Has your dog ever sat down in the grass, or on your favorite carpet, and dragged himself forward with his front legs? This behavior is called “scooting” and is a sign of problems with the dog’s anal glands.
The anal glands help dogs mark their territory. After they poop, they discharge fluid from their anal glands to give their droppings (and the surrounding area) their own particular scent. When dogs are unable to empty their anal glands, they experience discomfort and try to relieve it by licking or scooting.
Some breeds have anal gland problems because of genetics. Breeds like spaniels and dachshunds have trouble emptying their anal glands without assistance.
My fur sister, Becca, has anal gland issues. For whatever reason, she has trouble flushing them out on her own. The first time we brought her to the vet to figure out the source of her mysterious obsession with scooting around on the carpet, the vet helpfully drew us this diagram:
If you ask me, it looks a little bit like a puppy. The anal glands are the two “ears” and the openings in the anus make the puppy’s face. Yes, I am weird.
Anal glands that fill up and aren’t flushed can get infected. Glands that have chronic problems and infections can be removed surgically, but you can prevent recurring infection by making sure that your dog has his anal glands flushed as soon as he starts scooting.
Your vet can manually empty the glands — and let me just say that I have never smelled anything as awful as the stink that came from Becca when the vet flushed her out. For the brave of heart and strong of nose, your vet can show you how to flush your dog’s anal glands yourself! (BARF!) I’d much rather leave that to the professionals, thank you very much!