glands.

[thomas]

i would like to secrete the glands on my schnauzer myself. have taken tomason to Veterinarian twice for this , but would like to know the way do drain his glands myself. please help me if you can thanks tom.

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by thomas

i would like to secrete the glands on my schnauzer myself. have taken tomason to Veterinarian twice for this , but would like to know the way do drain his glands myself. please help me if you can thanks tom.

Sure I do it all the time with my schnauzer. Just ask to watch next time, and the Veterinarian will show you.

There are these glands near the anus, you simply squeeze them. If you squeeze them firmly and nothing happens, it's not time to drain. Don't squeeze to hard or you will hurt her. Let the Veterinarian show you, most of the time they would rather you did it anyway.

[Jilly]

Well, this is interesting.. this is one of those questions with different answers, depending on the Veterinarian. ?
My dog had a tumor removed next to his anus a couple years back and has had
ongoing troubles with his anal glands since. I too take him to the Veterinarian to have
them drained whenever needed and I wondered if I could do it myself.
I asked a groomer about it and she said it was simple to do, and gave me verbal instructions. I wasn't comfortable with just that, so I stopped in to my vets office and asked one of the Veterinarian techs if she could show me how. She went back, spoke to a veterinarian, came back and told me the doc said that she does not advise owners to do this themselves because if it's not done properly you can injure your dog. She wouldn't show me how to do it.
That was that for me. Now I'm afraid I may hurt him if I try it myself.
Now I'm confused, as it sounds as if some folks do this on a regular basis with no problems at all.?? Is there a 'right' or 'wrong' regarding this issue?
Jilly

[latergatorj]

i think it was just your Veterinarian's personal preference on the issue.

I'm sure that there are people that have hurt their pets by doing it incorrectly, but if a Veterinarian can do it... and other dog owners are saying they do it... so can you if you're responsible about it. :-)

[palehorse]

That's why you have a Veterinarian show you how. It is super easy once you are shown how, but verbally? A Veterinarian can tell immediately if you are applying to much pressure or not squeezing right.

Mine had no problem showing me, was glad to do it.

FYI most ALL groomers (That I have met) do an anal gland squeeze during the grooming session and they certainly are not vets .

[Tucker'sMom]

My mom did this all the time with her Cocker. Maybe because your dog had a tumor removed, the Veterinarian preferred you not do it yourself. I always had my Mom do Tucker's after his anal gland abscessed once. I never had the stomach to do it, and the Veterinarian charged $15 to do it. I'm not a cheapskate, but $15 when it is perfectly OK to do it yourself?! My Veterinarian offered to show me how, but like I said, I never had to stomach for it, and I did not feel comfortable doing it myself. The local groomer's here all do it as part of normal grooming services.

[Maggie's Mom]

It is very easy once you have been shown how to do it. I have been doing it on all my dogs for years. There are times though when you need to have the dog seen by the Veterinarian, such as when the anal glands are obviously full, but are not draining. If the glands are full, they feel peas just under the skin on both sides of the anus. Sometimes one may be full and the other one isn't. Ideally the dog will drain the glands themselves when they deficate, but I have never been that lucky. The most objectional part is the smell. It can be quite rank.