crash course

Tonight Nick got a crash course in some veterinary assisting. For the past month or so, Chester has been pretty obsessive about licking his rear end. I have tired to express his anal glands on my own, but was not able to do so. Nick agreed to help with the restraint that may make it easier for me to do this. So tonight at 10pm, Nick and I, donned outdoor gear and took the unsuspecting dog outside. (It stinks and can be messy, outside is the best at home option) I quickly described to Nick how to restrain Chester. He did very well. I went to work trying to express these pesky glands. They were not easy. Chester made some crowing rooster type sounds. "Sorry buddy, this hurts." Both glands were very full and very difficult to express. The material was quite thick and pasty. Oh yeah, and it stunk. Despite the dog's best efforts, Nick did a great job holding on. Even the time the dog did manage to squirm, kick and scream his way mostly free, Nick kept pretty good hold and told me when he was loosing his hold. It's amazing that someone that got a crash course in restraint and anal glads was a better assistant than some people I have worked with (mostly many years ago now) and this was his own dog. Way to go Nick!!

So you may be asking "what in the world is an anal glad?" Well, dogs and cats and a few other creatures have these "sacs." The glad secretes a very smelly fluid that collects in these sacs. Every time the animal has a bowel movement, the sac releases some of the fluid onto the poo, giving it the distinct smell of "this is my territory." Well, as animals age, the fluid starts to get a little less fluidy and a little thicker. This makes the natural process of emptying them not work well. In some cases, the ducts that release the fluid can get plugged. If left unexpressed, eventually the sac gets too full and can lead to a ruptured anal gland. This is not a pretty site. They get infected and something that was once gross gets nasty.

So now that you have a basic understanding, go Google Anal Glands and see what kind of great videos and descriptions you find. Go on, I dare you!