Anal sac disease common in dogs
AS some of you may be aware, this matter is very close to my heart (or nose).
Dogs have anal sacs (sometimes called anal glands) on either side of the anus. The secretion from anal sacs acts as a territorial marker. The sacs are present in both male and female dogs, and are normally emptied when the dog defecates.
The secretion has a very peculiar and vile odour. One of my university professors would say, “once smelt, never forgotten”. I am certain those who have been at the receiving end of anal sacs, would agree.
Anal sac disease is very common in dogs. The sacs frequently become impacted, usually due to blockage of the ducts. The secretion within the impacted sacs will thicken and the sacs will become swollen and distended. It then becomes painful for the dog to defecate. As a result, the dog may be reluctant to defecate, leading to constipation.
The impacted material within the anal sacs forms an ideal medium for bacterial growth, allowing abscesses to form. Abscesses are characterised by pain and sometimes a red, hot swelling will appear on one or both sides of the anus. If left untreated, the abscess bursts and releases pus. The infection can quickly spread and cause severe damage to the anus and rectum.
The first sign of anal sac disease is often scooting or dragging the rear along the ground. This may be accompanied with excessive licking or biting, often at the root of the tail rather than the anal area. Anal sac impaction and infection is very painful and may cause normally placid dogs to become aggressive when the tail or anal area is touched.
Unfortunately anal sac disease tends to recur and severely affected dogs may require surgery to remove the anal sacs altogether. In a few cases, anal sac disease is caused by cancer of the anal sacs. Such cases invariably require surgical excision with or without chemotherapy.
Consult your veterinarian for advice on anal sac disease and any other animal health matters. SOME of us like to keep our homes for ourselves and some make their homes pay the bills – they rent out portion, or all of their homes.
This can be lucrative, but there are risks attached. I am going to discuss the implications of renting out your home over the next few articles. I hope you get some useful ideas. The Eastern Cape, as I am sure you all know, is a little different from the rest of the country. Our income levels are relatively low, rentals are increasing more slowly than most of the rest of the country and pressure is being put on tenants as the percentage of disposable income spent on rentals is increasing. This means that the risks of renting out your property are higher and the need to have your rental professionally managed all the more important.
To start with, you will need a comprehensive agreement between your agent, tenant and yourself to make sure that the parties clearly understand their responsibilities.. Inevitably disputes arise and you will need a clear way to resolve them. This is achieved by agreeing to the terms of the rental.
The next step is to put steps in place to collect the rentals on time and have a process for collecting slow payers (I mentioned that the chance of this happening in the Eastern Cape is relatively high). We use the PayProp system, which allows us to send out statements to tenants and homeowners – on time and with all items on the statement supported by documentation – in this way we avoid disputes . most of the time! Late payers get a reminder invoice. As soon as the rentals are collected we pay service providers for work done and then the owner.
In future articles, I will discuss the pros and cons of long and short-term rentals and how we make sure that you get your home back in the condition you gave it to us. Please contact me on
if there is any aspect of rentals you would like to discuss with me. I look forward to hearing from you.