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What a topic huh? but I know dog lovers will understand.. for about a week & a half my dog, Leia has been scooting her butt on the floor. We have hard wood floor & she will just go in circles.. doesn't look like she's in pain.

Looked it up on the internet & the #1 thing was anal sac clogged.. then worms, She was just at the vet last month so I know it wasn't worms or anything like that but me being the worrier I am checked every BM..

Was driving past the vet yesterday so I stopped in & asked & they said it was 99.9% sure anal sac clogged ( said it was a Corgi trait?) .. they first suggested a high fiber diet to form her BM's , which in turn will drain them then if that doesn't work in a week, bring her in & they would drain them, simple procedure or *I* could do it & they showed me how .

Ummmm... first UGGG.. second No freaking way am I going to violate my dog..
My question.. Has anyones dog ever had clogged anal sacs before & how serious is it, really? should I do the diet or take her to get them drained?

This dog is my baby & I don't want anything to happen to her & was ready yesterday, to drive back home, get her & go back to the vet & get this fixed NOW!! But Vet seemed unconcerned & said as long as she didn't show discomfort to try the fiber diet.

I did get her Metamucil that the vet recommended & will do that but am still a little concerned,... I've owned over 10 dogs in my lifetime & NEVER even heard of this before..

Again, sorry for the gross topic..

Philly....

We've always been very lucky that none of our dogs over the years have suffered with that problem. I don't know if it's just pure luck with us or the food we feed them or what, but I know I'm grateful

Friends of ours have always taken their dog in to have them drained by the technician. They have purebred Dobermans and for some reason they go through this about once a year.

If it were me, I'd opt to take my pooch to the vet and have it done

My corgi (Willie) had clogged sacs once. The vet drained them - no problems since (thank goodness).

Yes, he did feel violated afterwards, and he did not like it. I don't think I would try this at home, unless you want to get bit.

I haven't had a dog with this issue, but I would also get it done. I've heard the blockage is or can be quite painful. If she's scooting around on the floor I would suspect she's in quite a bit of discomfort and I'd want to end that as soon as possible. Remember dogs being a pack animal, will try to hide pain and aren't often vocal about it.

I had a dog that would need to have hers done every couple of months. The vet told us some breeds are more prone to having this problem than others. It is gross and smells awful. I would let the vet take care of it.

My GSD has this problem frequently. It's important not to let it go too long because it can worsen and cause complications like infection, abscess, and fistula.

I used to bring her in to get them expressed I was very resistant to doing it myself. But after many trips and fees and me being a nurse.... My vet showed me how and it's pretty easy. I only externally express them not internally.

TMI/ GROSS ALERT:
Basically grab the base of her tail and roll it back then find the anal glands and squeeze them with paper towels so that the fluid comes out of the anus.

It smells awful but very little comes out if you don't wait too long. It's not messy. I would not do it without actually having the vet teach you how first.

I wouldn't leave her dragging her butt around for too long. We tried increasing fiber and it really didn't help too much. Pumpkin is high in fiber so you can add a few spoons of that to her food. Dry kibble is better than canned for dogs with this problem. On dog food advisor you can read the fiber content of all the dog foods. Try for 5% or higher.

Good luck.

(((Philly's dog)))

Years ago, my dog had this happen. She felt so much better after the vet drained them.

My dogs are little and both of them have had this problem at one point or another. It's really not a big deal, I just let the groomers handle it (couldn't bring myself to violate them either).

It's a service that they can do when they do a bath and trim for a small fee. Just remember to ask.

One of my pugs goes through this occasionally. (Once every few years?)

Both vets we have insist that we get it done at the clinic so that there is no risk of rupturing the sac. I wholeheartedly agree, and not just because I have a healthy aversion to sticking anything up my poor pug-pug's bottom.

Some Dogs are more prone to this than others. I have had a Golden that had an issue with it. I did manually do this more than once, but preferred the no food for a day, and then a big meal method, forms a large bulky stool, and that drains them.
The fiber will do the same thing.
If you are that concerned then take her to the vet and let them do it. BTW you dog doesn't feel violated, they feel relief. No more itchy butt.

Our female lab has this problem. FWS has learned how to express her glands. Even though I'm a doctor I totally drew the line at this. I'm. Not. Doing. It.

I didn't have this with a dog, but anal glands are anal glands, right?

My cat actually had one get clogged which became abscessed and burst open. He had to have it stitched up.

Get it drained professionally.

I just want to say that I am a nurse, and have seen (and done) some pretty gross sh*t in my career.

And there is NOT ENOUGH MONEY IN THE ENTIRE FREAKING WORLD that could get me to do this for our dogs. In fact, I'm pretty sure if someone put a gun on me and tried to force me, I would just let them shoot me.

Just sayin.'

Thanks guys... I am definitely NOT doing it myself.. I've handled some pretty gross stuff with my kids but as much as I love Leia.. I draw the line at draining an anal sac..

got an appointment with the vet on Friday & we'll let them do it before it gets any worse.. Of course, once I start worrying about it or watching her more closely, she hasn't rubbed her butt all day... but I also haven't seen her do a BM today either..

Another question for those of you who have dealt with this, until I get to the vet(I just remembered this now & didn't mention it to the vet yesterday) ... right after I noticed the butt scooting, she had one night where she kept waking WH or I up needing to go outside .. this happened every hour or two & she would squat like she was having a BM , several times in several different spots , but since it was extremely dark, I'm not sure she ever did go bathroom.. I chalked it up to diarrhea & fed her a bland diet the next day. She was fine the next day but then a couple days later same thing.. it wasn't every couple of hours but it was probably 2 times during the night.. Again, not sure if she did go BM or not..

Is this related to anal sac stuff??

Maybe. All the stuck feces in the gland sac may feel like they need to go. Not having an anal gland personally this is my best guess.

Yup they feel that in there, and as much as it itches it feels full telling their brains oh I gotta poo. But there is no poo.

Like I said we would skip a meal, and then give a big one the next time making a large bulky bm and that did the trick most times.

As NotMeanAnyMore said, cats can have this problem too. I have a part-Siamese, part-Russian Blue cat named Princess Chunky Butt who frequently has impacted anal glands. The vet said it was due to her Siamese heritage. I've had the vet express the glands (and watched her "shoot" herself in the face with the contents, which was freakin' hilarious), but I also do it myself. I use a baby wipe, grab her tail, and squeeze the affected area. It's not a perfect solution, but even when the vet does it the cat's butt smells musky only a day or so afterwards. She never shows symptoms of any problems, so I guess I'm doing it OK (aside from the cat screaming and the bites and scratches I get, lol).

In my opinion, paying for the vet visit to have them do it instead of myself is money well spent.

UPDATE: no swollen sacs, no rash, no worms .. NADA.. Leia is fine.. from what the vet said.. this may just be something she likes to do Since she doesn't do this circling on the one carpet in our house, she might just like how the cool floor feels on her 'private area"

Yes, I've got a very STRANGE dog