How Can I Express My Dog's Anal Glands at Home?
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Q: How can I express my Chihuahua's anal glands? Is it safe for me to do it myself without hurting the pet?
A: The most common sign that a pet is having anal gland trouble is scooting. Scooting can be a sign of parasites, but often it is due to anal glands being full.
You can safely express your Chihuahua's anal glands at home. It is relatively simple once you get the hang of it. The anal sacs are located at about 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock just within your pet's rectum.
Wear rubber gloves and a lubricant, like KY jelly. Insert your lubricated index finger through the dog's anus gently at either 3 or 9 o'clock. This may make your pet feel uncomfortable, but it won't hurt them.
The anal glands will feel like a pea. With your index finger inside and your thumb outside, gently squeeze the glands, expressing the material outwards. Be careful, it may come out with some serious pressure! Then slowly rotate your arm and repeat on the other side.
If you ignore the problem, your dog's anal glands can become infected and your pet will require a trip to the vet.
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Comments (19)
Did this on my boston french bull mix she didn't mind much just a little uncomfortable for her and me! But she is doing much better. I just have one question what color is it suppost to be? Cuase hers was a dark color.
I just tried it on my dacshsie and it went really well. Kept her distracted with some treats and soaked the tissues I was using to catch the liquid. Hopefully this well prevent him from having surgery. I'm so fed up of him licking his butt all day, it's gross.
ive went the vets today and they cleard it but tonight hes in agony will this go coz his glands r swollen quite bad
My dog has a metalic like odor, is this indicative of needing to express their glands?
My chihuahua's sacs have begun to fill up completely by two weeks. I can't afford to pay $20 every two weeks to get someone else to do it. Thank you for this article!
I just took my Yorkie to the vet and told them that he was licking his behind a lot lately and she said that a dog should have his anal glands expressed every time they get groomed or every three weeks. She also mentioned that if you ignore this, the fluid can become a thick mud like substance which leads a hole being made to the outside of the body. And at that point it would be around a $200 procedure. So glad I found this out I would have never known!
This is VERY important to keep track of. I have a small dog. He didn't show any signs of a problem. Maybe he was licking back there more than usual. When we finally noticed, the sac had become so infected that it actually popped open through the skin to one side of the anus. It left an open hole there. We took him to the vet where they cleaned out the wound and gave him antibiotics. It healed just fine but I imagine that was a very uncomfortable experience for my dog. FYI