Reply #8: For the short, least gross explanation....

[burrfoot]

they're two little glands inside (sort of) the dog's anal sphincter. They generally secrete fluid onto the stool as it passes that assists in scent marking. (they make the poop smell unique to the dog). If they get clogged or backed up for some reason it gets really painful for the dog, and you have to, basically, squeeze them empty with your finger. The fluid, when you get it in a large quantity like that...the smell is almost indescribable if you haven't encountered it yourself. Something like a load of fish that went rancid while lying in a pile of their own shit. Maybe.

When you see dogs scooting across the carpet/ground, it's usually because they're anal glands are irritated and they're trying to "express" (read-empty) the glands on their own.


Yyyyech :(


Silver lining: you may never run into this problem. Luck of the draw kind of thing. :evilgrin: