These glands, called anal glands, produce an offensive-smelling liquid known as anal fluid and while some might debate its utility – especially among their distant relatives the striped skunks – cats and dogs do still benefit from having these organs on either side of their hind end; in particular they help communicate via scent between animals; that’s why you might see dogs sniffing each other’s hind quarters to detect whether someone might be hungry, stressed, or healthy!
When this occurs, these glands become blocked with feces. Left untreated, anal sacs impacted with feces may become infected and cause inflammation to the surrounding tissue, potentially leading to infection or inflammation in your pet’s anal sacs and surrounding tissue. If you suspect your pet has an anal gland impacted with feces it’s imperative they seek professional medical assistance immediately. If this situation arises it’s essential you contact a veterinary immediately!
By hand, trying to remove an anal gland with your fingers could damage surrounding tissue. If your veterinarian determines that an expression needs to take place, however, the procedure can be fairly simple: to express it simply apply petroleum jelly on both thumb and index fingers and place them either side of your pet’s anus between 4-8 o’clock positions; gently press in on this area while using both thumbs; this should cause the anal glands to release some fluid which should make them puff up into something about grape size – ready for expression!