The great anal gland debate

I'd like to address an unpleasant & sometimes hotly debated topic today: anal glands. If your dog is healthy & doesn't have issues you may not even know what they are, A short explanation is that the glands are small sacs that reside just inside the rectum. They secrete a super stinky fluid each time your dog defecates. When functioning normally, a small amount of fluid is expressed each time as part of the natural process. 

For decades anal gland expression was an automatic service provided by groomers but now not so much. Some groomers still do an automatic expression & some decline to express them at all. The problem is that manual expression causes trauma to the glands & can cause them not to function on their own. So now an issue has been created where one wasn't present before. 

Do some dogs have anal gland issues that require manual expression? Absolutely! many underlying issues can cause your dog to not express their anal glands in a natural manner. However, this crosses the line into a medical concern which should be addressed by a veterinarian & not a groomer. 

With few exceptions (recommended by a veterinarian or routinely performed by a previous groomer) I do not express anal glands. While it is an individual dog thing, the majority of dogs do not have an issue & I do not wish to create one. If your dog is having trouble (excessive licking, butt scooting or a really foul smell originating from their back end) make an appointment with your veterinarian for evaluation & treatment. 

More info is provided in this article from a veterinarian & provides a more detailed explanation of anal gland function as well as potential underlying causes of an issue: 

​https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/05/16/dog-anal-glands.aspx