Anal glands and grooming
- Thread starter Sher
- Start date
Ok, my next question.... WHY? Why do groomers express the anal glands at bath time? Don't these glands automatically empty when the dog defecates? Like I said, I am just curious and wanting to learn about my dog and also what the groomer does to my dog. Also, why would the owner ask the groomer NOT to empty the dog's anal glands?
Anal sacks usually do express on their own, however for dogs who do not have solid BMs the sack does not recieve enough pressure to release them. Often in older dogs the oils are much thicker and they need the extra help to be expressed. If an anal gland is not expressed when it needs to be they can become impacted and rupture and this requires surgery if the gland ruptures.
Sometimes I will have owners who ask me not to do their dogs anals because their vets have tiold them that groomers should not express a gland. I am not sure why as I learned properly how when learning to groom and even had my own vet watch me and confirm that I was indeed properly expressing the glands. Some vets prefer that this is done in an office visit because they profit from this. Some other owners will rather a vet do the glands because they think a groomer is ONLY a stylist and has no buisness doing a task that the vet does. I am always amazed at the amount of people who do not realize that I am a PROFESSIONAL!!! If a gland will not express for me, of course I will not force it - I will recommend a vet visit! 99% of the time the owners expect an expression during their groom and they get it!
Sometimes I will have owners who ask me not to do their dogs anals because their vets have tiold them that groomers should not express a gland. I am not sure why as I learned properly how when learning to groom and even had my own vet watch me and confirm that I was indeed properly expressing the glands. Some vets prefer that this is done in an office visit because they profit from this. Some other owners will rather a vet do the glands because they think a groomer is ONLY a stylist and has no buisness doing a task that the vet does. I am always amazed at the amount of people who do not realize that I am a PROFESSIONAL!!! If a gland will not express for me, of course I will not force it - I will recommend a vet visit! 99% of the time the owners expect an expression during their groom and they get it!
As a groomer I don't do the anal glands. I too have been told that the vets are to do this. Once you start expressing you always have to do it. If the groomer doesn't get all of it it can become infected and then they have a vet visit anyway. Let the vets do it. It certainly doesn't hurt my feelings that I don't have to do this nasty job.
If a dog is on the proper diet that works for it the anals are scraped with each bowel movement. There is no need to mess with them when groomed if they are being done the way nature meant to be.
I would think too much messing might cause a problem. It is kinda rare is most cases that dogs need this done if eating properly, it is natures way of caring for them.
I would think too much messing might cause a problem. It is kinda rare is most cases that dogs need this done if eating properly, it is natures way of caring for them.
I agree, that a good diet will usually eliminate anal gland problems HOWEVER many dogs are not on good diets. Many dogs that come through my shop are fed grocery store brands and suffer from more than only anal problems. If these dogs do not have their anal glands expressed than the risk of impacted glands and even ruptures are raised. I have been trained to express anals during my grooming course, even had a vet watch me to make sure that I was not doing this improperly. Most grooming courses will teach a groomer how to do anals. Infact, all the grooming salons in my area offer this procedure.
I disagree. This is a misconception that once you do this you always have to do this. The foundation of this myth lies in that a dog who has anal gland problems usually has a reason for them being so and instead of addressing the problem the glands are simply expressed time and time again. For example, a less than ideal diet will can be the root of the problem, but instead of changing the diet to a better one the owners will get the glands expressed again. And also, a dog does not always express their own anal glands fully when having a BM and they do not risk getting an infection because they were not fully eliminated. Infections occur because they are impacted or have a bacteria that causes the infection.
I have to further explain my routine. I DO check every dog that comes through for a groom, HOWEVER not all of them require an expression. So when I said that I do all of the dogs that come through, I only meant that they are all checked and the ones who do require the procedure get it. I certainly don't poke and prode at a dogs bum when they do not have full glands. But daily I see dogs who do need this procedure.
I see no reason to send all of my clients to the vet when I run into a full anal gland. They are already in my tub and I am professionally trained on the procedure. They are already paying for a groom, why should they have to pay for a vet visit when I am fully competent to express the gland. If they choose to have a vet do this, than by all means! It is a messy job and I want my clients to be happy with whatever they choose.
I disagree. This is a misconception that once you do this you always have to do this. The foundation of this myth lies in that a dog who has anal gland problems usually has a reason for them being so and instead of addressing the problem the glands are simply expressed time and time again. For example, a less than ideal diet will can be the root of the problem, but instead of changing the diet to a better one the owners will get the glands expressed again. And also, a dog does not always express their own anal glands fully when having a BM and they do not risk getting an infection because they were not fully eliminated. Infections occur because they are impacted or have a bacteria that causes the infection.
I have to further explain my routine. I DO check every dog that comes through for a groom, HOWEVER not all of them require an expression. So when I said that I do all of the dogs that come through, I only meant that they are all checked and the ones who do require the procedure get it. I certainly don't poke and prode at a dogs bum when they do not have full glands. But daily I see dogs who do need this procedure.
I see no reason to send all of my clients to the vet when I run into a full anal gland. They are already in my tub and I am professionally trained on the procedure. They are already paying for a groom, why should they have to pay for a vet visit when I am fully competent to express the gland. If they choose to have a vet do this, than by all means! It is a messy job and I want my clients to be happy with whatever they choose.
Everytime a dog comes into the shop we talk to the owners to find out what they are looking for in terms of a cut, any medical problmes that we should be aware of, and we ALWAYS ask if they would like the anal glands checked. At the end of the groom we then talk to the owners to make sure that they like the cut, explain any issues that we have found, we tell them if the anals were full, etc. If we have found something that requires a vet visit we ALWAYS tell them. As far as supplements or diet changes we can offer recommendations to help out problems and if they are interested in learing more than we always help them with a variety of options, but we never push.
We have the same issue. Cider and Smudge had great poop on Orijen, and have great poop on raw.. and still have an every 6 week - 2 month issue. Vet told me it's cause I'm not feeding Hill's fiber kibble.. and got really really mad when I looked at the ingredients and told him it was garbage in a bag.