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Why are my dog's anal glands causing problems? What can I do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed | 9 months and 11 days old | 85 lbs

Anal glands seen to be causing problems.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

Veterinarian

Published on December 3rd, 2017

Anal gland issues are not uncommon and I hate to hear that they are bothering Sadie. Not knowing the history, I'm just giving a brief over view of glands in general.
Chronic anal gland irritation is often due to food allergies. If you have not tried a food trial yet, I would try it and see if the gland issues go away. There is a specific prescription diet made by Royal Canin called Ultimino. It will diagnose ALL forms of food allergy. Once you figure out thats the problem, then you can start figuring out what food exactly that Sadie is allergic to. If its not food related, then its likely hereditary that she has unhealthy glands. There is a supplement called Glandex that can be purchased at Petsmart and some dogs do well on it. There's also a surgery to remove the glands for dogs that are constantly plagued. I hope I have answered your questions. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

3Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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