# Anal Sac Problems



## Amp (Aug 9, 2014)

We have a 5 year old Chihuahua and over the last 3 years he has had nothing but problems with his anal sacs. We have to take him to the vet about every two weeks, sometimes more frequent and sometimes less, to get expressed. Is removal of the sacs something we should consider? His weight fluctuates between 2.75 to 3lbs and our vet said that makes it a much greater risk to do surgery. Is it worth the risk to give him a better quality life? Also $20 a pop hurts the pocket book.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Is this pup constipated? If his is, add some punpkin, or bran flakes to his food. If he is not, then a groomer could do this for less, I would think. You could empty his glands too, if you are willing to do the deed. The vet could show you. Stinky business, but if he is so small, he can't do it, it needs to be done.

Surgery MAY leave the dog with a nerve problem that he cannot control his bowels. That is a worst case senerio, but can happen. Research this surgery. A specialist would problaby be the best outcome.


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## Amp (Aug 9, 2014)

No constipation. I do not think we have any groomers in our area that would do it and we have also found that if the person at the vet that does the expression does not do it internally, we are right back in there in less then a week.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Surgery is usually totally unnecessary. What is he eating? Have you tried adding fibre or doing a diet change? Sometimes anal problems can be an indication that something else is going on. Odie was having anal gland problems and we just found out that she likely has something like IBS or colitis and some food intolerances. Makes sense that treating the anal gland problem wouldn't help with any of the underlying issues.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I also was going to ask what he is eating, and, if you don't mind me asking, what are his symptom that are causing you to have to have them expressed so often? Lulu also tends to have anal gland issues and has had to have medication put in her glands and been put on antibiotics 3 times in her life due to anal gland issues, but I have it under control at the moment with food. I really didn't realize what a difference it made until I was giving her a teaspoon of coconut oil everyday and her anal gland issues were AWFUL! I realized the coconut oil was taking the bulk out of bowel movements I guess, and her glands couldn't empty. Anyway, just wondering what his history is. Like Sue, I'm a bit afraid of the anal gland surgery.


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## Amp (Aug 9, 2014)

He is on Science Diet ID canned wet food and either Science Diet dry or Purina dry food. The wet food twice a day then the dry once. He will usually get up in the morning and not want to eat and either lay down and shake or follow you around shaking with his tail between his legs. He has had a couple episodes that he spent time at the vet one time because we think they put to much of the medication in his glands and another time he was pooping blood and the vet thought it had something to do with his belly. Our vet really pushes the lazier treatment but they were kind of misleading when they said it was how ever many hundreds for three treatments but then never told us that it had to be a continued after that. Maybe time for a diet change?


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

It sounds like this pup really needs fiber in his diet. It's important to start giving him enough fiber to empty the anal sacs. If anal sacs are empty consistently, it becomes a major habit of having to keep having it done because the strength in the anal area becomes weak from manually being expressed too often. I would not consider surgery until you fix the diet to where he can empty on his own. I do know that many vets will express even if the dog doesn't need it because we think they need it. Is your pup scooting? How do you know his sacs are full and not emptying. What problems has he been having? He's a very small chi and weight will fluctuate easily when they're that small. What do you feed?


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## Amp (Aug 9, 2014)

Any suggestions from other members that have small little guys like mine would be awesome. Not sure if Science diet is the best food to be giving him or not. We actually got a new Science Diet wet food that has rice and carrots in it that he seems to really like.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm sorry, but alot of the members of the forum really don't think Science diet is a good food. Go to the nutrition part of this forum, and there are lots of ideas about 4-5 star foods out there, plus raw, or premade raw. Maybe you could use some punpkin for fiber? Plain punpkin please, no pie mix! Give a tablespoon, and see what happens. Most dogs will lick it right off the spoon. If it gives him diarrhea, then reduce it to a teaspoon, if still having problems, then give a little more, until you get the right amount.


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

You have to really read the labels on the food and that will give you your answers. This might help:

The ingredient list must be printed in order of most to least amount of the ingredients present, so when "chicken" is the first ingredient in a food, "ground yellow corn" the second, and "corn gluten meal" the third, you can be sure that by weight, there’s more chicken than ground yellow corn, and more ground yellow corn than corn gluten meal.

If the food begins with the meat ingredient in the name, then the product must have at least 95 percent of that meat. “Beef Dog Food,” for example, would have to meet this rule.

If the product has the words “dinner,” “entree,” “platter,” or “formula,” the ingredient named needs to be at least 25 percent of the product. Using the previous example, now changed to “Beef Dog Food _Dinner_,” the food goes from 95 percent meat content to anywhere from 25 to 95 percent content. If there is a combination of meats, such as a “Chicken and Fish Entree,” the product must have a combined 25 percent of both meats, but more chicken than fish, since chicken is named first. The amount of the meat in these cases would be indicated by their place on the ingredients list.

The word “with” on the package has another rule -- this one requiring an even smaller amount of the meat named on the label: 3 percent. For example, “Dog food _with _Beef” need only have 3 percent beef to meet the required amount.

The word “flavor” added to the name has the least amount of meat. For these products, only a detectable amount of meat needs to be present to use it in the name of the product. That beef dog food, when renamed “Beef Flavored Dog Food,” becomes a food that is very low in beef, but which tastes and smells like beef because of the addition of meat broths.


Generally speaking, a “by-product” is a part of the animal that is not normally intended for human consumption. This can include the lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomachs, and intestines of meat animals, and the necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines from poultry. By-products do _not _include hair, horns, teeth, or hoofs. In many cases, by-products are high in nutritional value and are not at issue.

“Fillers,” on the other hand, are not only be used to replace higher quality ingredients, they may also be biologically inappropriate for your pet and may lead to health and weight problems. For example, cats should not be eating foods with corn in the ingredients, and in fact should have as little filler as possible in their foods, since cats are meat- and not vegetable-eaters.

Conversely, many experts agree that fillers are a necessary ingredient in dog foods, since the total nutritional food value must include a combination of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Fillers can be nutritious when done right, but done wrong, fillers can lead to obesity and high blood sugar. This goes back to reading the ingredients list. The trick, again, is knowing the good fillers from the bad fillers. Healthy amounts of corn and rice can be good for your dog; corn syrup, and MSG (monosodium glutamate) are never good. Look for foods that list the fillers low on the list so that you know your dog is not getting an unhealthy amount of fillers.

“Splitting” is a term used for when the same ingredient are listed in several guises within the first five ingredients so you’ll believe you’re getting more (or less) of that ingredient than you really believe you are. For example, a cat food may have fish broth as the first ingredient, corn gluten meal as the second, fish as the third, and animal fat preserved with ground yellow corn as the fourth. It looks as if fish is a big part of the food, but this is a corn-based product.


You have to trust the label and being educated about it really does help. Science Diet may be the right choice for your pet. I think that if you are finding a food that the dog likes and that meets the requirements for a healthy balanced diet, then you should be fine. Lots of people will say one is better than the other or Raw is the way to go but you really can only buy what you feel is right. And check with the vet.


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## Amp (Aug 9, 2014)

Not the first time I have heard negative things about Science Diet, that is what our vet pushes.


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