Expert: Have4Paws - 1/13/2009

Question
My girlfriend and I have a 16 month old beagle who seams to be having problems with his anal glands. Back in October we noticed a fishy smelly liquid had come from his rear which smelt horrendous and also seamed to cause him some discomfort. Having investigated the problem on the internet it appeared that his anal glands may be full and need emptying and that the issue could be caused by his diet (not enough fibre). Apparently fibre helps dogs strain when they poo which enables the anal gland fluid to be secreted? We therefore took him to the vet who carried out the procedure. Since then the problem has occurred again, and again we've taken him to the vet for emptying. The vet advised that we should just keep an eye on it but it wasn't a problem and that his diet shouldn't be the issue. I decided to call the Chudleys food nutrition experts who advised that whilst their food may no help the issue, all of their foods were well balanced. I therefore switched from our non-branded dried food to Chudleys Choice which seams thus far to have done the trick hardening up his poo. I obviously do not want to cause our dog any discomfort nor have the aggravation of having to take him to the vets every couple of months for emptying. One side effect though is that over the last week since changing food he has started pooing (solid which is good) and weeing on the kitchen floor at night which he hasn't done for probably 4 months. Any ideas?  

In addition to the above he is becoming increasingly stubborn and seams reluctant to recall. He used to be very good but has worsened over the last few months. Admittedly we have become a little complacent but wondered if there were any tricks we could try? He does tend to respond better to his favorite foods (cheese and chicken) but due to his diet issues do not want to give him too much. Being lucky and living in the countryside he tends not to be on the lead much, could this be a problem?

One other thing, he seams to be getting a little stockier of late but nothing we believe we should be concerned about. He does seam bigger but not out of proportion in any way. He now weighs 17.5kg and then vet didn't pass comment on this at all. Could this be anything to do with our first issue?

Hoping you can help. Apologies for the length of this post.


Answer
HI, thanks for writing, lots of questions....

As far as the anal gland issue, this is VERY common in beagles. It is not unusual to have to have their glands squeezed every few months. If you don't want to keep taking him to the vet the alternatives are a groomer will do it as well or you can learn how to do it yourself. It is gross but at least free. Your vet can actually show you how or you can find instructions on the Internet. It is not all that difficult, we had to do it every month on one of our now gone beagles. One of my current boys has same issue but he can go 3-4 months so I just go to the vet. I haven't heard about food being a cause of this, I am sure it could aggravate it but as I said some breeds are just more prone to this.

As far as the accidents in the house, a change in food usually cases diarrhea not solid poo. Sounds like he need some retraining. IF you want some instructions on retraining send me your email address  and I will e-mail it to you as it very long to put in here with all the other questions. My direct e-mail is have4paws@verizon.net.

Stubborn re: recall, once again time for retraining, needs to go to obedience classes or you need to practice with him every day. The best trained and behaved dogs never stop training and practicing. Being a beagle food is what will drive him to  perform combined with praise. If you alternate so it is intermittent you can eventually phase out the treats. Or look into clicker training. But his ability to perform consistently is directly linked to your devotion to training him. I would never have a beagle off leash in a non fenced area personally no matter how well trained because the number one priority for a beagle is what he smells, his nose will ALWAYS win. Regardless, a dog who isn't perfect at recall shouldn't be off lead yet.

Lastly, I will also send you the proper way to judge if his weight is good or not when you e-mail me. too long now to put in here. Being a male and 18 months this would be the time he would be bulking up into an adult body. How much do you feed him? Also, my personal thinking, no HUMAN food EVER!!! especially for a beagle. Beagles have a propensity for obesity and every pound over weight is time off the longevity of their life so beagle owners have to be especially careful of diet.

I hope this is helpful and look forward to your e-mail so I can send you the other info.'

Good luck!