Hi Everyone, I need help with my 5 yr. old lab named Zoey. She has an anal gland that is tucked way up. She's recently had to have this gland expressed 4 times since mid December. Each time she has it done she yelps and it hurts her. I understand that no one would like having it done. She really cries for the vet to stop. What we're going to try next week is to give her medication to relax her and then try to express it. I feed her Abdy Classic because she had crystals when she was 3. Someone told me to try this food and it worked. No more crystals. I don't want to hurt her any more. Thanks Zoey
Hi @Pretty Are her stools very soft? Impacted anal glands sometimes result when the stools are too soft.
Michael, No they are not. I feed her Abdy Classic dog food. It's the consistency of brown sugar. The reason why is she was getting crystals all the time. Since she's been on this food she has not had any crystals in her urine. Thank you Pretty
Hi @Pretty Consistency of brown sugar may be a little too soft. When the stool is firmer, the anal gland releases some of its contents. Perhaps might be worth mentioning to the vet.
Recenltly our 6 year old dog started scooting his butt on the floor and after pooping when we'd takin him for walks. The vet had to express his glands and said we can do it at home. We feed our dogs a raw diet, and he also suggested adding more bone. This did the trick for us. We added a rather large pork bone in addition to his other food once a week and after that no more scooting. Apparently the higher bone percentage helps to firm up the poop making the glands express naturally on thier own. No more scooting. For any raw feeder with this problem adding a bit more bone may work, its worth a try.
