Tails of Truth: The Truth about Veterinary Medicine

Gut to Butt: The Anal Gland Episode

• Episode 58

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 14:49

Tell Us What You Think

Nobody puts "anal glands" on their list of things to learn about when they get a pet. Then your dog scoots across the carpet,licks incessently during the night, or your cat leaves a mystery smell on the couch cushion, and suddenly it's the only thing on your mind.

In this episode, Dr. Angie and JoJo get into all of it: what anal glands actually are, why chronic anal gland problems are often a sign of food or environmental allergies most pet parents never connect, whether those fiber supplements flooding your social feed are worth it, and when a scooting situation turns into a needed vet appointment. Straightforward, a little gross, and genuinely useful.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS 

  1. Anal glands are scent-marking sacs positioned at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions just inside the anus. They're meant to express naturally with each bowel movement.
  2. Scooting, excessive rear-end licking, and a persistent foul or fishy odor are the three main signs of a problem.
  3. Chronic anal gland problems are frequently a sign of food or environmental allergies. If your pet needs regular expression, the allergy is the thing worth investigating, not just the glands themselves.
  4. Groomers routinely expressing anal glands at every visit is not standard of care. If there is no problem, it is unnecessary and can cause irritation over time.
  5. Fiber supplements marketed for anal glands work by bulking stool to support natural expression during defecation. They will not clear an existing impaction on their own. Expression first, then support.
  6. You can express anal glands at home with gloves, water-based lubricant, and a willing assistant. Your veterinarian or veterinary nurse will show you how.
  7. An abscessed anal gland requires veterinary treatment. Antibiotics often need to be instilled directly into the sac.
  8. Anal gland removal surgery carries a risk of permanent fecal incontinence. In nearly 20 years of practice, Dr. Angie has not had a single patient require it.

SOUNDBITES

"I wouldn't ever touch them if I didn't need to. If there isn't a problem, why get in there and muck around?"  — Dr. Angie 

"The marketing is butt to gut, but the product is actually gut to butt." — JoJo

"If your dog is scooting a lot, has a lot of problems with their anal glands, they probably have a food allergy, or maybe an environmental allergy, but more commonly a food allergy."  — Dr. Angie 

"If anybody has experience with them and you've smelled anal glands, you've never forgotten that." — JoJo

"Even when you give systemic antibiotics, sometimes it's hard to actually make the antibiotic get into that anal sac. And so we like to instill the antibiotics right into the anal sac."  — Dr. Angie 

Please subscribe and review! xoxo Dr. Angie & JoJo


Dr. Angie Krause (00:00)
Welcome back to Tails of Truth, where we tell the truth about veterinary medicine. I'm Dr. Angie, and this is my co-host and veterinary nurse extraordinaire, JoJo. Today we're talking about butt stuff.

JoJo (00:13)
Boots scoot boogie. Is that really the

words in those song That country song? Is it boot scoot? Yeah. We are doing a boot scoot butt talk. We're talking anal glands today. And really, I just have questions for you, Dr. Angie, that come through and then you're gonna real time answer them.

Dr. Angie Krause (00:17)
I mean, yes, from the 90s, yeah.

Okay, so this is like an interview style. I don't know what she's gonna ask, but I talk about butts all day.

JoJo (00:40)
But it

was interesting because it kind of caught on my radar one because I have a dog who's licking her butt and I hope but doesn't get us an E an explicit marking on our podcast episode. This is not for kids if you don't like the word but but if you have a dog your kid has definitely been exposed to your dog licking their butt. guarantee you scooting. Yeah, so I have a friend who's like ⁓

Dr. Angie Krause (00:56)
⁓ god.

What that?

Yeah, or scooting or whatever.

JoJo (01:08)
My dog is just like licking a lot. Like he's just neurotic and like, it's probably more than just being neurotic, especially if it's just one area. She's like, no, I think he's just being neurotic. ⁓ Okay, so let's talk anal glands. They're gross. Let's just start that. If anybody has experience with them and you've smelled anal glands, you've never forgotten that. So.

Dr. Angie Krause (01:23)
Let's talk anal glands. Yeah.

It's

a smell that stays in your nose for a long time.

JoJo (01:34)
or your

hair if you work in the industry, or your clothes. It's just gross. So anal glands, Dr. Angie, what are they?

