As a city girl living in a high-rise condo, and also lacking coiffeur skills, I take my dog to the groomer once every three weeks. Ma Cherie is a clean dog and a princess of her own volition. A true Miami gal, Ma Cherie is more about vanity than manners--shiny, tangle- free white coat, two bows 24/7 and a change of bows for the seasons or special occasion, clean ears, nails clipped, the whole treament. (Don't worry, I'm not obsessed, no toe nail polish). So every visit to the groomer, I always wonder about this canine treatment of (excuse my non French) "releasing the anal glands".
The first time I took Ma Cherie to the groomer, Juan Carlos at European Pet Grooming, explained the "usual". He mentioned anal glands. What is that and what happens in the process? He says they manually release the anal glands of the dogs but he couldn't really explain why. I phoned another groomer who offered the same service but could not explain why. Sounds painful so I asked my vet. Dr. Sanchez explained that dogs naturally release their anal glands when defecating and it's not necessary at the groomer unless the dog is old. So for years, European Pet Grooming has Ma Cherie listed as NO ANAL GLANDS.
Just last week, while, ironically I was getting my nails done, a woman next to me told the nail technician to excuse the dirt under her three inch nails because she works with animals (First why would anyone that works with animals keep fingernails that long? Another mystery I'll have to solve later, maybe in dog years, much later). I seized the opportunity to probe her career. Sure enough she assists in surgical procedures for all types of animals, normally zoo animals and canines for the police department.
So I asked the million dollar question: should dogs have their anal glands released at the groomer? She said ABSOLUTELY, even if they're young. According to my manicure neighbor, she said the glands grow larger into cysts and then become painful. Releasing the anal glands once a month is like popping a pimple, so it should not be painful for the dog. Thinking to myself, I've had pimples in my teenage years and they were not always pain free to release. Confused, I explained that my vet said it was not necessary. Who do I believe?
What about dog owners who do not take their dogs to the groomer? Is this common knowledge that suddenly this cavewoman has seen the light?
So this posting I'm reaching out to all dog owners who really know dogs. Won't you please help me learn what is the best care for my little girl? To manually release anal glands of my dog or not? Why or why not?
Ever so grateful!
Christine from BLOG SISTERS
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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5 comments:
Christine, from my experience, it is not necessary to have your groomer release the glands every visit. If you are not comfortable checking yourself, you can ask your groomer to check just to be sure they are not building up with bacteria. This will save you a the cost of a visit to the vet. Here is a link with helpful information. Good luck!
Thank you Betty. Your advice makes sense. I don't understand why groomers here in Miami insist on it. In Maryland, my sister asked both her vet and groomer and they never heard of this practice. Popping a sac inside a dogs rectum does not sound as painfree as popping a pimple on the face. If dogs do it naturally, why force it. I'm still curious to know what other dog owners do who do not take their dogs to groomer. Marte? anyone else? Sorry to speak so openly about the dog's anatomy but this has me puzzled for years with so much conflicting information. In the end, I will have Ma Cherie checked. If she does not need it, then no need to scare her or hurt her. That's my philosophy. CHRISTINE
Hi Christine,
I'm not much help on this one. The only people I've ever known who had to have this done had small breed dogs. I think Pomeranians, but not sure.
My smallest dog is a blue heeler so I have no experience to offer.
I believe (but don't know) that some dogs are more prone to this problem than others. I guess just like some humans get a lot of pimples and others don't.
My personal feeling (I'm not a vet at all) is that low-residue formulas of premium dog foods contribute to this problem. If the food causes less stool to pick up, there is obviously not much bulk going through the system. Bulk going through the system would aid in expressing the anal glands naturally. JMHO
Mary
That makes sense - And little dogs naturally eat less even when fed the cheaper brands, so would pass fewer stools. Maybe that's why you don't hear of large dogs with this kind of problem.
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