Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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First off, I wasn't sure which forum to put this in, so I'm assuming it will be redirected if necessary. Anyhoo...
Boomie never had anal gland trouble before. Never scooted, never needed to have them expressed, etc. Several months ago, seemingly out of the blue, his right anal gland ruptured. The vet checked him, cleaned him up, gave antibiotics, and he healed up fine. Now today, the same thing happened again. The vet feels that it may be possible that Boomie's (um... creative?) squatting posture (no right rear leg), in combination with a tendency toward soft stools are causing that right anal gland to not be expressed naturally when he poops, thus resulting in build-up, and infection.
Has anybody else's dog had this problem?
Cindy and Boomie
Boomie's leg was amputated due to osteosarcoma on May 15, 2008. He enjoyed over two and a half years of life after that, one day at a time. He died on Feb. 21, 2011.
hmm well,from what I know and was told,it is correct that when dog doesnt have firm stool,gland doesnt get cleaned up natural way,and dogs usually have problem then - usually one of first simptoms is scratching and paws licking. They tend to drag their bottom on ground as well when its really bothering them. My late dog used to have lots of digestion problems and soft stool as a result so he had to get his glands expressed by vet quite often. On other hand they say when you start doing it manually they tend to fill up more quickly and have to do it more often,so is much better way if they can clean naturaly,but if your boy is suffering from soft stool too often then I guess is better vet takes care of it then to make it bothering him. My new pup seems to have problems with it already,cause he is a little garbage boy so spoils his digestion often and after few days of soft stool his gland can be scented,and it sometimes even drips out a little on bed or floor. But as he is just a pup yet I dont want to start taking him to vet yet for it,and he told me that is good thing to give him a cooked baby beef or veal bone to chew - it apperantly cleans teeth very nicely and makes stool quite firm so is perfect for anal gland cleaning.
Well,good luck,hope you will manage to solve the problem,and Boomie wont have problems with it again 🙂
Daniela, Angle Don's Mum
My pug Maggie was a left rear amp, and had a bit of a 'creative' posture. But she did not have trouble with her anal glands. Mag's little sister Tani, who is a quad pug, has constant problems with her anal glands- mostly just getting over full. For my pugs it has been more a case of soft or small stools I think. I have a relatively new rescue pug, a 4 year old boy Obie. He does very manly sized (for a pug!) and firm stools and does not seem to have anal gland issues.
Pugs, in my experience, and from talking to other pug people seem prone to anal gland issues. And I have heard that small dogs have more trouble than large dogs.
Also diet plays a roll- firm stools seem to keep the anal glands doing their thing correctly.
An interesting thought though on the posture. If you don't hear from Dr. Pam in this thread you might consider re-posting in the 'Ask A Vet' forum.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Has anybody else's dog had this problem?
Finally a subject I have experience in! And of course, it would happen to be "anal glands" !!
This is exactly what happened to Comet! When it happened the second time, I made the vet remove them! Problem solved. It was a pretty easy surgery. (I hardly remember it, so it must have been)
You know I never connected the problem with her being 3 legged, but that makes sense. She's been a tripawd all her life (front left) and her glands finally gave way when she was about 5 years old. She used to 'scoot' a lot before then.
I wasn't dealing with any other issues so if your vet is okay with removing them, I would. The procedure to clean out the anal glad prior to surgery was rather pricey, if I remember correctly.
Good luck!
Comet's mom
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Comet, that surgery sounds like it HURTS! Yikes!
Hmmm, not sure about the squatting thing. I'm a rear-legger too and have never had this issue. I hear that Spirit Jerry didn't ever either. From what my Mom's read, diet does indeed have a lot to do with it. Lots of fiber helps keep things moving along and those anal glands healthy! What does Boomie eat?
P.S. I put this in "Ask a Vet' becuase I'd love to see what Pam thinks about it.
Wyatt Ray Dawg . . . The Tripawds Leg-A-Cy Continues!
Read all about my adventures at my Tripawds Blog
My parent's dog Rocket drags her butt on everything, but she doesn't have soft stool? Could she have gland problems? Hmm, will go do some online research on that... Luckily Chloe has never had that problem as a tripawd. She is a rear amp like Wyatt Ray .
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
It is not unusual for a dog to have chronic anal gland problems and the easiest solution is increasing fiber in the diet as well as expressing the glands monthly to prevent infection from building up (leading to an abscess). If all else fails the glands can be removed surgically but make sure your vet has done this procedure before since there is a small risk of fecal incontinence if it is not done right.
Pam
Fecal incontinence? Oh my, eeeeeeew! So glad that didn't happen to you, Comet!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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