Crested Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 Ben has a problem with anal glands. I've been feeding him pedigree's food to make his poo more firm and it has helped a bit, but we have to wipe his butt every time he has been and pooed and sometimes even many times during the day. Now it has become bad enough that we have to wipe him all the time. Is this a good or a bad thing? Should I go to the vet with him? I hate that smell... :x Ben enjoys when we wipe his butt with moist paper thingies (you know, the things you wipe babies butts), I don't see it as a big problem either, but when it has become more and more often... Please help! /Crest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat613 Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 Yes this is a bad thing. No, it is not normal or healthy. I don't know how to explain this to you any better. You ask over and over about the things you feed him. You feed him crap. That is why he is not in ideal health. You get what you put into things. Some dogs can do ok on junk foods but would do better on good food. Other dogs have problems right away with bad foods. Things like this and Ben's allergies are things that would be helped by feeding him anything halfway decent. There is no magical answer, you can't just ignore reality and hope that there will be some easy way out. If you ate nothing but McDonalds happy meals for your entire life, you would not be in good health either. Nutrition is the foundation for a healthy happy life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 I would definately take a trip to the Vet...also a good quality food with a higher quanity of fiber is a must for a dog with anal gland problems...a solid stool helps to express the glands naturally....some dogs will also blow their glands when they are scared or excited...this is also normal. Some dogs are predisposed to anal gland problems due to their physical build...and its usually a common problem with smaller dogs. At the grooming shop I work at we do not squeeze anal glands ...the only time we will do this is if its a springer or cocker who will blow them as soon as the groom is finished...and then its just a light little squeeze. Some people end up squeezing them so hard and so often they create scar tissue...then its going to be a must to squeeze the glands. What the groomer at the shop I work at advises her customers is: go see a vet who will express the glands properly from the inside... a good Vet will offer dietary changes. Some times, some dogs have such severe problems with their glands that they have to have them removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crested Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 [quote name='alicat613']Yes this is a bad thing. No, it is not normal or healthy. I don't know how to explain this to you any better. You ask over and over about the things you feed him. You feed him crap. That is why he is not in ideal health. You get what you put into things. Some dogs can do ok on junk foods but would do better on good food. Other dogs have problems right away with bad foods. Things like this and Ben's allergies are things that would be helped by feeding him anything halfway decent. There is no magical answer, you can't just ignore reality and hope that there will be some easy way out. If you ate nothing but McDonalds happy meals for your entire life, you would not be in good health either. Nutrition is the foundation for a healthy happy life.[/quote] The reason why I started to feed Pedigree to him was because of his allergies. I had tried out so many diffirent foods that I thought I'd try Pedigree, because he hasn't got any allergic reactions of all the other pedigrees goodies (dog chocolate, bisquits etc.) and noticed that he hasn't got any reactions of the food I bought either. I thought that crap food is better then no food. I sometimes give him home made porridge, but the pedigree is the one that makes his poo more firm. So I thought that he would A. Get vitamins from the pedigree that he doesn't get from the porridge and B. His poo would get more firm, so the anal glands would empty normally. I called the vet and I'm going there tomorrow, so she'll check it up. She said that it could be that she don't have to do anything because they are apparently emptying on their own too... (I don't know if Pedigree is the reason for the emptying) I hope this cleared things up a bit. I want to feed him good food, but I have tried so many labels allredy and I feel I'm causing him just more pain when his allergic reactions cause his throat to itch. So he scratches his skin on his throat so it bleeds. He got someting he's allergic to on friday when my nephiews and niece were here (licked their fingers or something) and this caused the same reaction. He has scratched the skin so it's bleeding, but looks better now. On sunday it was REALLY swollen and REALLY red. On monday it was wide open and bleeding. :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 check out one of the IVD foods (Innovative Veterinary Diets made by PhD). Those have novel proteins. This brand is the best "prescription" allergy diet you can probably buy. I normally would not recommend a Veterinary diet food, but when it comes to allergies...some times its the only route...a friend of mine adopted a white boxer (they are normally PTS due to so many skin problems etc) this boxer had itself scratched raw from allergies...she had the allergy test done (the new one where they take a blood sample and do tests on the blood) the dog is allergic to every thing including human dander etc...she has started her boxer on the IVD food and is having success...she had also tried the BARF diet...but every thing available..beef, chicken, Lamb etc the dog is allergic to...this was her only option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowie-the-Pooh Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 I agree with Cassie, maybe your best bet is IVD. Sonce Ben has allgergies, I guess it's your best bet! Pedigree, yuck! I understand that you cannot get him anything else, but maybe you could buy something off the net? Will your mother alow it? :) I thought Ben was fixed? :o Or am I confusing it for something else? :-? [size=1]*Rowie you idiot!