Anal Glands
The What, Where, and Why
The anal glands are actually two small sacs located on either side of the dog's anus at about the 5 and 7 o'clock positions. They are connected to a small tube that secretes a very distinctive, foul-smelling fluid. Most say the smell is like that of dead fish. These glands play an important role in scent marking territory, as well as giving hormonal information to other dogs. This is why dogs smell each others tail ends when they meet.
These glands normally get expressed during a dog's bowel movements, so long as the stools are of the correct size and firm. Dogs may accidentally express their glands if they become scared or stressed. Some dogs also figure out how to voluntarily express their own anal glands.
Because these are glands that are meant to be expressed on a regular basis during bowel movements, they can become impacted if this doesn't happen. A change in your dog's stool (from firm to soft, normal size to small) means these glands are not receiving the internal pressure they need to be expressed during a bowel movement. Overweight dogs and small dogs are most commonly afflicted with anal gland issues. Impacted anal glands can become painful to your dog, as well as becoming infected. If these glands are not expressed either naturally or manually by a veterinarian, a veterinary technician, or a trained groomer, they can eventually rupture. If you see your dog scooting it's rear on the floor or ground, this can be sign of anal gland impaction and could warrant a trip to the veterinarian to be checked out.
Here at Pooch Pawlor, we check the anal glands of every dog that will allow it. Most dogs do not need to have their anal glands manually expressed. If we do discover your dog needs this done, we will gently manipulate the glands externally to express them to prevent injury or bruising. If your dog will not allow us to do this, or if we feel that we were unable to fully express the glands, we will notify you and refer you to your veterinarian for a more complete check of the anal glands and internal expression if they feel this is necessary.