Dr. Angie Krause (01:38)
Mm-hmm.

I mean, I don't know. No, I'm just kidding. They're like, they're mysterious. So about if like your dog's anus is a clock face at like four and eight, there are these glands that open up kind of like right inside.

JoJo (01:45)
⁓ we're doomed!

Dr. Angie Krause (02:08)
the anus and like into like the rectum. And when your dog poops, the idea is they're supposed to express some of the material in them. And when there's disease there or maybe there's diarrhea or your dog has food allergies or something else is going on, those anal glands can fill up and become uncomfortable. They can become itchy. And so that's when dogs start to lick.

and scoot.

JoJo (02:35)
So they're little glands internally around the four eight clock of an anus. Yeah, that's interesting. Like all these people at home that are visualizing. Okay. Do we know why pets have them? And do maybe I should start with who has them to do cats, dogs, we're just going to talk cats and dogs. Okay. And why do they have them? Do we know why they have?

Dr. Angie Krause (02:39)
Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah, your dog's butt.

Dogs and cats both have them. Yes.

I mean, I think it's like, scent secretion. And I could be wrong about this if we understand why they have them. Obviously, they don't need them anymore, but to just, you know, it's like maybe a form of communication. I was here. Yeah.

JoJo (03:15)
All right, like

that which would make sense why it would then come out a little bit even now They're kind of marking when they defecate Because if you have a dog who defecates and then like kicks all the dirt around around it It's a little bit of like here not to cover is like I am here. It's my understanding Yeah, apparently like I'm showing you my stuff. Hey when you come by you will know ⁓

Dr. Angie Krause (03:24)
Yes, exactly.

Is that why they kick like that? okay.

JoJo (03:41)
Okay, so then I want it well and the other reason I kind of came to this so I'm gonna veer a little bit is I am being marketed this supplement again and again and again. I don't know why something hears me talking about my dog licking or something. That neat gland X and they're supposed to help with anal glands. And so I was like, oh, people are marketing supplements for anal glands now.

Dr. Angie Krause (03:55)
Yes.

Yes. Well, sometimes when dogs have a problem and we think we need to have them express their anal glands every time they poop, we'll give them a bulk laxative to try to make the poop bigger in hopes to express their anal glands. And so let's see if that's what's in here. It has, it's got some probiotics in it, fiber supplement. Yeah.

So that's probably what it is, is just to help.

JoJo (04:35)
So really

the supplements that are coming out are to work on the digestive part of the dog and not, and in turn, the anal glands may get expressed on bowel movement.

Dr. Angie Krause (04:47)
Right. Exactly.

JoJo (04:48)
Yeah, it's kind

of different marketing. They're going from the butt to the gut rather than the gut to the butt. The marketing is butt to gut, but the product is actually gut to butt. Is that right? I think I should have been a marketer. Come on, guys.

Dr. Angie Krause (04:50)
What are-

Hahaha

Yeah.

JoJo (05:04)
Okay.

Dr. Angie Krause (05:05)
That's the

name of this episode is Gut to Butt.

JoJo (05:08)
gut to butt. Okay,

so there and if that could help. So if a dog is consistently having anal gland issues, if you bulk up their fiber a little bit, and clean up their guts, so their stool is a little bit more firm, they may be able to empty them on their own.

Dr. Angie Krause (05:12)
It could help. Yeah.

Yes.

They may be able to do that, more likely, this is my feeling in practice, is that if your dog scooting a lot has a lot of problem with their anal glands, they probably have a food allergy, or maybe an environmental allergy, but more commonly a food allergy. So.

JoJo (05:39)
And

that's what I was gonna ask because it becomes routine in grooming, right? When they go to the groomer, they automatically drain the anal glands, which I find such an interesting practice. I think they always do.

Dr. Angie Krause (05:47)
Do they always do that? ⁓

OK.

JoJo (05:54)
Yeah, why did they do that?

Dr. Angie Krause (05:55)
I don't know, I wouldn't ever touch them if I didn't need to.

JoJo (06:00)
Why

would you ever touch them unless you need to? ⁓

Dr. Angie Krause (06:05)
And

I say that one, because I don't want to, right? Like nobody wants to. But two, because if there isn't a problem, like why get in there and muck around? Like I don't just express anal glands in the clinic to just do it. There has to be a problem. There has to be a compelling reason for me to do anything back there, besides a rectal exam. But just because I feel anal glands doesn't mean I'm just going to express them. Yeah.

