Anal gland disease causes significant discomfort in many dogs and is a common but often underdiagnosed source of chronic welfare harm.
Anal gland disease causes genuine discomfort that dogs express through characteristic scooting and hindquarter licking behaviors. These behaviors are often regarded as comic rather than symptomatic, delaying veterinary attention and prolonging welfare harm. Impacted anal glands cause constant pressure and discomfort; infected anal glands cause pain and inflammation; ruptured abscesses cause acute severe pain requiring emergency treatment. Preventive regular expression in susceptible dogs, combined with dietary management to produce firmer stools, significantly reduces disease incidence. Dogs with recurrent anal gland problems that do not respond to conservative management may benefit from surgical removal (anal sacculectomy) to permanently resolve a chronic welfare problem.