Anal glands constantly produce a material which has a unique pheromone smell and is used by dogs for communication. The glands sit at 4 and 8 o’clock on the anus and are squeezed to express their fluid when the dog passes faeces. The material sometimes sits at the anus and also covers the faeces – this is why dogs smell each others bottoms and poo!
There are a couple of reasons why anal glands may not empty themselves:
- If your dogs stools aren’t as firm as usual, the glands struggle to empty naturally
- There may be an infection in the glands causing them to refill and irritate Stimpy so if scooting persists despite it may be worth the vet checking them over to make sure the contents look normal
- In some dogs the anal glands are set quite deeply so they don’t always express when a poo is passed.
Increasing the amount of fibre in your pet’s diet can sometimes help to get the anal glands to empty naturally.
You can try this by:
- Adding a spoonful of crushed bran (all bran/bran flakes) to food every day
- Alternatively you could use the ‘Protexin Pro-fibre’ supplement which comes in a tub and you can spoon it onto food daily (you can buy this online or from us)
- You can also try the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Fibre food which you can get online or from us.
Alternatively it could be that your pet needs their anal glands emptying more regularly than some other dogs.
