Dorothy is a young pug who has had a very common canine problem. She has suffered from the slightly embarrassing affliction of leaking anal gland fluid whenever she jumped onto the couch or onto her owners’ laps! As you can imagine, this was starting to have an effect on the frequency of her cuddles and was very distressing for her and her owners!
All dogs (and cats) have scent glands adjacent to their rectum, which are used to mark their territory. Unfortunately, with reduced roughage in their diets, we commonly see pets with anal gland disease. They typically “scoot” their bottoms along the floor, or chew at their tails due to the discomfort caused by the swollen glands. This can be a chronic and debilitating disease.
Despite attempting to treat Dorothy’s condition medically, the problem persisted, resulting in her having to undergo delicate surgery to remove the offending glands. She has subsequently recovered well and life is now greatly improved for her and her owners!