The world's most disgusting and useless vestigial feature. Both dogs and cats have anal glands. They are small glands located at 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock on an animals rectum. These glands are similar to the scent glands that skunks are notorious for. Whatever they may have been used for in the past they don't serve much of a purpose now except to gross out pet owners everywhere. These glands are usually expressed when your pet poops. The poo passes through the rectum putting pressure on the gland and releasing the liquid inside. Now, if your pet doesn't have firm enough poop, or if for any number of reasons mother nature didn't like your pet's butt, the glands don't get released on their own. When this happens it can have several results. 1 - Your dog starts scooting all over your clean floors leaving a nasty rotting fish odor in it's wake. This is usually a good indicator that the dog has full anal glands that need to be expressed. In veterinary practice we express your pet's anal glands by inserting a f gloved finger into your pets rectum and putting pressure on the gland both internally and externally causing the contents to be released. There isn't much that smells worse than anal glands. 2 - Your dog will start f reverently licking its anal area, also a good indicator that vet care is needed. 3 - The anal gland can become impacted. This is when the material inside the anal gland becomes firm in texture (anywhere from tooth paste to cement) and your pet will be unable to release it's glands by itself. Medical intervention is definitely needed when this occurs. 4 - Infection. When anal glands become infected antibiotics are administered. Sometimes this isn't enough and we actually have to inject a steroidal liquid into the anal gland while your pet is under sedation. 5 - Last and worst of all, if anal gland impaction is left to it's own devices and the infection isn't treated the gland can abscess! When this happens there is so much pressure inside the gland that it actually ruptures causing a larger hole to be made in your pets rectum. This is treated with antibiotics, we would also clip and clean the area and express the anal gland that didn't abscess to prevent it from happening to the other side.
Anal glands are something we deal with on a daily basis in the Veterinary industry. Thankfully over time your nose startes to become desentisized to the rotten smell. My most memorable anal gland experience took plpace in my home town in NY. I was working in my first veterinary hospital and I was still pretty new at the job. Our apointment was with a young man and his Alaskan Malamute. There was an awful smell eminating from the dog. Upon closer examination of it's rear we realized that one of it's glands had abscessed and ruptured and the other was seriously infected. The stench was so bad once we exposed the area that the owner left the room. The veternarian, who was PREGNANT, continued with her work. We shaved the dog's butt, cleaned out the abscess, expressed the infected anal gland and went on about our day. So next time you feel like complaining about your job, stop and be thankful that you don't have to deal with anal glands and all of the lovely smells that can eminate from them.