JoJo (06:30)
⁓

and your dog doesn't really want you to express them if you don't have to either. It's a little uncomfortable.

Dr. Angie Krause (06:37)
Yeah, especially your cat doesn't either. They really don't.

JoJo (06:39)
I was going

to ask that like how often are people seeing this with their cats? It seems more common in dogs.

Dr. Angie Krause (06:43)
Not as often as dogs.

Yes. Like I have some cats in the practice that get like chronic anal gland impactions and sometimes they'll get abscessed and we'll have to. But usually when I change their diet and we address food allergies, it gets better. Yeah.

JoJo (06:57)
Okay, so

draining consists if you're having to have your dog's anal glands or cats drained on a consistent basis, there's an issue that there's an underlying issue that needs to be looked at.

Dr. Angie Krause (07:09)
Yes. And then some people like my last here, we got to like a butt for us, right? ⁓ my God. ⁓ this is Fiona. We're going to get like taken down.

JoJo (07:12)
If there's a name for you, if you're watching. Girl, hide that. Those are separates. sweetheart. Okay. Wow, that's like perfect for this episode.

So inappropriate. If you're listening, Dr. Angie's cat has her backside straight to the camera.

Dr. Angie Krause (07:27)
gosh, what was I saying?

I

know, just for this episode. Some people will experience their dogs leaking when they're at rest and those, maybe there's not as much of a problem, although I think there is still usually a food component. But if we don't want to go to the trouble to figure it out, like some people do just get their dog's anal glands expressed every couple months and that seems to be fine. So it's like, I don't know that there's a danger in doing it.

Sometimes people just can't find the underlying cause or don't want to.

JoJo (08:07)
Do you think that it is safe for people to express anal glands on their own or is it something that needs the groomer or clinic?

Dr. Angie Krause (08:14)
no, you can totally do it at home. You got some gloves, get yourself some lube, some water-based lube and someone to help hold your dog and veterinarians and veterinary nurses will definitely teach you how to do it. We're so happy to show you how to do it. A lot of people are like, no thanks. That's gross because it requires you to insert your pointer finger into your dog or your cats.

JoJo (08:31)
No thank you!

Dr. Angie Krause (08:40)
anus.

JoJo (08:41)
Right, and most people don't even want to use a rectal thermometer. And this is, I feel like, step two from a rectal thermometer.

Dr. Angie Krause (08:44)
Yeah.

right, because then what you

do is you take your thumb, and so you stick your finger in here and then you take your thumb and you have to milk it out. And the material is gross, even when it's normal. So when it's abnormal, it's really gross.

JoJo (09:02)
Okay, so that was my next question. What is normal anal gland material? What are you, when it's expressed, what makes you feel like, okay, this is okay? And what makes you feel like, okay?

Dr. Angie Krause (09:13)
So when it's normal, it's gonna be kind of a brown, it has that kind of a clear brown texture. Usually they're easy to express, maybe they're not that full, that's normal. If they're really full and you express out maybe some, like it's got blood or pus in it, that's really abnormal. Or if it's really thick.

like super thick, we call them kind of impacted anal glands. That can be a problem too. Or if they're chunks.

JoJo (09:45)
which just made me

realize, yeah, what is that material?

Dr. Angie Krause (09:48)
I mean, it's what that gland, because like anytime you have a gland in the body, those cells are creating material to go in there. And so when something isn't quite right.

Yeah, or if it stays in there too long and then it gets really thick and congealed or, you know, really depends.

JoJo (10:06)
And when does it become, so there are procedures that can be done to sometimes drain an abscessed anal gland or like sometimes they get external.

Dr. Angie Krause (10:16)
Yeah, so sometimes it'll, the anal gland, so it empties out into like kind of the rectum anus area. But if it gets abscessed, sometimes it will open up right next to the anus. And so then you'll have a draining tract. And so then we just flush those out and instill some medicine in there.

JoJo (10:34)
Mm-hmm.

And that you do want your veterinarian to do. That is not an at-home procedure.

Dr. Angie Krause (10:41)
That is not, yeah, you, yeah.

