[Canyx]

The usual disclaimer - there is no medical emergency, I am in contact with my vet, and am not seeking medical advice, just experiences!

My pup is now about 10 mo and has always had minor anal gland abnormalities - as in she smells fishy more often than she should. When she was a tiny puppy she licked her bum a lot and it was inflamed for a short period, but we were also dealing with poultry allergies. Once that was under controlled the bum licking and scooting stopped. And I also expressed her anal glands when she was about 5mo old (around when she was spayed). My vets confirmed when she was spayed that I did a good job expressing them, as they could not get any more liquid out when she was sedated. I asked them to make sure I did an okay job.

Fast forward a few more months to the ~9mo mark and I noticed the bum licking again; and some random moments of that telltale fishy smell. I expressed her again and got a lot of fluid out.

This was less than a month ago. And yet, sometimes after she poops she will come inside and I can see/smell a drop of that anal gland fluid on her anus. Strangely, her gut is the best I've seen among the dogs I've owned. She almost always has tight, solid stool - even when we were figuring out her poultry allergy and no matter what I feed her. So it might be her anatomy or something, but she doesn't seem to be expressing her glands like a normal dog does. But functionally she is totally normal and healthy, so there isn't much I or my vet can do about it. I just feel like even among dogs who need their glands expressed, it shouldn't be happening this frequently? I've never had to deal with this though, since my old dog lived for over 12 years without my having to touch his butt at all. Brae is 4.5 yrs and I've never had to mess with him either.

Similar experiences?

 

[parus]

This is second hand info, so take it with a grain of salt, but my parents' GSD had anal gland issues all his life. Apparently their vet said that some dogs just have ducts that are too narrow or misshapen and don't allow the sacs to easily empty. These dogs are extra prone to impaction and infection so it's necessary to frequently manually express them to prevent abscesses, and to get on an antibiotic if you notice signs of infection.

 

[DaySleepers]

Sam needs occasional expressing. Usually we notice when he starts smelling fishy or expresses inappropriately (like on the bed, sigh), but it's only every few months. He's never had inflammation or impactions, so it's not a huge concern for us. I have heard that using something like that - canned pumpkin or a fiber supplement for dogs - can help more fully express their glands just because they're passing bigger stools, but I suspect it highly depends on the individual dog and the cause of the anal gland issues. It's not something I'm willing to experiment with for Sam because he's prone to constipation (and has had one or two quite severe episodes), and the anal gland issues are minor enough that I don't feel like the risk of binding him up accidentally is worth it.

 

[Tater33]

Our dog has a similar issue and scoots along the carpet at times. The vet recommended Beni-fiber but I can't say it's helped much. We mixed it with a bit of wet dog food even though we feed her dry (Purina Pro Plan) and it doesn't seem to be enough liquid to dilute it. Gonna ask them for a better way to give it to her.