This article explains why Alvin, a 3-year-old bichon-cockapoo mix, required surgery to remove his anal glands. Keep in mind that your dog may need periodic anal gland removal, but will not require surgery.

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In case you’re not familiar with the location of a dog’s anal glands, they are situated on either side of his anus, at approximately 4 and 8 o’clock. Its purpose is to mark territory and uniquely identify a dog. Any canine can find out the age, sex, and general health of another dog by sniffing their anal glands.

When a skunk releases the unpleasant odor to ward off its enemies, the excretion emanates from its anal glands. Fortunately, a dog’s glands don’t excrete such a foul odor, although owners who squeeze their dog’s glands say it’s downright offensive.

Alvin’s case

Let’s go back to Alvin’s problem. His anal glans problem started with slipping (rubbing his butt on the ground). Some dogs also lick or bite their bottoms or chase their tails.

We try to express its tassels but we cannot produce any fluid. So we went to the vet’s office.

On two separate visits, the vet injected antibiotics into his glands. Please note that Alvie, our first dog (we have two Cockapoos), had to be removed for the antibiotic injection procedure. It’s terrifying to see your dog “sink” because it looks like the vet is putting him to sleep forever. Fortunately, a second needle quickly brings the dog back to consciousness. He may seem dizzy, but he’s fine.

Each time Alvin had this procedure, the infection went away, but then returned a few weeks later. When he started running again, we knew it was time for another trip to the vet.

The prognosis.

On the third visit, the vet announced that Alvin’s glands were not releasing fluid properly during bowel movements because the channel that carried the fluid was blocked. The “channel” was probably too small. Once he got clogged up, the dog developed an infection. The condition was not going to resolve itself.

The vet suggested an anal glans removal surgery performed by himself. Since the author had already investigated this surgery, the biggest postoperative concern was incontinence. It seems that some dogs become incontinent forever after the tassels are removed.

The idea of ​​keeping Alvin in diapers was not a pleasant one. Equally unpleasant were the thoughts of taking the dog to the vet every month for antibiotic injections. We opted for surgery.