Anal scent glands

As soon as the foul odor hits your nose, you probably will cough, gag, or gasp in horror that your beloved fur ball could create such an atrocious smell. Unfortunately, all dogs and cats have anal glands, and some require manual expression to empty these two stinky sacs. Why do pets have anal glands? What happens if they develop a problem?

Author: Dr. Beth Turner. This page may contain affiliate links, for which we earn a commission for qualifying purchases. This is at no cost to you, but it helps fund the free education that we have on our website.

Anal gland problems affect millions of pets and are a very common and frustrating problem. Anal gland issues arise when the anal glands of dogs and cats becoming over-filled, blocked, or irritated. All dogs and cats have these two small glands sometimes referred to as anal sacs near the anal opening.

Dogs can smell like many things, depending on what they have most recently rolled in, but one of the more unpleasant aromas dogs commonly develop is one of fish. If your dog smells like fish, it is probably not because he figured out how to spray himself with Eau de Sardine. A fishy odor is usually the result of secretions from the anal glands. These sacs are full of specialized sweat glands that produce an unpleasant smelling secretion that acts as a scent marker for your dog. When your dog poops, these secretions pass onto the feces, letting other dogs know important chemical information about your dog.