Scooting is not a trendy new dance move invented by your pet. It may be a sign of a deeper issue, so deep that where this problem originates, not even the sun shines!
Imagine for a moment, that you are a big, glorious fecal ball! I know, pretty gross right? You’re making your way through the digestive tract and finally reach the colon: the end is near! As you approach the exit door, two bouncers appear, one on either side of you. You press forward, determined to see the world outside of the body you know as home. As you pass between them, they pat you down with a lubricant-type material and send you on your way. You slide right through the exit like a baseball player sliding into home plate.
Just inside your pet’s anus, at the 4 and 8 o’clock positions, live the anal glands. The material they excrete can vary in consistency but is typically oily and lubricating, foul-smelling and thick. Most often, they can express naturally from the pet simply walking and having bowel movements, however occasionally, the material in these glands can thicken to the point where they become too difficult for the glands to express on their own. This can predispose your pet to enlarged, full and uncomfortable anal glands, or worse: an anal gland infection.
Clinical signs typically manifest as scooting or rubbing the hindquarters on the ground, chewing or licking at the hind end and/or hiding behaviour. If an anal gland infection occurs, these will often abscess and rupture through the skin adjacent to the anus, leading to a visible opening, often with bloody discharge. Cases such as these can be extremely painful for the pet and require immediate treatment with antibiotics and pain medication.
Alternatively, some pets, particularly cats, may show few signs of full and uncomfortable anal glands. Herein lies the importance of vigilance in monitoring any changes, however slight, in your pet’s overall behaviour.
Cause
The cause of anal gland issues is postulated to be allergy-related, although connections have been drawn to irregular bowel movements and periods of softer stool, where the pressure of a more liquid bowel movement may not be adequate to cause expression of the glands as the feces is excreted. The longer the secretions sit and wait to be expressed, the thicker they can become, thereby leading to difficulty in expression once the bowel movements return to normal consistency.
Treatment
Treatment of anal gland impaction often involves a visit to your veterinarian where digital rectal examination is performed. Your veterinarian can then gently express each gland to empty them of their material. If this is the first time your pet is experiencing these issues, the glands may or may not be able to express without assistance in the future. However, if this is a recurring issue, the glands may need to be regularly expressed, particularly each time the scooting behaviour begins.
For those pets that have recurring anal gland issues, a diet high in fiber is often recommended to help improve stool bulk, thereby increasing the likelihood that the glands can naturally express. Weight loss in the more curvaceous of patients may also aid in natural expression. Additionally, some pet-parents prefer to have the anal glands assessed regularly, even without the presence of symptoms. Rectal examinations in general are particularly important in intact male dogs as monitoring for an irregular prostate and presence of anal masses is vital.
Ultimately, it is up to the pet-parent to closely monitor their pet for any changes in behaviour that may coincide with anal gland dysfunction or disease. Early detection of uncomfortable anal glands and scooting-type behaviour may result in prevention of anal gland infection and abscessation, thereby preventing a costly vet-visit and the inconvenience of administration of daily medication to clear the problem.
One thing is for certain, there is no fun in a sore bum. As much as we as veterinarians love seeing our furry patients, our ultimate goal is the same as your hopes for them, that they are happy and healthy. Regular assessment of the anal glands at annual physical examinations can help assure this.
By Dr. Samantha Wambolt