Anal Sac

Question
Hello Hilary,

I have a year old mixed breed (Lab/Hound-we're not sure). He is 50 lbs in weight. His anal sacs continue to get clogged and we have been taking him to the vet every 2 weeks to have them emptied. Is there anything we can do to help? He scoots his bum continuously-it really upsets me. The vet has suggested getting the glands removed. Do you know anything about that? Would you suggest it-it must be extremely painful. Thanks for your help.  

Answer
Hi Christie!  Your poor dog!  Removal of the anal sacs isn't always a great idea.  You need to make sure that the veterinarian that is performing the surgery knows exactly what he is doing.  The reason I say this is because my father-in-law's dog that he had years ago had the surgery done and his dog ended up having to be an outdoor dog as he lost the control of his bowels.  I know other dogs that have had serious complications to that surgery as well, and being that your dog is only one year old, makes me feel as though surgery should definately be the last option.
Now, about anal sacs... They are located at five and seven o'clock around the anus.  Their "job" is to lubricate the rectal opening during defecation.  When a dog has soft stools, there is not enough force on the anal sacs to secrete the lubrication...leading to an "over-fill" of the sacs.  This is when they have to be emptied.  Chronic softer stools (diarrhea making it worse) will cause anal sac problems.  What kind of food are you feeding your dog?  There is a brand of food called Solid Gold that is absolutely wonderful and is 100% natural and easy on the belly.  This change in food may cause your dog's stool to become more firm.  My shih tzu had soft stools and horrible allergies...on this food his stools are nice and firm and no allergies.  I LOVE this brand of food.
You may also want to feed your dog rice and boiled chicken.  I know it's a pain to have to cook for your dog, but if you make a bulk amount each week, it may not be too inconvenient...even if you only keep him on this diet for a week or so.  The rice and chicken diet is proven to firm stools.
Now, about emptying the anal glands.  It really is not that hard and I can tell you how to do it if you don't mind the grossness of it all!  It will also save you a lot of money as well.  As I have said, the anal sacs are located at 5 and 7 o'clock around the anus. You should be able to see lumps where the sacs are if they are full, through the skin.  You can empty them externally by doing this: Wearing a rubber glove, put your thumb at 7 o'clock and your index finger at 5 o'clock and squeeze while slowly sliding your fingers toward eachother.  That's it.  It's very simple, and as long as you can handle the smell, you can do this for your dog every week, which may help.
I hope this has been helpful, and please let me know if you have any other questions.
Please keep me posted and give that guy some kisses for me!
Hilary