[malluver1005]

Aspen has a very small reddish bump on his anal area. I don't have any chlorhexidine to clean it with. And the betadine I just bought, I can't remember where I left it! I know I brought it in the house though. Anyway, a few months ago, a friend of mine gave me some Alocetic Ear rinse. I know it's an ear rinse, but does it have any anti-fungal, anti-microbial properties to it? I also have some Animax ointment and was thinking of using that too.

 

[Todd]

do you think it could have anything to do with her having to have her anal glands emptied?

 

[malluver1005]

do you think it could have anything to do with her having to have her anal glands emptied?

I've never had that done. He's never needed it...

 

[spookychick13]

Isn't Aspen a boy?

Honestly I would leave it alone and just keep an eye on it.
If it doesn't clear up by Monday, call the vet and see if you can have them take a peek.

I doubt his anal glands need to be emptied, but there could be an abscess starting.

 

[malluver1005]

Isn't Aspen a boy?

Honestly I would leave it alone and just keep an eye on it.
If it doesn't clear up by Monday, call the vet and see if you can have them take a peek.

I doubt his anal glands need to be emptied, but there could be an abscess starting.

Yep, Aspen is a boy. I was planning on leaving it alone and just keeping an eye on it. If it gets bigger (it did once), then I guess I will have to pop it. That's what a vet tech friend of mine told me to do a long time ago. Saved me about $200 bucks at the vet. I popped it and some yellowish greenish liquid came flying at me! And then I flushed it with chlorhexidine and applied some animax to it for a few days, and it disappeared within a week.

 

[Todd]

Isn't Aspen a boy?

Honestly I would leave it alone and just keep an eye on it.
If it doesn't clear up by Monday, call the vet and see if you can have them take a peek.

I doubt his anal glands need to be emptied, but there could be an abscess starting.

when Lucky was young, she developed a similar bump on her foot. i took her to the vet and they took a sample. is there any blood in the bump? there was in lucky's. if you press on it and it turns white then back to pink that means there's blood under there rather than puss, so not sure if u should pop it. they took a sample of Lucky's but could find anything wrong. they said is was probably abscess or blood blister. they gave her some antibiotics to take for 2 weeks and it went right away. i probably would have looked into natural treatment is i had to do it over again. i'll look up some natural remedies for you once you check to see if there is blood under there of puss.

 

[malluver1005]

when Lucky was young, she developed a similar bump on her foot. i took her to the vet and they took a sample. is there any blood in the bump? there was in lucky's. if you press on it and it turns white then back to pink that means there's blood under there rather than puss, so not sure if u should pop it. they took a sample of Lucky's but could find anything wrong. they said is was probably abscess or blood blister. they gave her some antibiotics to take for 2 weeks and it went right away. i probably would have looked into natural treatment is i had to do it over again. i'll look up some natural remedies for you once you check to see if there is blood under there of puss.

No there is no blood in it. It's too small to even have anything in it...

 

[g00dgirl]

Definitely sounds like his anal gland is infected to me. Of course I can't see it. Is it below his anus and slightly to the left or right? Delilah had an impacted anal gland last year (yes even on raw) I'd never had her's expressed before (or after) that. I did it myself too, it got just a little smaller than a bouncy ball and I was able to lance it after having her sit in the tub with warm water to soak it and make it softer and easier to drain. Had to keep doing it once or twice a day until it was all drained.
If it comes to the point that you need to lance it (if it's his anal gland) then would be a good time to use the solution to wash out the wound, if it doesn't hurt too much. I just used a saline solution and then applied something like neosporin.

 

[malluver1005]

Is it below his anus and slightly to the left or right?

It's on his anus and if you were to stand behind your dog and picture a clock on it's anus, it's at 8 o'clock...

 

[Todd]

It's on his anus and if you were to stand behind your dog and picture a clock on it's anus, it's at 8 o'clock...

if it could be an impacted anal gland, i'd try to express the glands. have you every done this before? it's not hard to do yourself. i do it to lucky once a month when i bathe her.

 

[malluver1005]

if it could be an impacted anal gland, i'd try to express the glands. have you every done this before? it's not hard to do yourself. i do it to lucky once a month when i bathe her.

I've never done this before. And I don't want to take him to the vet because it's about $50 just for the consultation and I don't think he'll appreciate other people touching his a$$. Of course, he'll let me do anything to him...

 

[Todd]

I've never done this before. And I don't want to take him to the vet because it's about $50 just for the consultation and I don't think he'll appreciate other people touching his a$$. Of course, he'll let me do anything to him...

it's easy to do yourself. i got it on the first try. only took me 5 minutes. here are a few tutorials on how to do it correctly;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg1yey2vN3M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJStqOPCFdA

 

[malluver1005]

^^Yea, I had already looked at how to's and it seems really easy. I'll do it tomorrow. If nothing comes out, then I guess I'll just keep an eye on it to see if it doesn't get bigger...

 

[Todd]

^^Yea, I had already looked at how to's and it seems really easy. I'll do it tomorrow. If nothing comes out, then I guess I'll just keep an eye on it to see if it doesn't get bigger...

ok good deal. it may take 5-10 minutes though the first time. you have to find just the right spot. you'll get the hang of it. just dont do what i did the first time...

the first time i expresses lucky's anal glands, the discusting anal fluid shot right into my eye:biggrin: just make sure your face is away from the area. it helps if someone holds the tail for you. you'll feel two little ball like bumbs when you put ur fingers in place, squeeze those till the fluid comes out. its usually not much. teaspoon or two. remember to get both sides popped.

 

[malluver1005]

^^Yea, I'll hold a cloth or something in front of me!

 

[malluver1005]

I just tried to express Aspen's anal glands a few minutes ago and nothing came out. Do I have to apply a lot pf pressure? The small bump that he had on there is gone anyway. But, I still want to see if I can express them. Do all dogs need their anal glands expressed?

 

[Todd]

I just tried to express Aspen's anal glands a few minutes ago and nothing came out. Do I have to apply a lot pf pressure? The small bump that he had on there is gone anyway. But, I still want to see if I can express them. Do all dogs need their anal glands expressed?

Keep trying. Yes sometimes you do need to apply quite a bit of pressure especially if the glands are impacted. Try to feel for those little ball like lumps within the anus. Try using a big more pressure.Sometimes it's necessary to stick your finger up their, with plastic gloves of course and separately squeeze each side. Keep trying. It takes some practice.

 

[whiteleo]

Not all dogs need to have their glands manually expressed, they are suppose to be able to express it themselves with bowel movements. My female needs to have hers done, but not as often as before now that shes on a raw diet, and I believe some breeds are more prone to need to be manually expressed.

 

[malluver1005]

I've heard that the firmer the poo is, you won't have to express. If it's soft serve, then you have to. True? Aspen's had firm poo most of his life. And it's even better and smaller now that he's on raw...

 

[whiteleo]

I believe that is the theory, the firmer and harder the poo the less of a chance for anal gland problems.