NASTY: expressing bird dog's glands

Joined
Mar 16, 2021
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Location
Western Iowa
Do any of you guy's express your indoor dog's anal glands at home, or do ya'll leave this up to the vet? It's freaking gross, but if it saved me a trip and $75, I'd consider DIY at home.

Thoughts?
 
Trust me, I'm not interested in doing this. It gags me to think about it. However, my vet is about 25 miles away, and if he needs this done monthly, we're talking around $900 per year plus gas. If it's deemed "safe" to do at home, then I'll look into it. If not, then I'll be investigating prevention as well- food, supplements, etc..
 
One of my dogs needs it done every few weeks and my old dog needed it occasionally. It’s gross but pretty darn easy to do. Just get some gloves and I hold a paper towel over the area.
 
About twice or three times a year for my hounds. Dogs seem to need it more often than Bitches. Rubber gloves are your friends.
 
The groomer does it on the little dog but i have never done it on any of my labs. They spend 75/25 out side and house a little more in the winter if its cold.
 
I have a 3yo gsp and never had it done either. I think alot depends on the dogs diet as to if or when they need it done. Check with local dog groomers. Some will do it and most are cheaper than a vet visit
 
It is nice to have a place to come and discuss nasty topics such as this. My old blue heeler-border collie mix used to get impacted glands. When she would get excited some would shoot out and it would stink. I put on some rubber gloves and pinched her between my legs so I had access to her rear end. I don't know if this will be a relief to you or not, but no penetration is necessary. I would get a folded up paper towel and hold it under her tail. I could feel the impacted glands on either side of her anus. Simply press down on them firmly and a nasty brownish stinky liquid would squirt out onto the paper towel.
It was not a pleasant experience for the human or the dog, but it took less than a minute and was definitely worth $75 to me.
 
Anybody notice whether or not chewing/eating rawhide bones increases the frequency? We've given the foot or so long wound up cylinder type to our dogs from Sam's Club for years. They get a couple a month, and not sure if this could be contributing.
 
I have two griffs. One gets the stink (we call it fish butt) and one doesn’t. Same diet and both are females. Like someone else mentioned you only need to squeeze on the exterior of the B hole, no penetration. I have seen it shoot out a foot or two from my old pitubull. Definitely need to cover the area while you squeeze and I usually need my wife to hold the front half of the dog.
 
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