# My doggie needs his anal glands expressed (TMI, obviously)... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258 "2005-05-31T19:31:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/1 "2005-05-31T19:31:04Z")
So Puppy-Head McBrownPants has been worrying at his butt lately, so I called the vet - it’s time for his check up and shots, so I booked him in and mentioned the butt deal to the receptionist. “He needs his anal gland expressed.” came the receptionist’s cheerful reply. Can you say EW, with a capital “E”? Apparently this is something that is generally done when dogs go to the groomer, however, I groom Voltaire myself, and I prefer to avoid his butt region as much as possible. Fortunately, the vet’s office is quite happy to do the expressing for me, so I can continue to avoid the issue. What I really want to know, however, is what the hell do wolves do? Do they express each other’s anal glands for one another? Serious grass scootching? Some sort of tree bark rubbing? Inquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/2 "2005-05-31T19:37:20Z")
What does it mean to “express” them? Can you Federal Express them, so it’s done overnight? ---
**Author:** ![Spikesbud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Spikesbud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spikesbud)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/3 "2005-05-31T19:42:41Z")
IANAV, but I understand that the need to express the anal glands can be affected by a dog’s diet. Normally, if the dog’s stool is firm enough, the glands are kept clean through the pressure of a regular bowel movement. If the stool is too soft, the glands will fill and require expressing. I’m sure there are plenty of other factors, but this is what I have been told. They will probably spray your dog’s butt with freshener after the fact because, as you can probably imagine, the expressing process produces a rather foul odor. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/4 "2005-05-31T19:42:48Z")
The related [cat](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=242277&highlight=anal+glands) thread. Good luck! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/5 "2005-05-31T19:44:20Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > What does it mean to “express” them? Can you Federal Express them, so it’s done overnight? To be totally honest, I wasn’t really interested in ALL of the nitty gritty details. My very vague understanding is that it involves some sort of squeezing in the butt region. As if I could do that to my dog. He’d never be able to look me in the eye again! It would be almost as bad as when I had to inspect Benny-the-Bunny’s hoo-hawectomy incision - embarrasing for both of us. (Ya know, a thread like this really needs a barfing smilie). ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/6 "2005-05-31T19:46:05Z")
> [@Spikesbud](#): > > IANAV, but I understand that the need to express the anal glands can be affected by a dog’s diet. :eek: Ok no! Voltaire is one of those weird dogs that isn’t much of an eater - I’ve finally found a food that he likes well enough to actually consume, but it does make his turds sort of soft. ew. ew. ew. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/7 "2005-05-31T19:49:36Z")
Just remember: ten o’clock and two o’clock, juts like a steering wheel. Learned to do my big cat’s ass in two easy lessons: Lesson 1) Squeeze slowly and gently, like the gland openings were zits. Lesson 2) Wear rubber gloves and old clothes, squint, keep your mouth closed, and have someone hold the front end of the animal. Lesson 3) Hi Opal! ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/8 "2005-05-31T19:51:38Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#): > > Just remember: ten o’clock and two o’clock, juts like a steering wheel. Learned to do my big cat’s ass in two easy lessons: > > Lesson 1) Squeeze slowly and gently, like the gland openings were zits. > > Lesson 2) Wear rubber gloves and old clothes, squint, keep your mouth closed, and have someone hold the front end of the animal. This will never happen, ever, under any circumstances. If this means that I’m a bad pet owner, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/9 "2005-05-31T19:51:40Z")
LMFAO Sorry, “_just_ like a steering wheel.” If your dog’s anus **juts** like a steering wheel, you’ve got bigger problems than impacted sacs! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/10 "2005-05-31T20:01:51Z")
[James Herriot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Herriot) tells of one of his patients (Tricky Poo, a Pekingese owned by a very rich eccentric woman) that needed this kind of treatment, and it was caused by the dog’s diet. He tells funny, funny [stories](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=James%20Herriot/102-6016830-3821704), and some very sad ones too, his books are an interesting look at humankind. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/11 "2005-05-31T20:06:43Z")
