the vet thinks my german shepherd 13 week old pup may be having problems with her anal glands.do pups grow out

Question

if my pup has problems with her anal glands is it something she may grow out of.the vet said nothing i can do except have them drained when needs be, that diet change wont help or anything else,its just one of those problems.i know all dogs are different but is there an average to how often,might she get better with age

Answer 1

you need to chat with vet more about the problem. or talk to another vet about it

Answer 2

Oh my, not to worry yet. 8 weeks old. your pup from now to about 6 months will go through a gangly stage where he looks all out of perportion At 6 months old, the majority of leg growth is there and only the body will now grow and mature. The body catches up during this period and the legs then look like they should with the body. If you adopted from a shelter, there is a chance it is one of the other breeds though because pups are hard to tell their breed as many breeds have similar markings. Pups are born with very flat faces compared do an adult dog and slowly it matures and the nose grows to the correct length for the rest of the head and breed. You said from a friend so if he has the momma dog, you know at least what half the breeding is and it would depend on if he let his dog run or if it was a planned breeding if you would know the sire's breeding. When the pup is about 4 months old, post some pix if you are still wondering and it would be much easier at that time to see the trends of the pup's growth. Main thing, enjoy and bond well with your pup and take it to puppy classes starting about 1 week after the second shots.

Answer 3

My friend who is a dog groomer comes and drains my dogs anal glands when ever she needs them done, the dog will be irritated and try to scratch or bite at the top of the tail, if they skid across the carpet is another sign, some say its a worms symptom, you get the anal glands drained and the problem goes. Each dog is different, and can need it done more or less regular than another, I'm sure diet would have an impact.

Its a very quick procedure that i haven't got involved in yet myself...

Answer 4

Diet CAN help - the softer the faeces, the less pressure is put on the anal glands on either side of the anus. If you mix bran with the diet, this should firm up the faeces and the glands are more likely to empty themselves when she defecates. A lot of dogs do have anal gland problems though, so just watch out for her scooting on her backside - or that dreadful smell!

Answer 5

Its one of those things that could all change tomorrow,sometimes my dogs glands need to be emptied every 2 weeks but then for whatever reason they will be fine & I will just do them every 6 months.The best thing to do is to ask your vet to show you how to do it-Dont ever be talked into having the glands removed-its a massive op & can leave the dog incontinent,also dont let the vet give antibiotics whenever he emptied the gland-its totally unnessicary but vets like to do that so they can charge more!

Answer 6

I'm surprised your vet thinks that diet wouldn't have an effect on anal glands. I would try adding more roughage to her diet. Personally, I think raw feeding will help. Have you been in touch with your puppy's breeder? They may have problems in their line & could give you advice. I have a German Shepherd puppy who has raw trip, bones, red meat, chicken, veg, fruit & hasn't had any problems. If you do change her diet, do it gradually though or she'll end up with the runs!
Good Luck

Answer 7

I think you need to see another vet, diet definitely does make a difference, if you feed sloppy food ie,tins all the time it can cause problems as the dogs stools don't form properly, dogs need roughage in their diet to maintain a healthy gut and therefore healthy poo, to put it bluntly. Find a vet that will explain this better to you.

Answer 8

diet is an important factor with the anal glands!! its quite common amongst dogs anyway so u dont really have much to worry about my friend. just because ur dog is only 13weeks old, it doesnt make much difference to the affect this problem has on ur dog. go see your vet, they will give you some leaflets to read over... put your mind at ease my friend.. dnt worry about it

Answer 9

I have an Australian Shepherd/Beagle mix that has the same problem. He's now 6 years old. I had my Vet show me how to drain them myself since I couldn't afford to take my dog to the Vet twice a month for this simple procedure. It's very easy to do. Ask your Vet how to do this yourself.

Answer 10

No it won't change with age,just get them drained regularly.