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So, my dog is 11+ years old. He is a mixed breed of Spitz and another mixed breed. We rescued him when he was a puppy, maybe 3-4 months-old. He was snapping since then, he had an intense temper and he never fully trusted us. He is living with me and my mother this last decade, some months with her, some months (now) with me. He has impacted anal glands again, and I don't know how to take him to the vet. He has gone blind and has arthritis, so he has become more fearful. He won't let me put a muzzle on him and he will bite me and the vet and anyone who 'll try to go near him and touch him. He is ok at house, since he went blind he has stopped biting us for no reason; I 've also learned the subtle signs of his body language, so I back off the moment I sense him getting tense and looking suspicious. I 've tried emptying the glands but nothing happens, so he 'll need a vet visit and I 'm really afraid that he will need them to empty his sacs, probably under anaesthesia, although I 'm not sure because he is old. A year ago his sacs became impacted again and it was a nightmare to get him sedated and he also wouldn't wake up. I really don't know how to handle this. I take so good care of him out of fear of something happening to him that will require a vet visit. I love him more than anything, but raising him has been so difficult, considering his completely uncooperative personality. Of course I don't blame him and he is still my baby, but at times like this I get desperate and don't know what to do. Vets can't do much for a dog like this and they usually just ask me to do what I have to do and get a muzzle on him or leave. My fear makes me paralyzed, because I KNOW for a fact that he will bite me. I also don't want to hurt him, especially if he is going in for a surgery, which might be his last, considering last year that they sedated him to treat his anal glands he wouldn't wake up and the vet was worried.
Edit: forgot to mention he is 16kg. In my eyes he is a huge beast though, when he gets angry.
Have you discussed all this with his vet? It is possible they could prescribe an oral sedative (you pick it up at their office or a local pharmacy) that you can give him in a yummy treat before trying to get him to their office. It is also possible they would be willing to try an antibiotic/anti inflammatory first to ease the discomfort, which in turn could make him more manageable. The anal sacs must be extremely painful adding to his irritation and fear. The longer you wait to deal with the sacs the more likely he'll require intensive treatment or surgery. They can rupture. If he's always been so fearful and untrusting, he's spent a lot of his life being fairly miserable. Now on top of all that he's in serious pain. You need to recognize the quality of life issue here OP.
Last edited by Parnassia; 02-08-2023 at 05:20 PM..
He is blind, fearful and has arthritis and impacted anal glands. You know he will bite - likely because he is in pain and is fearful. It doesn't sound to me like his quality of life is good. I wouldn't want to live the life he is living. Maybe it is time to put him down.
So, my dog is 11+ years old. He is a mixed breed of Spitz and another mixed breed. We rescued him when he was a puppy, maybe 3-4 months-old. He was snapping since then, he had an intense temper and he never fully trusted us. He is living with me and my mother this last decade, some months with her, some months (now) with me. He has impacted anal glands again, and I don't know how to take him to the vet. He has gone blind and has arthritis, so he has become more fearful. He won't let me put a muzzle on him and he will bite me and the vet and anyone who 'll try to go near him and touch him. He is ok at house, since he went blind he has stopped biting us for no reason; I 've also learned the subtle signs of his body language, so I back off the moment I sense him getting tense and looking suspicious. I 've tried emptying the glands but nothing happens, so he 'll need a vet visit and I 'm really afraid that he will need them to empty his sacs, probably under anaesthesia, although I 'm not sure because he is old. A year ago his sacs became impacted again and it was a nightmare to get him sedated and he also wouldn't wake up. I really don't know how to handle this. I take so good care of him out of fear of something happening to him that will require a vet visit. I love him more than anything, but raising him has been so difficult, considering his completely uncooperative personality. Of course I don't blame him and he is still my baby, but at times like this I get desperate and don't know what to do. Vets can't do much for a dog like this and they usually just ask me to do what I have to do and get a muzzle on him or leave. My fear makes me paralyzed, because I KNOW for a fact that he will bite me. I also don't want to hurt him, especially if he is going in for a surgery, which might be his last, considering last year that they sedated him to treat his anal glands he wouldn't wake up and the vet was worried.
Edit: forgot to mention he is 16kg. In my eyes he is a huge beast though, when he gets angry.
The way I would approach this would be to minimize the chances of the glands becoming impacted in the first place. Try mixing some Metamucil into his food. I can't recall the ratio but it shouldn't be tough to find online. Take him for at least one short, 30-minutes or so, walk a day.
I'd talk with the vet about whether you should think about having the glands expressed on a regular basis by a vet tech or a skilled groomer so that they don't get impacted.
I'd get a basket muzzle and introduce him to it as gradually as you can in a place where he feels safe, like your home. You can do a lot with just a little bit of bacon to convince a dog to accept a muzzle. Muzzle him before you go to the vet.
Before making any quality of life decisions about this dog, see what his life is like without the impaction issue.
Also...I'm not sure that going back and forth between homes is the best thing for a dog in the Spitz group. Can you keep him primarily at your home from now on?
