A Question for You

I’ve had the recommendation to add canned pumpkin to their food to bulk up their stool to assist with anal gland issues. Just a spoon or two.

I was told by my vet not to express their anal glands unless they have problems.  The more you do it, the more they become dependent on it to have to be done.  Most will express themselves naturally.  I think I good diet is with fiber is key.

Some dogs have luck when they pass small, firm poops.  Raw diets, or smaller amounts of high calorie kibble often produce this.  Other dogs have luck with larger, semi-firm poops.  This can be achieved with the canned pumpkin (as mentioned above), or with larger amounts of low calorie kibble.

I’ve personally thrown in the towel.  Dory’s either expressing all over my house, or dragging her butt along the rug in discomfort.  I do know the anal gland surgery is fairly risky.  Unless your pup is having problems with ruptured glands, I would stick to home remedies.

I have never heard of the surgery for this, but I do have Sleighbelle’s glands expressed at the vet—usually every 3-4 weeks.  Sometimes the tech will tell me that they were loaded and sometimes there is hardly any “ick” in there.  I call it a “butt squeeze”! 
Sleighbelle doesn’t ever drag her butt, but sometimes she does the circling on the carpet.  It completely grosses me out and she gets in trouble for doing it.
So, about the pumpkin…you just use the canned pumpkin and mix a spoon full into their food?  I’m going to try that.  Thanks for the tip.  That is what is so great about this website…not only do we get to love on all pugs through the web, we also share great information.  Thanks!

Thanks for all of your comments! I’d rather avoid the surgery, but Marti’s unable to naturally “express herself” and she ends up leaking on me, furniture, clothing, carpet, etc.(no butt scoot here!)

I’ve tried to do it myself, but am afraid to do it wrong and have not had much success. I may try the pumpkin idea and see if that works for me.

If anyone has actually had the surgery done, I’d love to hear about it. My vet acted like it’s pretty standard, but I want some been there, done that advice from pug owners! Thanks everyone!

I’ve never had to do it myself yet…and I hope I don’t have to. My pugs are not quite a year old yet…so I’m sure I’ll have time to become aquainted with this. I have to say I’m not looking forward to it…

Christina, Yes, the pumpkin right from the can.  Just make sure to get the pure pumpkin and not the pumpkin pie mix.  The cans look very similar.

We call the butt spin on the carpet the “sit’n spin”! While my husband and I feel really bad for our Rosie that her butt itches, we think the “sit’n spin” is very cute and funny. I too take my Rosie to the vet, but sometimes we can go for weeks or months between visits. I think I am going to try the canned pumpkin. Thanks!

We don’t have much of a problem with it… usually i just end up with a little spot my shirt or the couch where they were sitting.

Indy does the bum scooting rarely…

Good luck

I would avoid surgery at all costs (unless they are swollen/impacted and visibly uncomfortable.). If not - I totally agree with the pumpkin in the food. I put a tablespoon in my guys every day and I don’t have any problems (except for the occasional oops on my lap but that is very few and far between).
I also heard of groomers doing this task and may be a bit less expensive.
It is like alien blood - EVERYONE around knows when someone or something has been as we call it “dookie juiced”...ick!

I agree with the pumpkin idea, however, wanted to suggest another site to go to when you have problems/questions.  I have learned a lot from the Worldwide Pug Message Board.  There are breeders (reputable), show people, and even vets, who post on that site.  I love it!  But don’t get me wrong…I love this site too!  In fact, the first email I open every day is my daily pug picture.  It always starts my day on a good note, and puts a smile on my face.  I want to bring my 2 black pugs and move in with them!!!...Vicki, Amos & Andi

Vicki, thanks for the heads up on the Worldwide Pug Message Board.

Also, love the names Amos and Andi.

Pesky me again.  Vicki, what is the exact website of the Worldwide Pug Message Board?  I cannot seem to find it on my search engine.

Pat, believe me….you would know if the alien fluid (cracking up over that) was an issue…it is the most horrendous smell you can imagine…it can’t be missed…So, consider yourself lucky with just the toots.  lol

My brother’s dog (not a pug, a wire haired fox terrier) had the surgery because she often had problems with her anal glands.  It was horrifying - the incision was gigantic and went way up over her haunches.

She had problems with constipation her entire life after that.  She would squat and push and push and push.  It was horrible.

Definitely, as a last resort!

Clover has had awful anal gland issues.  We didn’t know what it was for a long time and took her to the vet and they were jam packed with gook.  We put benefiber on her food (we put the food in a zip lock with the benefiber and shake it to coat the food that way).  We also give her Metamucil (sp) wafers as treats.  It has helped but still need to take her in to get them expressed.  I am going to try the pumpkin for sure!

Thanks to all for your input, this is a great support system!

My pug Gabby needed to have gland surgery. After years of having the glad expressed by the vet (and yes, it _IS_ the best $20 you’ll ever spend at the vet), one of her glands had problems. During one of the expressions, the vet felt a lump (initially thought to be cancer!!) We had the surgery on only the lumpy gland and it turns out the lumps were the result of a infection, still the gland was still removed.

Don’t know if it was because we only had one gland removed or the vet just did a great job, but no complications and no post-op issues.

Bonus: removing just one of the gland stopped all of the ‘expression’ issues we had been having over the years. I’m sure it hurt her a little, but it has to be better no…. she always looked a little pained after the vet expressed the gland and luckily we don’t have to have that done any more.

Hi everyone,

Lately our 2 year old pug has blatenly pee’d on our couch when we leave to run errands after coming home from work. Tonight she decided to take a number 2 on our bed (poop). Is our sweet little pug trying to tell us something?  We took her on a walk and she always does her business.  In the two years we had her, she never would do something like this on a consistent basis.  She does so well during the day with zero accidents, but once we come home and run errands later in the evening there is a surprise that awaits us. Please help.

Chelsea - Our pug Olive did the same thing recently. She has NEVER peed on the couch in her life, but the other day she got really excited and just peed everywhere. Let me know if you find out what causes this!

Also, I just had my dog’s glands expressed (we do it monthly)and she started scooting the very next day. Does this mean her glands weren’t expressed properly? We took her to PetCo instead of her regular vet and they ensured that they would express her. Could there be any other cause?

I have a little something to add.  We do not have pugs, but we have two shih tzus and three mastiffs.  Our female shih tzu is 12 years old and our male is 16.  I have expressed their glands when necessary for quite a while, but 6 years ago Mikey had one removed due to a rupture and Katie as well for the same reason.  The surgery is somewhat risky and the recovery is not pleasant, as I am sure you can imagine.  I am in veterinary school and a professor of mine likened the recovery to that of a person recovering from hemmorroid removal. 

We have had some luck with the pumpkin trick, but sometimes it loses effectiveness and I tried a small amount of the blendable fiber…for humans.  If you can, try to get a weight ratio down to get the amount correctish and give too little rather than too much.  Sometimes a specific method can lose its ability to solve the problem and in rare cases I will use a small amount of Benefiber in their dog food.  When the stool is moderately firm it puts the optimal amount of pressure on the glands to express them naturally. 

In addition, smaller dogs, especially the aged, have more of a risk for complications with anaesthesia and infections (not a clean area) so take any surgery seriously.  I wouldn’t want someone cutting into my butt if it wasn’t ABSOLUTELY necessary.  I hope ths helps some, this is a scary issue if it gets worse.

Finally, I like this blog quite a bit.  I was looking because pugs have quite a bit of DNA in common with English mastiffs and they’re too cute.  I wish you luck with your baby!