**** gland surgery

[agilitydog]

There is a surgery available to have **** glands removed. Have you or would you do this?

My dog has has **** gland issues and today at the vet(took him for a rabies), I had him check his glands and they were full AGAIN. It took me holding his head, a tech holding his front end, another tech holding his back end and the vet expressing and my dog still sounded like it was extremely painful. I am seriously debating doing this as I talked to my vet about it also.

The surgery through my vet is about $300. There is little side effects. Would you do the surgery or anyone who has done it?

[Savage Destiny]

I've known dogs with chronic gland problems who had them removed. I think it is a good option for dogs who have constant problems with expressing or impaction. A lot easier than dealing with painful and/or impacted glands.

[Luvmyjob]

I know of 2 clients that had this done. They both have Schnauzers. They were very satisfied with the results.

[ktpaco]

None of my current dogs have gland problems, but Paco did. I would have had it done (had I known it was an option) - as his glands would fill up very quickly, even with a change of diet. He was just that way, and $300 doesn't sound that bad if you can afford it.

[Deidre]

I have heard that there is some risk that the nerves that control the anus can be damaged with surgery and this can result in fecal incontinence, some say that this usually heals in time and some are of the opinion that it can be a lifelong problem....

I had a shetland sheepdog that required to have his **** glands expressed and I used to do it myself, I found that he had this problem when he was on kibble (which I used to feed in those days till I discovered RAW)...when I changed his diet to raw meat and bones the problem slowly diminished to the point that they would only need expressing every 3 months if that....a diet that promotes soft stools like the kibble diet will not express the **** glands but if you feed a diet that produces firmer stools then every time the dog defecates the **** glands automatically get a work-out. I am not saying that all dogs on a kibble diet are prone to **** gland problems but for those that are perhaps it is worth looking into feeding raw bones on a regular basis. There is also the possibility that your dog's **** glands may be infected in which case he would require antibiotics so I would perhaps put him on a course of antibiotics before contemplating surgery; cheers.

[agilitydog]

Originally Posted by Deidre

I have heard that there is some risk that the nerves that control the anus can be damaged with surgery and this can result in fecal incontinence, some say that this usually heals in time and some are of the opinion that it can be a lifelong problem....

I had a shetland sheepdog that required to have his **** glands expressed and I used to do it myself, I found that he had this problem when he was on kibble (which I used to feed in those days till I discovered RAW)...when I changed his diet to raw meat and bones the problem slowly diminished to the point that they would only need expressing every 3 months if that....a diet that promotes soft stools like the kibble diet will not express the **** glands but if you feed a diet that produces firmer stools then every time the dog defecates the **** glands automatically get a work-out. I am not saying that all dogs on a kibble diet are prone to **** gland problems but for those that are perhaps it is worth looking into feeding raw bones on a regular basis. There is also the possibility that your dog's **** glands may be infected in which case he would require antibiotics so I would perhaps put him on a course of antibiotics before contemplating surgery; cheers.

I am not switching my dog to RAW but he does eat a premium food(canidae) and get all sorts of leftovers(meat, veggies, etc) put into his food at night. He is given missing link supplement as well as apple cider vinegar water. Diet is not his problem.He also does not have soft stool. I have discussed that with my vet as well.

And yes, I have heard the inconstinece, which is a minor side effect. You take a chance with all surgeries.

Thank you for input as I am glad to see successful surgeries. I could come up with the money, but I do fear surgery of any kind but in this dogs case I think it may be the best option to go.

[Deidre]

Originally Posted by agilitydog

I am not switching my dog to RAW but he does eat a premium food(canidae) and get all sorts of leftovers(meat, veggies, etc) put into his food at night. He is given missing link supplement as well as apple cider vinegar water. Diet is not his problem.He also does not have soft stool. I have discussed that with my vet as well.

And yes, I have heard the inconstinece, which is a minor side effect. You take a chance with all surgeries.

Thank you for input as I am glad to see successful surgeries. I could come up with the money, but I do fear surgery of any kind but in this dogs case I think it may be the best option to go.

There is no need to switch to RAW dear, all you need to do is to add some bones at the end of its meal, that's all!

Good luck with the surgery .

[agilitydog]

He does get raw bones every now and again. They don't last long. A store bought knuckle bone lasts a mere 2 hours with my lab

[Faith]

have they discussed all the other stuff with you - like how long the recovery time is and if you'll need to keep him calm for xx amount of time?

[agilitydog]

Originally Posted by Faith

have they discussed all the other stuff with you - like how long the recovery time is and if you'll need to keep him calm for xx amount of time?

Yeah, I have to figure all that out too as I would have to find down time from training and showing and down time and my dog do not go together
I have to put together the money first anyway. Just wanted to know if others knew of successful ops.