Has your dog ever embarrassed you in front of your friends by biting her bottom or scooting around on the floor? It can be embarrassing to you, but you need to know that it isn't happening because your dog has suddenly "gone nutso." She may be trying, in the best way that she can, to deal with a painful anal sac problem.
Before you can help her, you need to understand about anal sacs. There are two of these sacs, one on either side of your dog's anus. Each of these is about the size of a pea and each contains a strong liguid. The liquid in these sacs is supposed to be secreted when your dog has a bowel movement. This is, in fact, the same liquid that other dogs are sniffing when they come into contact with your dog.
Unfortunately, when your dog has a stool that is too soft, the liquid does not always make its way out of the sac as it should. And when these sacs don't drain properly -- when the soft stool is resulting in the sacs not draining -- your dog will be in pain. The sacs become more difficult to drain the longer they are blocked. Over time you can be having to deal with abscesses and infections.
And when your dog is trying to handle this discomfort, she may fuss with the area so much that she wounds herself even further. Dogs have, indeed, been known to bite the area and destroy the fur. If you're dealing with a case that is fairly mild, you may be able to resolve it simply by adding a little more fiber to the diet. This will harden the stool so that the pressure from relieving herself will release the fluid from the anal sac. If adding fiber to the diet does not work, you need to look into even more active steps.
Some groomers recommend emptying anal glands, although this is becoming less common, as veterinarians tend to suggest these days leaving the anal glands alone until or unless there is a problem with them.
If they are emptied, it is important to study what is being secreted. You want to watch for things that should not be there, including black paste, pus, or blood. If those are not present, then emptying the sacs manually is often all that need be done to remove discomfort. Your dog should not actually feel any pain. But if the problem is worse after you've done this, it's important that the groomer empty the sacs internally.
Some breeds of dogs have recurring and persistent problems with their anal sacs. You may need, in this case, to have a veterinarian remove the glands. This is not an easy decision to make, because it can do permanent damage to the muscles around the anus. And following this operation, your dog may be in a lot of pain.
If your dog's behavior has led you to suspect that she has an anal sac problem, this is not something to delay addressing. The more time you hesitate to resolve the issue, the worse the blockage may become. Keep an eye open for "embarrassing" behavior and take the steps to ensure that your dog's problem is resolved as swiftly as possible.
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