Leaky bum but anal glands are empty

[Winstons dad]

Hi, my boy Winston is 21 months old and has to have his anal glands expressing every few months, but now he's been leaving a mark sometimes when he sits down even though the vet says his glands are not full. He had a bit of discharge a couple of times this week so I took him to the vets today to get his glands done even though they were done only 1 month ago, and the vet said his glands are fine and aren't full at all. What could be causing this discharge if his glands aren't full? Anybody else had this problem? Thanks

[zeta1454]

Hi Rob - what was the reason for Winston to need his anal glands expressed at the vets in the first place? Dogs should not need to have the glands manually emptied if they are on a good diet and their poo is as it should be - they should empty when the dog poos. What food does Winston have?

It may be that the ‘discharge’ and the ‘mark’ that you mention is from Winston’s poo rather than the glands and this can happen periodically if a dog has loose poo and / or some poo has caught on the hairs round the bum. Keeping the rear end free of thick hair and clean can help with that, just checking after he has had a poo.

There is some advice on this link for dogs with anal gland issues but also applies to any digestive / poo problems as it does highlight the importance of a good quality species appropriate diet preferably raw and without grains which are hard to digest for dogs.

https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/d ... -problems/

Even if Winston has a hereditary problem as regards his anal glands, diet will help and the problem with regularly expressing the glands manually at the vets is that this can either damage the glands or just lead to them not working as they should do.

[Winstons dad]

Hi zeta, we do keep the hair around his bum short and we rinse his bum after every walk which is the only time he poo's. It could be that he had a bit of a bad tummy and a little bit leaked out I suppose. His poo seems ok, it is occasionally softer and messy but mostly normal and easy to pick up
He eats Harrington's wet food with fibor for his main meals twice a day, and some home cooked meat in between, and doggy treats before bed. He's definitely a fussy eater
The reason we had his glands done in the first place was that he was clearly uncomfortable with something so we took him to the vets and they did his glands and he was much happier

[zeta1454]

Hi zeta, we do keep the hair around his bum short and we rinse his bum after every walk which is the only time he poo's. It could be that he had a bit of a bad tummy and a little bit leaked out I suppose. His poo seems ok, it is occasionally softer and messy but mostly normal and easy to pick up
He eats Harrington's wet food with fibor for his main meals twice a day, and some home cooked meat in between, and doggy treats before bed. He's definitely a fussy eater
The reason we had his glands done in the first place was that he was clearly uncomfortable with something so we took him to the vets and they did his glands and he was much happier

The Harrington’s wet food is low in fibre so, if it is a lack of fibre that is causing Winston’s anal gland issues, you may be better looking for a food that has a higher fibre content rather than buying Fibor or adding some natural foods which will increase the fibre content:
A teaspoon of unsweetened tinned pumpkin; a small piece of fresh apple or carrot; a piece of broccoli; or adding a very small amount of milled flaxseeds are all natural products that can be added to a dog’s daily diet - not all at once of course

Unfortunately vets don’t study nutrition at vet school so are generally reliant on the companies providing them with products to sell to their clients when their dogs have digestive or anal issues rather than recommending a change of diet or more natural ways to improve a diet. Digestive problems of all kinds in dogs are almost always due to diet and are more common in dogs who have highly processed food as their main source of nutrition.

We have always fed raw as this has kept our dogs fit and well over 14 years now. We currently use Nutriwolds raw food but the company do also have a good quality tinned food:

https://www.nutriwolds.co.uk/collection ... ld-chicken

Bone broth can also help boost a dog’s overall health and digestion and this company add chia seeds for extra fibre:

https://www.boilandbroth.com/product/be ... ets-250ml/

A healthy dog on a good diet should not need their anal sacs manually expressed - certainly not on a regular basis - so I would try to see if you can avoid taking Winston to the vets for this if you can find a diet plan that he enjoys and keeps him regular with firm poos that will squeeze the sacs naturally.