Don't Manually Express the Anal Gland!

Once you start down the road of routinely manually having the anal gland expressed you will create a lifelong challenge and the dog will lose It's natural ability to express the anal gland during the act of defecating. There are two anal glands each about the size of a pea and located along the rectum right next to the anus. The secretions that come out of these glands does indeed have a strong odor and are used to help dogs identify other dogs (conveys Information about their physical state). This fluid is released at the rectum when the dog defecates as a well formed stool puts pressure on the wall of the rectum causing the anal gland to release it's content thru a duct that goes from the gland Into the opening of the rectum at the junction of the anus. If the stool is soft there will not be enough pressure on the wall of the rectum and the contents of the anal glands will not be released. When humans constantly physically manipulate the anal gland to release the contents this will weaken and damage the ducts and then will begin to rely on a lifetime reliance on manual expression. Besides damage to the anal gland duct, routine manual expression of the anal gland can lead to the Increased Inflammation and Irritation that can cause the formation of scar tissue which can Impair the function of the gland, but frequent manual expression can also lead to Impaction, abscesses, dependency on manual expression once you go on this route, and eventually this will all make It very hard for the puppy/dog to empty their glands naturally. It is MUCH better to get to the root cause of the soft stool (eg diet, treats with fillers, human food, parasites, stress, etc.) and fix that and get the puppy/dog back to a hard stool so that they can naturally express their anal gland. In the meantime there is a really good DIY recipe that works great at firming up the stool so that the anal glands can be naturally expressed and here it is! Simple....effective.....and cheap to make and can store in the fridge.