Have you discussed all this with his vet? It is possible they could prescribe an oral sedative (you pick it up at their office or a local pharmacy) that you can give him in a yummy treat before trying to get him to their office. It is also possible they would be willing to try an antibiotic/anti inflammatory first to ease the discomfort, which in turn could make him more manageable. The anal sacs must be extremely painful adding to his irritation and fear. The longer you wait to deal with the sacs the more likely he'll require intensive treatment or surgery. They can rupture. If he's always been so fearful and untrusting, he's spent a lot of his life being fairly miserable. Now on top of all that he's in serious pain. You need to recognize the quality of life issue here OP.
The sedatives don't work well with him, because of his anxiety hormones not letting the substances do their job, according to our vet. He will bite causing damage even when he is under strong sedatives. Getting him to the vet has always been a huge problem. His life has actually been pretty good, full of forest walks, trips and love. Everytime he 's had a medical issue we 've still managed to do what we should, even if it was risky, stressful and draining for everyone involved. Of course his life quality would be much better if he let me take care of him the way I want to, but he is still very well. I give him hypoallergenic kibble, he has done his bloodwork, vaccines, deworming, supplements, we even rent an apartment in a rural area which is awfully inconvenient for us, so that he can live without the city noises and most importantly so that we can live on ground floor and he doesn't have to climb stairs and hurt because of his arthritis. I wanted to work with a trainer for his behaviour issues, but the one we had in our area was using electric collars etc so it was a big no from me. We have a positive trainer now nearby, but in his age is there any meaning to do that? Or is it just going to stress him more? Someone else rescued his brother, they were in the same area with us and we met them, they told us that his sibling was the same, ill-tempered, biting, trusting noone. I guess someone mistreated them when they were puppies. Our vet had showed me the way to empty his sacs myself, externally, and I did that, he accepted it which might show that maybe it's not the sacs since it didn't seem to really hurt him? But nothing came out, so they might indeed prescribe antibiotics. At this point it might be an infection thay can be treated with antibiotics; it hasn't worsened during these hours, but I 'll probably just take him there so that they can see him at least from afar.
I won't put him down because he got old and have normal issues that old dogs (and people) have. He has learned to live with blindness, he hasn't lost his personality, nor his willingness to explore. His arthritis is manageable during warmer weather, it's worse now because of the cold and humidity, but seasons change and this will pass. His quality of life is not optimal, yes, because he won't go the the vet, but it's not bad either. He is an old dog, isn't it normal for him to have arthritis and cataract? It's not like he can have surgery for every problem that will come up, as he is not young and healthy anymore and there is a bigger chance of him not waking up. His issues keep coming back no matter what, we can't treat them all everytime. Last year he had a surgery for his anal glands and teeth cleaning, because his teeth keep accumulating tartar. Today his teeth have tartar again; I can't get him into surgery everytime for everything, it's not a mild process and it's not easy or safe for his body. Of course if I see him not wanting to live anymore or being in pain that can't be managed, I 'll have to put him down, but this doesn't feel the right time yet.
The way I would approach this would be to minimize the chances of the glands becoming impacted in the first place. Try mixing some Metamucil into his food. I can't recall the ratio but it shouldn't be tough to find online. Take him for at least one short, 30-minutes or so, walk a day.
I'd talk with the vet about whether you should think about having the glands expressed on a regular basis by a vet tech or a skilled groomer so that they don't get impacted.
I'd get a basket muzzle and introduce him to it as gradually as you can in a place where he feels safe, like your home. You can do a lot with just a little bit of bacon to convince a dog to accept a muzzle. Muzzle him before you go to the vet.
Before making any quality of life decisions about this dog, see what his life is like without the impaction issue.
Also...I'm not sure that going back and forth between homes is the best thing for a dog in the Spitz group. Can you keep him primarily at your home from now on?
Thank you very very much! I already have a basket muzzle, I got him to the point of sticking his snout in it, using a fish paste, I have to work on closing it, which is the most difficult part, as at that point he 'll realize it and will go nuts. But I 'll keep working on it. I take him for a walk 2 times a day, since seeing his anus swelling we walk a but more, because usually for some reason he doesn't empty his bowels completely, I can see he wants to but refuses and waits until the next walk. I didn't walk him for long before, because it's too cold and his legs must hurt. He also spends the entire walk searching for faeces to eat. Our vet said that he does this because he likes the taste, but I 'll order probiotics. For now I got him the Glandex supplement and Betadine solution to clean his anus. I completely agree, I have in my mind his image of being so happy, running like a puppy during this summer, and I know that it's not his time to go, I can't take this away from him, when it gets warmer he will probably feel much better again. He still gets enthusiastic, he jumps full of joy when we get home, when he gets treats, when I tell him what a good and beautiful boy he is, he is not ready to go, I know it. He is with me for good now, but the problem is that we have to move houses fairly frequently because of our job. This is a very big problem and I don't know how it can be solved. Thank you very much for your reply and advice!
My vet’s office has a calming protocol where they’ll prescribe an anti-anxiety medication to give them before bringing them in. My dog isn’t a biter but she gets so anxious at the vet. Perhaps phone them and see if that might be an option in your case too?
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