Voltaire needs roughage! You have a few options: let your dog suffer, take him to the vet, change his diet, do it yourself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/12 "2005-05-31T20:09:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > take him to the vet seems like the best option. His butt is happy, and I’ve avoided the issue. Excellent. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/13 "2005-05-31T20:10:56Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > This will never happen, ever, under any circumstances. > > If this means that I’m a bad pet owner, so be it. I don’t think it means you’re a bad pet owner at all. It all comes down to comfort levels. I did a stint as a volunteer in an animal shelter, so I _had_ to get over squeamishness and “I won’t do that” haughtiness. Some of the things I learned hurt the animals, even if it was in their own best interests, and I’m sorry I had to do them. Shoot, pay someone else to get sprayed with ass-juice! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/14 "2005-05-31T20:14:16Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#): > > “I won’t do that” haughtiness Fortunatly, I like to cultivate my haughtiness to truely epic levels, so I have no problem with that, whatsoever. 😃 I recognize that the job needs to be done, I just think I’ll pay someone else to do it, poo-juice being decidedly NOT MY THING. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/15 "2005-05-31T20:22:06Z")
Mine had two that got REAL big. I got a quote in the high three figures for surgery and said, “Love ya, dog, but not THAT much.” Well, he scootched and popped on on his own (downside: it was on the living room carpet. upside: Wife cleaned it up before I got home.) He still had the other when Wife brought home a curious and sharp-toothed puppy, henceforth known as Dr Dog. Fixed him right up! ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/16 "2005-05-31T20:36:02Z")
My parents had toy poodles, and their ass glands had to be squeezed regularly. Dad did the grooming, and ass gland detail. It wasn’t all that bad, he just squeezed their butthole and zit-like puss came out. I never knew all dogs needed it, I figured it was a poodle only thing. My Rat Terrier doesn’t need to have his butthole squeezed, but he eats dry dog food almost exclusively and has firm dog turds. FWIW. Oh, and they had an old tom cat. He got into a fight and got an abcess on the base of his tail. I got talked into taking him to the vet since me and that cat had a bond thing going on. Anyway, the abcess popped in my car before we got to the vet, so I got stinking, bloody cat puss all over the damn place, and the vet shaved the sore when we got there, and I got to hold the business end of a large tom cat while he did it. That day sucked. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/17 "2005-05-31T20:42:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Voltaire needs roughage! You have a few options: let your dog suffer, take him to the vet, change his diet, do it yourself. 😃 Or have the glands surgically removed. Same process as is done in ferrets when they are “descented” prior to selling them. In my part of the world, I charge around $100 to spay a 25 pound dog, and around $300 to remove the same dog’s anal glands (just to put things in perspective). BTW, Metamucil is a good source of fiber, as is canned pumpkin. Both are dosed by body weight and are gradually introduced over a coupla weeks time. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/18 "2005-05-31T20:56:50Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > BTW, Metamucil is a good source of fiber, as is canned pumpkin. Both are dosed by body weight and are gradually introduced over a coupla weeks time. I’m really reluctant to get my dog any sort of surgery that he doesn’t absolutely need, so these options may be worth further investigation - I’ll discuss it with his vet. I would just switch his food, but he’s REALLY picky - at his last check up both the tech and the vet half accused me of STARVING him because he was so small - I wasn’t - he has food down at all times, he’s just not a big eater. So I finally found a food that he’ll actually eat and he’s at a more normal weight, and now his bung-hole is pluged. BAH! It’s a good thing he has a lot of dog charisma or there’s no way I’d put up with this… Snerk - as if ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/19 "2005-05-31T21:04:53Z")
Just watch the vet squeeze the glands. It’s really not that big of a deal. No more than changing a loaded diaper on my ooog-o-meter (yeah, I realize this is a pet and not a child, but changing a couple dozen diapers a day just can’t compare with squeezing a dogs butthole every month IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258/20 "2005-05-31T21:19:50Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > Just watch the vet squeeze the glands. It’s really not that big of a deal. No more than changing a loaded diaper on my ooog-o-meter (yeah, I realize this is a pet and not a child, but changing a couple dozen diapers a day just can’t compare with squeezing a dogs butthole every month IMHO). I have no children. I offered to change my niece’s diaper once, 6 years ago when she was about 3 months old. It won’t happen again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doggie-needs-his-anal-glands-expressed-tmi-obviously/306258.md?page=2)