Hey everyone, it has been awhile...Been super busy with work and the dogs.

Background: Teddee's anal glands were infected in July. When the vet expressed them, all that came out was blood. Symptoms were smell, blood around stool (not in it, but dripping around it), and him chewing at them. The vet infused them with antibiotics and gave us 2 weeks of cipro. After a week, we took him back in because they were not getting better and she expressed them again of the blood and infused them again. She gave us more cipro and they seemed to clear up after a week.

Present: The smell, chewing and blood around the stool returned in early November. At the first sign of symptoms, we took him back, sure enough she expressed them and all that came out was blood. She infused them again and said this time she would want to keep him on cipro for longer just to make sure we knocked out the infection. Last week, three weeks after beginning treatment, we took him back in because he was still chewing, still bloody stools and smell. Same thing, infused them with antibiotics and gave us 3 more weeks of cipro.

Question: Is there anything I can do besides the cipro to help him? Should we ask to switch antibiotics? He doesn't seem to be improving and keeps chewing/licking at them. She said if they don't clear up, she wants to remove them. Any negative impacts of removing anal glands? What is the recovery time?

Thanks for your help!

Wanted to add that his stools are solid and formed. Seems to express some of the blood when he goes as I see it drip around the stool.

 Quote: Keith Kaplan

Should we ask to switch antibiotics?

Has a culture of the pus from inside been sent to the lab?




Was the Infusion with Panalog?



http://www.vetinfo.com/doganal.html#b

http://www.allpetsmacomb.com/analglands.html

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/analsac.htm

I do not believe a culture has been sent to the lab. They did a fecal exam and it was clear. The secretions were not pus, the vet said it was straight blood.

I am not sure what the infusion medicine was. I will ask when she calls me back. I left a message for her to call me today.

I will check out those sites.

Thanks Connie.

I just spoke to the vet. I didn't get the name of the ointment she infused him with, but she said it was an antibiotic/antifungal ointment. When I go in tonight I will ask the name. She did suggest we change his antibiotic to something else, a lot more money, but could be more effective. I will post the name of it later tonight when I pick it up. She said not to express them now as they probably don't have much build up since he was last expressed last Wednesday. She wants to do a recheck next week and will express/infuse them if necessary.

We spoke about the next step if this doesn't work and she said she would probably sedate him, flush them out, and infuse them. The other option is removal, but I stated I would like to try all options before that.

I will post tonight with the new meds, but any further advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Keith, I'm glad you are trying all else before removing them. Kasey was having some anal gland infections starting at only about 9 months old. It took several times of expressing them, packing with antibiotic ointment and oral antibiotics, but he finally got straightened out and we haven't had another infection since - about 4 years ago.

My vet is highly conservative about anal gland removal. It can be a very tricky surgery because there are all the anal nerves right there - one wrong little snip and they can become incontinent for the rest of their lives. Which means you will be cleaning up poop all the time because they can't control when they go. Not a great situation!

I would get a culture of the stuff that is expressed so they will know exactly which antibiotic would be best, and then do a good 2 to 3 weeks on it. Even packing them again part way through the course of antibiotic. You want to do everything you can to keep those glands. Once the infection is clear - and I would get them expressed and culture them again to make sure it's gone - I would express those glands every couple of weeks for a while at least, to make sure they stay cleaned out.

We also switched Kasey to raw and added a lot of bone so that his stools are always firm - this helped a ton!!

Thanks Lori. We have been doing the orals along with the infusions for almost a month now. Hopefully the new antibiotics will work better. The cipro along with infusion seemed to clear them up in about 3 weeks last time (July '11). As soon as they clear up, I will express them myself (have the vet show me) or have them expressed for a while to ensure they stay clear.

Thanks again.

The new antibiotic is called "Simplicef." The website for it says its used to treat skin infections, but she said this was the alternative to cipro for now for Ted.

http://www.simplicef.com/Simplicef.aspx?country=US&species=OO&drug=SI&sec=000

Wanted to give an update on Ted. He has now been on the Simplicef for two weeks. Brought him in to one of the other vets last week for a check. His anal glands are still filling with blood. Vet said there is no impaction and no thick fecal matter material, just blood. We talked about our options, but she said she wouldn't call the Simplicef a failure yet. She prescribed two more weeks with a follow up visit also in two weeks. She expressed them and infused them with Animax.

I have switched him back to a fish based food (Acana) which he did well on. I have also been adding fiber, including ground flaxseeds, which a vet nutritionist recommended for the fiber and omega 3s. He is also still on fish oil, vit e, and digestive enzymes. We have been holding back on the probiotics since the antibiotics will just destroy them.

The vet said the added fiber won't do much, but won't hurt either, since he seems to be expressing his anal glands and there is no impaction.

We are not prepared to have them removed yet, a) because the general consensus reading online seems that they should be cleared up before being removed, b) because the last time he had surgery on his tail he was a complete nightmare, c) I don't want to risk incontinennce for the rest of his life quite yet, and d) I want to try all options including the natural route before we have them removed.

I have been in contact with someone regarding homepathic/herbal remedies. Here is her site, http://naturalrearing.com/coda/index.html

She suggested the following products: "TIBETAN ANTI INFECTION
The most superb combination of Chinese herbs ever put together for viral infections! If used at the onset of any type of viral symptoms (early stages), it will stop the infection in its' tracks! I've been so impressed with the consistent results BaoXing gives for any species! It also is a very good pain reliever. I would not be without this herb! Excellent in chronic viral infections. (ie. Hepatitis)"

and "ECHINACEA COMP. FORTE
A powerful combination of Echinacea and other homeopathic remedies to stimulate the body’s immune system. Use it especially in serious viral diseases and especially in unresponsive infections. Can be used with other appropriate homeopathics."

I have an email to her asking specific ingredients so I can review with my vet. My vet is on board with trying naturopathic remedies since he doesn't seem to be improving using allopathic medicine. Anything else I should look at in regards to holistic/homeopathic. The glands don't seem to hurt him too much, but are irritating. He stopped licking them for a day or two once starting the Simplicef, but he is back at it.

Thanks!

Edited by Keith Kaplan (12/13/2011 10:03 AM)
Edit reason: Corrected name of antibiotic infusion