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Ok, so my dalmation has a bit of a problem, I'm hoping someone else has some insight, because it's driving me crazy.
A few weeks ago, the dog started to "smell" -- not your typical "smelly dog" smell, or even like feces.... but like rotting garbage. It was concentrated around his "rear end," and he started to lick the back of his tail and hind side like I had never seen him do before. After doing some research, we thought that we had identified the problem and watched a couple of "how to" videos and decided to try "expressing" the dog's anal glands. (The anal glands on a dog are what dogs use to mark territory, etc.) It was the most disgusting thing, but we did it successfully and it's been done TWICE now, but he STILL SMELLS!! (the fluid "expressed" is/was definitely the source of the smell).
Do you think it's time to see a vet? I can't imagine what the vet would say it is beyond what all the websites have said and suggested. I don't want to spend $200 at a vet, only to have them express the glands AGAIN and have him stink STILL.... Has anyone else had this problem? Do you think it could be a sign of something dangerous, like worms?!
Don't want to alarm you. My friend's German Shephard had a similar problem to your Dalmation. The gland by his rear end became abscessed and ruptured. Very, very painful for the poor pooch.
The vet said because the dogs stools were so soft, the glands weren't been squeezed when he had a poo. Maybe adding something to his diet to harden up his poo poo might help. I'd take him to the vet though to be on the safe side. My friend's dog ended up in a lot of pain.
Ugh yuk!!! I know some other dogs that had anal gland probs as well, thankfully we've never had them. Our dog has it done regularly when he gets his haircut. Let us know what happens! I'd take him to a vet for sure. Hope it gets better soon!!! Good luck!
Yes, he could be beyond just expressing them and they may be infected. Dog often drag their butts across the carpet/floor when they need their glands expressed as well. Many groomers do this as part of their grooming. I used to have a Daschund I had to do that to a few times a year, but it is easier to do it yourself on a smaller dog like that than a larger one like a Dalmation.
I used to work at a vet's office. The doctors there always said try to avoid expressing the anal glands because once you start that you'll have to continue doing it. For the most part dogs express them naturally when they have a bowel movement. As far as how much it costs, it was only about $15 where I worked. Not sure if you have to pay for an office visit though.
Vet appointment tomorrow morning! We'll see what they say. The thing is, though, I haven't seen him drag his butt on the carpet... but all the other symptoms are there!
I used to work at a vet's office. The doctors there always said try to avoid expressing the anal glands because once you start that you'll have to continue doing it. For the most part dogs express them naturally when they have a bowel movement.
Yes, I've heard this too.
Ugh, what a problem.
Our first mastiff occasionally had that, um, odor, we called it "the bad smell."
But he always seemed to get better on his own, and lived a good long life.
Good luck, Tri, hopefully you are catching the situation before it gets too serious.
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