Expressing anal glands

You may have witnessed your dog scooting on its butt across the ground or your favorite rug. Or maybe it suddenly started licking its behind obsessively or you noticed an abnormal, room-clearing odor wafting around your pup. On the other hand, perhaps your best buddy is constipated or experiencing pain when it tries to poop or even just sit down. Although any of these behaviors and symptoms could be a sign of a variety of maladies, they may indicate a problem with your dog's anal glands and its need to relieve them which may be uncomfortable or painful if impacted or infected.

This post may contain affiliate links. Read more here. Updated: October 22, Unfortunately lots of dogs have problems with their anal glands.

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The anal glands or anal sacs are small glands near the anus in many mammals , including dogs [1] and cats. They are paired sacs on either side of the anus between the external and internal sphincter muscles. Sebaceous glands within the lining secrete a liquid that is used for identification of members within a species. These sacs are found in many carnivorans , including wolves , [2] bears , [3] [4] sea otters [5] and kinkajous.