warned. When I got a pair of dogs, I never thought or dreamed(more like nightmared) that I would be ass wiping. ARGH!!!! Surf
the dreaded anal duct problem... while i've never experienced it, i have heard about, you are not alone surf, there may even be therapy/survivors group meetings for you to attend.
Boy, you weren't kidding with your thread title. This is as far as I went. I guess I have to learn the lesson of not needing to read EVERY post on this board eventually.
nasty! ive never heard of that, but if you love your dog as much as i love mine than money or wiping-of-dog-anus is a non-issue...just do it.
My dog had this problem, and draining the ducts a couple of times usually did the trick. Does the dog scoot his butt across the floor? That's usually the sign. Maybe your dog has something worse than mine did.
No, mine does not do the butt scoot...thank God. My dog seems oblivious to the problem currently. I haven't seen her licking around there, either. There's no discomfort that I can tell but that could mean it hasn't progressed to that level. I'm not sure if the vet, when I took her in, manually flushed the sacs or not. I don't think he did because it didn't show up on the bill. He cleaned up back there and my dog yelped so I was thinking maybe he had his finger up her butt flushing the sacs. But, I thought I would be charged for that. I dunno. The problem doesn't seem that bad currently but it is persisting after 7 days of antibiotics. The doc told me to bring her back in 10 days if it didn't clear up. I would have thought I would see some results by now. I'm thinking this current regimen of antibiotics isn't working. We may have to try something else. I hear there is a new device called a butt-muncher which I may have to get for her that cleans house automatically. This could be turning into a long ordeal. I hope not.
I had that problem with a cat of mine. It would happen so often that the Vet would let us diagnose it. We would just call and have them get the prescription ready.
Don't be alarm, my dog had the same issue. I did a little research on this subject, you should try these methods before considering surgery. Try changing his diet. We used to feed him Dog Chow and Pedigree (supermarket dog food) and it caused him to leak every other day. The smell reaks, if you're asian you'll probably know what fish sauce smells like, it smells something like that but 100x stronger, I can usually smell it across the room. Someone in a pet forum recommended we start feeding him Nutro Dog Food (available at your local pet store), now he only leaks when I feed him oily food like pizza but the smell is barely noticable. Or you can take him to the groomer or the vet and they'll empty the anal sack. Someone quoted a price between $15-$20. You can learn how to do it yourself but I heard it can be messy. And last is the surgery, from what I've read, there are no side effects, and the anal sack is not vital to his health or body. Anyway good luck with this problem. For more information, try searching "Google Groups" for "anal sack" and "anal gland" And here's a pic of my dog.
LOL thanks for the advice, boohoo, can't edit. Mod plz remove pic please, and edit this sentence out while you're at it.
We get our dogs groomed about every 3 months and they always clean the ducts before they get their bath. Good Luck, I hope it turns out OK
Yea...I have been researching the issue heavily. There can be complications from the surgery but they are rare. One of the complications can render the dog unable to control their bowel movements. Yikes. But, it said the vet would have to do a butcher job for that to happen impacting the anal nerves where they lose feeling back there. The thing about the diet is I've been feeding my dogs the same food for a long time now and never had this problem before. They eat Purina Beneficial...the healthier, lighter version. Some nights...I mix in a little moist canned food. Of course, they eat treats and rawhides as well regularly. This morning when I wiped there wasn't much there. So, maybe she is getting better? I'm not sure. The only thing I'm really unclear of is why the problem started. Is it infection or is it natural? I assume the former cause it never happened before. If infection, then I assume it can be cured rather than opt for surgery. vnagent, did your dog just one day develop this problem out of the blue? Or, did your dog always have this problem?
Yea...I went home at lunch and she had some fair amount of leakage going on. So, I guess my initial optimism that it was getting better was wrong. That stuff smells something awful. I know that much. Back to the vet...
He developed the problem out of the blue, he was on his second bag of Pedigree when the problem started. If you don't feel like switching brand, you could try adding some fiber to his food (carrots/canned pumpkin). If you do decide to switch to Nutro, try not to mix moist food in his meal, he might skip a meal or two but he won't starve himself to death. Give the diet a week or two before making judgement. If all fails, I think surgery is your only option. Here is a website with some information about anal sacks. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/anal_sacs.html
Forgot to mention, since it developed out of the blue, it could be infection or naturla. The vet should be able to diagnosed that problem
The vet did say it was infection but all he did was a visual analysis after wiping her butt. He said..."you see the blood in there; she's got an infection". Then, he gave me the drug to give to her but it doesn't seem to be working. I'm going to call him up today and see what's next I guess. Damn...damn...damn...damn...damn.
Well, I took my dog, Zoe, to the vet today. I had two options...have her anal sacs flushed and injected with medication to hopefully kill the infection OR have the anal sacs removed. The vet said it would make sense to have the sacs flushed/injected to see if that worked first. However, from a cost standpoint, I am probably getting screwed if it doesn't work as then the removal is the only option left. I don't know what the deal is with my vet but he always tells me a bunch of stuff like when my dog will be ready to pick up and forgets to tell me other stuff...like don't feed your dog as we have to sedate her. Then, once I get in there, I get a completely different story out of the assistants. That kind of pisses me off that their never on the same page. Anyway, should get Zoe back at the end of the day and, hopefully, this works so I can resume my normal functions which don't include watch my dog's butt for leakage and wiping. I'm starting to think the only reason anal sacs exist is to make the vet a bunch of money.
Its funny you say "BEWARE" and I know not to look, but its like that little red button that you just cant help press even though you dont know were it will lead...and after it all I always wish I didnt do it Good luck with your dog hope everything works out
Dog update... The vet apparently got a closer look and decided her left sac was infected as it was oozing blood and scent. He didn't have to put her to sleep so I guess he had his assistant hold her down while he...uh...went to work. I'm sure Zoe enjoyed that . He emptied her sacs and shot her up with some medication. When I picked her up, the dog was oozing blood out and stank something awful. I took her home and cleaned her up. I'm supposed to continue giving her the antibiotics she's been on and return in a week for a follow-up. The vet said she may ooze some yellowish substance which is the stuff he shot her up with. All I saw was more blood/scent coming out. I hope this works. Total dollar spent so far: 1.) First visit - $102 2.) Second visit - $41 The last option is surgery to remove them. I swear...dogs are like kids. The same thing in my book.
