[Charlotte P]

My boy Leo woke me up with incessant scratching to his right ear this morning, then kept his head cocked to the side while on our morning walk. I looked inside and was shocked to see so much blood. I took him to the vet and she said it only looked irritated, confirming it was the scratching that caused the bleeding, perhaps an allergy, and gave us some ointment. She was about to send us on our way when she asked if I’d like his anal glands expressed since he’d had an issue before. Sure. The right sac was blocked so she had me leave him for sedation and saline injection to break up the matter. Hours later, I’m told it’s completely blocked with too-thick contents and she wants to slice a new opening and insert a drain as she’s afraid it may further expand and rupture. It’s been a LONG and expensive day. My poor Leo. I realize he will need to have at least that right sac removed in the very near future. My late dog, Jake, had both removed and never had another problem. I asked if the ears and anal glands have a systemic connection, she brightened and said there was in fact a doctor who did a study. I don’t know if this is the doctor who did the study, but it’s the info I was looking for and I’m sure it will help a lot of other people looking for answers.

“Atopy and Anal Sac Disease Are the Same”
http://dogandcatsurgerywellnessclinic.vetsourcecms.com/analglands/

Anal Sac Disease is in the dermatological category:
http://penfieldvet.com/dermatological.php

And then there’s manual trauma:

“Vets and Groomers, Be Aware of Pet Anal Gland Problems”
(Unnecessary Trauma Through Recurrent Expression of the Anal Glands)
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/12/23/your-pets-anal-glands.aspx

…Which leads me to wonder if anal gland trauma (clogged “trash-bin”) actually causes atopy.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 12 months ago by Charlotte P.