Dogs anal glands

[hammerman]

Please don't read if you're eating !!!!

My 3 year old male springer keeps emptying his anal glands.....it is absolutely vile, a rotten fish smell which he then "licks" clean !!!

This happens every couple of months and it's driving us mad....is there anything i can do to stop it ?

Many thanks

[megan07]

Hello we give our basset hound pigs ears as a treat and they make his pooh loose and smelly could it be the diet your feeding him or different treats as this affects our dog but does not cause any distress hope this helps and your spinger is ok

[pmjblue]

I think you need to make his pooh the opposite to loose!! - what are you feeding him? Dogs with anal gland problems need to be on a high fibre diet as this makes the 'stools' firmer! This then puts pressure on the anal glands and they then express themselves when the dog decacates normally. You could also try supplmenting the diet with bran - but I would go to the vet as it may be that he needs his anal glands removed - they can also get infected if he is dragging his bum along the floor.

[Clanad]

You could easily learn to express the glands yourself. This would only need be done about once every month. I know it's a revolting procedure for the modern cultured mind, but it is very easy and just takes a few minutes. Most vets would consider removal of the glands as a last resort since it involves some semi-serious cutting, anathesia,etc.
You might want to Google up "raw diet"... some friends have gone to this diet for their dog and have eliminated (no pun intended) all problems with their dogs smelly rear end. In lieu of a total raw diet you may wish to try about a tabelspoon full of an unsweetened fiber cereal on the dogs food once a day. Best of luck!

[Bigeye74]

Can someone post an answer to why this happens please and confirm that a high fibre diet sorts it out. My dog gets this every so often and cleaning it up isn't good.
RGds