anal sac???

[justme]

what is an anal sac... my pup went to the vet yesterday and they say that his anal sac gland is full... and needs to be empty... i'm just wondering... can't the pup empty it on their own??? how does it get full anyways??? i mean if it can get full... it should be able to empty it itself right??? just wondering...

[fairlight]

Ahhh the infamous anal sac. No, dogs cannot empty them themselves. It's a build up of anal secretions and believe me you do NOT want to be the one cleaning their anal sack. I save that lovely job for either the groomers or the vet. If the sac is not cleaned you will find your dogs starting to scootch on the floor and drag their butts. I would think anal gland should be cleaned twice a year for most dogs...please correct me if I am wrong.

[agilitydog]

The anal gland generally empties on its own when a dog deficates. Though there are times that they do not empty. my lab has major issues with this. If the stool tends to be soft it will not put enough pressure on the sac to empty it. Small dogs tend to have more problems than big dogs. Many groomers will exress it as well as vets. If it is a problem, you can learn to do it yourself. But yes, as fairlight said, it is absolutely horrible so if you don't have to, let someone else do it. Some dogs will never have a problem and others can have major problems.

[Savage Destiny]

Buh, anal glands. My LEAST favourite part about grooming, lol.

Agility has it exactly right- Most dogs can empty the anal glands on their own, but not all. If yours isn't expressing them himself, you can take him to a groomer or vet to do it. I usually suggest taking the dog to the groomer for an anal gland expression and a bath- Anal glands are STINKY and you certainly don't want the residue stuck to your dog's britches!

[alimel]

My Beagle had to have his drained, but my Rott has never had this problem, depends on the dog and boy if you do not drain it, PEYEWWW

[justme]

what is the anal sac in the first place??? and how the HECK do u do it yourself? not that i'm interested... LOL... anyways, ya say the groomer can also do it too??? how much does it usually cost???

[agilitydog]

The price can vary. My vet charges $10. My friend is a groomer and she does it as part of the grooming at no extra charge that way it is done in the tub and they can get cleraned up.

Here are a few articles
http://www.barkbytes.com/medical/med0029.htm

http://www.dr-dan.com/analsac.htm

If you google "dog anal sac" you will come up with tons of articles. If you want to do it yourself, please have someone show you how. I have been showed how but I still take my dog to my friend.

[HeavenlyJumper]

Can't they just be removed if they are a problem for a dog?

[fairlight]

Some owners know how to release the "remnants" from the anal sac...personally if it didn't smell like death and then some I would probably do it...but I would give my last 10.00 to have the vet do it for me.

[agilitydog]

Originally Posted by HeavenlyJumper

Can't they just be removed if they are a problem for a dog?

Yes, there is a procedure that can be done to have them removed. They take a forceps and insert it into the gland opening and pull out the gland. It is actually a rather simple procedure. My vet cost around $300. But as with any type surgery there can be complications and though it rarely happens this procedure can cause inconstinence. Although they now have a laser procedure I think.