*[/size] :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crested Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 [quote name='Rowie-the-Pooh']maybe you could buy something off the net? Will your mother alow it? :) I thought Ben was fixed? :o Or am I confusing it for something else? :-? [size=1]*Rowie you idiot!*[/size] :oops:[/quote] Rowie, you're not an idiot! :lol: Ben is fixed yes... :) and about the netshops... I'm not a fan of them, because you have to give them your credit card number etc... The vet has some allergy food (Hill's food atleast), so I might buy him something from there, allthough it's really expensive (2kg = 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowie-the-Pooh Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Oh, OK! :D I think you should go with what you think is best for Ben's allergies.... I think Hill's science diet woul be best....(I think)... :P Good Luck Honey! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crested Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 Thank you Rowie. :D It's just that... hmmm... what if I buy this incredibly expensive food and Ben can't handle it...?? Oh and another thing I've heard... Do fixed dogs get anal gland problems more then the not fixed dogs? /Crest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Anal gland problems affect small breeds more than others...it doesnt matter is they are intact or not...its they way they are built which predisposes them to problems. As for trying a prescription diet ask your vet if you can try a sample first...at the vet clinic I work at we have little samples pre made from the manufature to hand out to customers...we wouldnt want them buying a big bag and the dog not liking it. Good luck :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crested Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 Ok... I was at the vet. Ben had his anal glands full with the fluid and she emptied them. It was the most DISGUSTING thing I've EVER seen or SMELLED in my ENTIRE LIFE!! I could feel my face go green... I nearly puked, and I'm not the easiest person to do that! I was afraid that the neutering was bad, but it was actually not disgusting, ugly or horrible in any way. That was a THOUSAND times worse!!! :x Ben got his allergy food too... but he doesn't seem to know what to think of it... He doesn't know if he should eat or play with it! :D /Crest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat613 Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 The problem is that while you tried Pedigree for his allergies (although why I have no idea since it's a terrible food) but you also give him a wide variety of treats that are unhealthy, from those little tins of mush to table scraps such as ham (which is loaded with salt, nitrates, preservatives and other things that are really hard on the body, especially a very sensitive little body like Ben's). You say things like, oh he can't be allergic because he can eat everything I give him so maybe you don't understand allergies well. There are allergies that cause acute reactions, where a person might get swelling or hives, and then there are more chronic allergies that manifest in the skin. The skin is the body's way of getting rid of bad stuff when it can't do so in a closer location (bodily orifices - eyes, ears, mouth, nose etc). Just because he doesn't keel over when you feed him something doesn't mean he isn't allergic to it. And he may not really be allergic to anything specifically, he may just be very sensitive and have a hard time with all these chemicals and unnatural things he is eating. You need to stop switching foods, stop feeding him bits of things, and start feeding him the most simple thing you can find, or make him a stew of chicken and rice and carrots. Stay on this until he starts to get better. As he heals and rids his body of toxins, you can slowly introduce other foods to see how he does. Getting a lot of water and bathing will also help him eliminate what is bothering him. The prescription diet may help for a little bit but it is a superficial treatment, not a solution. Again, the anal glands should not be a problem on a good diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon_C Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 [color=darkred]Crested my Bullmastiff had a problem with his anal glands but this was due to laziness of not emptying them regular. He used to be fed on Pedigree also but since I have changed the brand due to allergies. He is fed on Hero Complete now, (a supermarket brand) if you have an Asda Superstore in your country, they might have it there. It works wonders for my dogs and they haven't had any problems since![/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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