Anal Gland involuntary release

hawow... I'm having this discussion with my bf...
please HELP us out...


I know the "juice"/liquid from the anal glands' is expelled when the glands become full. It can also be released when the dog is stressed or anxious.

Chocolate, our 3yr old pointer does this after I pick him up & lie him down on me in an ackward position where he may be resting on his back... like having a child sit on your lap. (:o )

thus... I think this release is sprung from the anxiety of falling from the couch bc he's not sitting securely...


but then he may also leak after play-wrestling with his year old sister.

it also happens total unprovoked. he could be lying on the couch, and you look @ him & start to smell it. the next thing, he's licking his bum...

Chocolate has been doing this most of his life. I had gone to the doctor when Chocolate was still a puppy & he said this DOES happen as dogs do not have control of the anal glands as skunks do, for example.

so............ IS this a problem that should be checked out, or simply behavioural where we need to reduce his anxiety/stress levels?

what have you all heard about this topic?

PLEASE HELP!!


(thank you! :) )

I may be wrong but I don't think it's behavioural

It could be that his stools are not 'firm' enough to release the anal glands.

What are the stools like, on the very soft side?
You can add a little boiled potato to his diet or some boiled white rice. That will firm the stools and assist in the release of the anal gland fluid.

If it's not that then I'm stumped my dear!

Does it smell?

Tim says:

"HELL YEAH it smells!! It's one of the nastiest smells you could ever imagine. It smells like liquid feces which have been rotting inside him for about 4 million years. You literally have to pull your shirt up over your nose, it's not tolerable. Much worse than their farts even! Sick."

Then yup anal glands

what about the poops? what are they like?

Timmy the bf writes:

The poops are solid, no problems there. The anal gland problem is always there, has been for his whole life, and it happens every few days no matter what his poop is like. He rarely has any kind of soft stool, it's always firm.

info for u to read

http://animalhealthcare.ca/contents/content.asp?id=153&cat=dogs
As these glands are normally emptied during the act of having a bowel movement, you may find a diet change would help. Often, increasing the fiber content to produce a bulkier stool may result in fecal material that is more effective at emptying these glands during defecation.


Then maybe you should consult your vet he could have ongoing problem with the glands.

LMAO @ Timmy's colourful language...

I told him he can write what he feels on this issue...

we're gonna work on adjusting Chocolate's fiber intake & monitor his stool so we can get to the bottom of this...


and all this time I thought it was a behavioural problem....

in my eyes, Chocolate's very sensitive. I tease him when he's refered by me as "challenged" ;)


grr... I need to stop this feud btw my man & my dog once and for all! :rolleyes:


:) fanx Luba! *HUGS*

Funny that you mentioned this, being over anxiety and stress.
My dog hates getting its nails cuts and expresses her anal glands when we cut her nails, which is a real stressful situation for her. She did it right in the vets office before, and they didn't seem concerned about it.

I haven't known anyone that it happens to as frequently as it sounds for you. this could cause quite a mess. I hope you get it worked out good luck!

An Aggie AND a Days fan? OMG, it doesn't get any better than that does it? I tape it every day and watch it the minute I get home - I've been worried about Doug all day. If Marlena gets him, I'm going after her myself!!!!!!!!!!!

Give him some rice or boiled mashed potato hun!

This post is so funny...Ok this is gross...When we moved from Van to Mtl by auto with Pele when he was 5 months when we got to Montreal, we were so concerned about that smell that Tim had described so vividly that we took him to a vet and squirted excess juice from from Pele's anus. Pele's never had the prob since. Vet said that stress does create the prob that had occurred. GROSS.