Don't do that at home because you probably don't have the stuff to instill in there. Because even when you give systemic antibiotics, sometimes it's hard to actually make the antibiotic get into that anal sac. And so we like to instill the antibiotics right into the anal sac.

JoJo (10:59)
Well, and have you ever used honey in those situations for an impact kid? Uh-huh. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, I think we have used that before in practice. Yeah, back in Portland.

Dr. Angie Krause (11:02)
into an anal sac? No, I've used honey a lot, but not for that.

when you were working for Rachel? ⁓

interesting.

JoJo (11:16)
So also not at home.

Dr. Angie Krause (11:18)
Yeah, don't put any there. That's very sticky.

JoJo (11:19)
Yeah,

and it's gonna be a cone situation for your pet, just FYI. And do anal sacs ever get removed, the anal gland?

Dr. Angie Krause (11:23)
Yeah.

They can,

yes, if it becomes a problem, too much of a problem, they can be removed. But the downside of that surgery is it can make your dog fecally or your cat fecally incontinent. I've actually, I've never done one and I've never in the almost 20 years I've been practicing, I've never actually had a patient get all the way there. No one wants to do it.

JoJo (11:52)
Well, what would they do instead?

Dr. Angie Krause (11:54)
Tell me what you mean.

JoJo (11:55)
like, does I mean if it had to be removed? That you have to? Yeah. Okay. So you mean people were doing it as like a bonus surgery? Like it's just

Dr. Angie Krause (11:58)
like if there was cancer in there. ⁓ then you do it. Yeah. Yeah. Like if there's cancer in there. Yeah.

Well, no, if like their pet was having chronic anal gland impactions or problems, you can remove them. It's just, nobody wants to. Maybe, but maybe not. could be successful and not cause fecal incontinence. But if it causes fecal incontinence, it's not reversible.

JoJo (12:12)
Yeah.

but then you just swap it out for a different.

⁓ Yeah, yeah, that's all of that. It's just so hard. Okay, so let's let's break it down your dog and cat has anal glands Hopefully you're never noticing that they have anal glands you are probably noticing if Your pet is scooting could be one reason they're scooting. There's all there's other reasons. They could be scooting It's not a necessarily anal glands. It could be worms, which is like

Dr. Angie Krause (12:28)
Yeah, no thanks.

Correct.

JoJo (12:51)
That's also gross. Or if they're licking excessively back there, or if you just notice a general foul odor that they leave behind, that happens too. Sometimes your cat is sitting in your lap and then leaves and you're like, what in the world just happened? So people need to call their vet when.

Dr. Angie Krause (12:51)
Hahaha

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

I think any of those, like if your dog is scooting regularly, licking regularly, seems uncomfortable, has a funny smell, we should see them. We can help them. I can't imagine what it's like to have anal glands, but I think, I would assume that when they have a problem, they're uncomfortable. So.

JoJo (13:24)
Okay, and are people,

is it worth investing in supplements? Or should they see their vet first and have their vet recommend a supplement?

Dr. Angie Krause (13:30)
Yeah, I mean, I think the supplements are fine, but like, let's say your dog or cat had an anal gland impaction and you didn't express their anal glands, but you just gave them the supplement. You might need to express them first and then give the supplement for the supplement to work. It might be a heavy lift for the supplement to clear out impacted anal glands. Like you might need to like reset first. And so.

Yeah, I would talk to your veterinarian. I mean, there's no harm, as long as your pet's not uncomfortable in using those supplements. They're just bulk laxatives. Yeah, with some digestive aids in there. Yeah.

JoJo (14:05)
Okay, do

we cover the butt stuff?

Dr. Angie Krause (14:08)
I think we covered that particular aspect of butt stuff. Yeah.

JoJo (14:11)
Right, there's definitely

more to be said. I can't think of any other questions for you around anal glands.

Dr. Angie Krause (14:20)
Okay, we've covered it. If you want to talk about your pet's anal glands or anything else with your dog or cat, you can go to boulderholisticvet.com and you can book a consultation with me. I will collect the records and we'll meet over Zoom and we can make a plan for your pet. It's all recorded so you get that afterwards.

JoJo (14:42)
Okay, thanks for listening.

Dr. Angie Krause (14:44)
Yeah, thanks for talking about butt stuff and we'll see you next time. Bye.

JoJo (14:48)
Bye.