@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina
Hello. I am new to Holistic Actions and am hoping for some guidance to help Fozz, my 12 year old pug. He weighs approximately 20 lbs, Body Condition score of 4.5/9, and gets a good amount of exercise. His last blood test in May came back clean with everything in range. Fozz is very healthy except for this gland issue. He eats a lightly cooked fresh food diet of white fish and sweet potato. He also receives pumpkin, psyllium husk, and omega oil daily. Occasionally, he has a little sardines. His treats consist of fruit and vegetables. His BEAM is good and normal. His bowel movements are normal. Fozz in not showing any signs of discomfort at this point. No swelling around the anus, no scooting, just an occasional lick.
Fozz has been having his glands expressed at his vet's office for years, since he was never able to express them on his own. When I took him to the vet in June, they were unable to express the right one. I scheduled an appointment to have it flushed out. His regular vet was out and another did the flushing. She was not able to flush it out. The report noted the following:
"Abnormal. R anal gland duct is palpable and thickened, attempted to express and infuse the a/g without sedation, pet is cooperative but the tissue is sensitive
Sedated procedure: attempted multiple times with 22 and 24 g IV catheter (no needle) and curved tip syringe loaded with animax ointment and saline
Beneath the anal gland opening there is abnormal tissue that is thickened and raised rounded ~ 2-3 mm the tissue was becoming progressively irritated, applied 0.5 ml lidocaine solution topically to the mucosa US of the anal gland the R side measures 0.74 cm and contains hypoechoic fluid"
The vet wasn't sure if the abnormal tissue is scar tissue and the reason why they couldn't get it expressed or if the fluid was too thick to pass. Fozz never had issues prior to this and nothing was ever mentioned about the gland being difficult to express. His vet suggested surgery to remove the anal glands, however after researching and reading about the risks this surgery, I am not a proponent, unless absolutely necessary and said I wanted to try other natural means first. Fozz does see a holistic vet. I researched blogs and holistic vet's suggestions. We began using Calendula Compresses a few times each day, Silicea, added flax seed to his diet, and after reading the benefits of red light therapy for many things, also decided to purchase an AnimaSol Red Light device, which is used 2 times daily. He goes back to the vet in Sept. to have it checked. Hopefully, something that we are doing has helped. Thank you for reading this. I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts or any other remedies I could try to keep Fozz from undergoing surgery and help this gland issue before it becomes an emergency abscess situation.
Hello. I am new to Holistic Actions and am hoping for some guidance to help Fozz, my 12 year old pug. He weighs approximately 20 lbs, Body Condition score of 4.5/9, and gets a good amount of exercise. His last blood test in May came back clean with everything in range. Fozz is very healthy except for this gland issue. He eats a lightly cooked fresh food diet of white fish and sweet potato. He also receives pumpkin, psyllium husk, and omega oil daily. Occasionally, he has a little sardines. His treats consist of fruit and vegetables. His BEAM is good and normal. His bowel movements are normal. Fozz in not showing any signs of discomfort at this point. No swelling around the anus, no scooting, just an occasional lick.
Fozz has been having his glands expressed at his vet's office for years, since he was never able to express them on his own. When I took him to the vet in June, they were unable to express the right one. I scheduled an appointment to have it flushed out. His regular vet was out and another did the flushing. She was not able to flush it out. The report noted the following:
"Abnormal. R anal gland duct is palpable and thickened, attempted to express and infuse the a/g without sedation, pet is cooperative but the tissue is sensitive
Sedated procedure: attempted multiple times with 22 and 24 g IV catheter (no needle) and curved tip syringe loaded with animax ointment and saline
Beneath the anal gland opening there is abnormal tissue that is thickened and raised rounded ~ 2-3 mm the tissue was becoming progressively irritated, applied 0.5 ml lidocaine solution topically to the mucosa US of the anal gland the R side measures 0.74 cm and contains hypoechoic fluid"
The vet wasn't sure if the abnormal tissue is scar tissue and the reason why they couldn't get it expressed or if the fluid was too thick to pass. Fozz never had issues prior to this and nothing was ever mentioned about the gland being difficult to express. His vet suggested surgery to remove the anal glands, however after researching and reading about the risks this surgery, I am not a proponent, unless absolutely necessary and said I wanted to try other natural means first. Fozz does see a holistic vet. I researched blogs and holistic vet's suggestions. We began using Calendula Compresses a few times each day, Silicea, added flax seed to his diet, and after reading the benefits of red light therapy for many things, also decided to purchase an AnimaSol Red Light device, which is used 2 times daily. He goes back to the vet in Sept. to have it checked. Hopefully, something that we are doing has helped. Thank you for reading this. I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts or any other remedies I could try to keep Fozz from undergoing surgery and help this gland issue before it becomes an emergency abscess situation.
