Poor Tio..

[B Point]

Last Wednesday....after our usual energetic ball, frisbee and dog tricks evening session Tio was toast and spent the rest of the evening lazing around the house after I gave him a meaty bone to chew on. The next morning I noticed he wasn't himself and was moving like he was in a lot of pain. He wouldn't jump up on the sofa and spent the day sleeping. He still had an appetite and his poop was normal...very firm so I thought a bone fragment wasn't the issue.

 

Anyway I was thinking maybe we overdid it with the sports for such a young pup of 1 year.

Now fast forward 3 days and nothing had gotten better. He was still in a lot of pain from his hip area so I decided to take him in to the vet for an x-ray and check up. The x-ray showed normal so she said he may have soft tissue damage.

 

For good measure she said she wanted to check his anal glands as I mentioned he had been scooting a bit. She dug in...he did NOT like it but a LOT of fluid came out. Man, that stuff is ripe...WOW!! Anyway, half an hour later he's bouncing around like normal and raring to make up for 4 lost days of lazing around. Instant transformation..

So, I guess my dog is one of the rare ones where impacted anal glands can seriously knock him down. Now I have to figure out how to do it myself. That should be fun with all his fur. Getting to his butt is like driving in a blizzard.

[gcv-border]

I am glad that you figured out what was wrong, and that he is back to his energetic self.

 

Trim the hair around the butt area. My dog doesn't have anal gland problems (that I know of), but I will still trim up a small area around the anus to keep it clean.

[B Point]

I will do that!! I may take him to a groomer friend and let her do it.

[Gideon's girl]

Sometimes anal gland problems are cured by adjusting fiber intake. Since you considered the possibility of it being a bone fragment, I assume you feed raw. If Tio has really small stools, they may not be putting enough pressure against the anal glands as he eliminates to naturally release them. Adding a bit of fiber to his meals can help increase the bulk to the right amount to do the job.

[B Point]

I was reading about all that last night. No...not raw. Akana kibble with lots of veggies and pumpkin and the odd meaty bone for teeth maintenance. He gets a lot of fiber actually. His poops are pretty much perfect size and if anything a little on the too firm side. Also, it was mentioned that it could be allergy related....It's something I'll have to keep an eye on I guess.

[GentleLake]

Also, it was mentioned that it could be allergy related....It's something I'll have to keep an eye on I guess.

 

My friend, who's a holistic vet, says that most recurrent anal gland issues are allergy related.

[Gideon's girl]

Yep, food allergies can definitely cause a dog to overproduce anal gland fluid.

[B Point]

Ya...I'm wondering about that. He doesn't scratch or fuss in any other way right now so it's hard to pinpoint. Lately he had been "presenting" his rear end to me which I thought meant he wanted his rump scratched...maybe he was actually indicating he wanted his butt massaged... fun times...