I had no idea about anal glands until Wednesday when I took her to the vet. The poor thing has a uti and had to have her anal glands expressed cause vet said they were impacted. Her bum area looks sore and she has been sitting a lot and looks very uncomforable. Is this normal? He said he had to use KY jelly.
I'm not sure what you're referring to as far as normalcy goes, but I'll tell you the following.
Most dogs express their anal glands when they have a bowel movement. They secrete a liquid substance that helps with lubrication, and are thought to play some role in dog to dog identification. The two glands sit at about 4 & 6 o'clock positions just inside the anus. Think of them like.....grapes. Ideally, the pressure from the feces helps empty these glands when the dog has a bowel movement. Some dogs need more help emptying them than others. Ask a couple of doctors why some dogs' anal glands don't empty without human intervention, and you'll get several different answers: the dog is overweight; the dog's diet lacks fiber; the dog's stool is not hard enough.
Some dogs never need to have help expressing their anal glands, while others need them emptied almost every week. Impacted anal glands are something we see at the vet relatively frequently, but then again, the clients have brought their dogs to us because there IS a problem. We usually have at least 3 patients a day that need to have their anal glands expressed, but the glands are not necessary impacted.
Early signs your dog needs his or her anal glands expressed:
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scooting (the dog is in a sitting position, and using the front legs, pulls himself forward)
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chewing/licking near the tail
HOpe to have helped.
