**Road's End Papillons- established in 2006
**We are advocates of raw-, fresh, "human-grade food" for our canine friends .
And:
we follow limited vaccination guidelines.
**Please note that Road's End available Papillons are
only to be seen by clicking on the AVAILABLE page, unless mentioned otherwise

Monday, July 26, 2010

Anal Glands --Sacs- Infection: a common Small Breed Dog problem.

Canines have two sacs located on the inside of the anus, one on each side. These secrete a liquid substance that helps bowel movements.
Especially on smaller breed dogs, the sacs have to be released ever now and then to avoid them from becoming impacted.
If you see your dog scoot his little bottom on the floor, think of anal sac impaction (It is very common in small breed dogs)


Have him checked by the vet; he can also show you how to release the sacs for a regular maintenance by you, to prevent it from happening again.
A worse case scenario is when your dog does not scoot, but chews near his anus.He most likely will have an infected anal gland, or worse, the sac breaks open because the infection is really bad -a boil.
In that case the dog is very uncomfortable, and the area is very painful.
If you encounter a open wound like that on you little Papillon, wash his rear with sudsy warm water, apply a topic antibiotic cream on the wound and make a quick appointment with the vet!!

There are things you can do to help prevent these anal sac problems:

  • A good quality diet to maintain a solid, slightly firm stool. (The stool pushes against the anal sacs while eliminated)

  • Exercise.