So, let’s talk anal glands, a rather stinky subject!
Last week I did two surgeries on dogs to remove anal glands, not the most fun, but sometimes getting rid of them resolves either a problem of chronic infection or pain. I have spent a lot of my career dealing with bottoms, it’s not glamorous! So, what are these troublesome glands? Anal glands are an evolutionary scenting tool, when a dog passes faeces, they squirt scent onto it to claim territory. The problem, more commonly in smaller dogs is that these glands get blocked and sometimes infected which causes irritation and discomfort. With blocked glands the dog may ‘scoot’ its bottom on the floor to find relief or bite around its bottom. If they remain blocked for some time, they are likely to get infected. Some dogs need the glands to be emptied at regular intervals to prevent this. Infected glands don’t always need removing and sometimes a course of antibiotics or a flush can settle them down. One thing is for sure that the smell of anal glands is pretty distinctive and not at all pleasant!
Lucy Travers BVSc CertAVP MRCVS Highfields Vets