{"id":34056,"date":"2013-03-28T20:44:42","date_gmt":"2013-03-29T00:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miserybay.usanethosting.com\/wordpress\/?p=34056"},"modified":"2013-03-28T20:44:42","modified_gmt":"2013-03-29T00:44:42","slug":"pet-130","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/pet-130\/","title":{"rendered":"Maralyn's Did You Know?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to . . .
\nI\u2019m going to start a new occasional \u201cHow to\u201d series today. Every so often (whenever the mood strikes), I\u2019ll write a post on how owners can perform various procedures at home, with the hopes of saving you some money and time.
\nThese are things that don\u2019t necessarily require the involvement of a veterinarian, and they are things that owners have asked me to teach them in the past.
\nFirst up \u2026 expressing a dog\u2019s anal glands.
\nExpressing anal glands at home is not for the squeamish, but it is a good option for intrepid owners of dogs that regularly find themselves in need of the procedure.
\nLooking from behind at a pet\u2019s rear-end, one gland is located at approximately five o\u2019clock and the other at seven o\u2019clock around the anal opening. The glands produce a \u201cfragrant\u201d (foul-smelling) fluid that plays a role in scent marking. In health, a small amount of this fluid is released from the sacs located in the middle of the glands when a pet defecates. However, dogs and, very rarely, cats can develop problems (e.g., obesity, soft stools, and anatomic variations) with their anal glands or surrounding tissues that impede the ability of the fluid be released normally. When this occurs, the sacs holding the fluid can become distended, infected, uncomfortable, and eventually may even rupture.
\nDogs with anal gland \u201cissues\u201d typically have some combination of the following symptoms:
\nscooting (dragging their bottoms along the ground)
\nexcessively licking the affected area
\nintermittently releasing the contents of the anal glands at inappropriate times
\nred skin around the anus
\nbleeding or the drainage of pus from around the anus
\nIf you see blood or pus around your dog\u2019s anus or if your dog seems very uncomfortable, do not attempt to express his anal glands at home. Make an appointment with your veterinarian ASAP. Only attempt to express a dog\u2019s anal glands at home when you have someone to help you hold the dog and are confident that the dog will not react aggressively. If need be, use a muzzle.
\nSteps to Follow<\/strong>
\nPlace a small dog on a table or counter in front of you, or kneel behind a large dog.
\nHave a second person restrain the dog by placing one arm underneath and around the dog\u2019s neck and the other restraining the rest of his body, hugging him close.
\nPut on a pair of latex or similar gloves and lubricate your index finger with petroleum jelly or a water-based lubricant.
\nLift up the tail and gently insert your index finger into the rectum approximately one inch forward.
\nFeel with your index finger and thumb for a firm pea or marble sized object at the five or seven o\u2019clock positions.
\nWhen you have found the gland, place a paper towel between the dog\u2019s anus and your hand and gently milk the gland\u2019s contents outwards by putting pressure on the most distant side of the gland first and continuing to squeeze towards you. Do not use more pressure than you would feel comfortable applying to your own, closed eye.
\nThe gland should be barely palpable when empty.
\nWipe the anal area clean and repeat on the other side.
\nIf you have any questions, ask your veterinarian to demonstrate the procedure on one of your dog\u2019s glands and then try it yourself on the other gland while he or she looks on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to . . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pets"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34056\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}