My dog is licking her rear and has a smelly discharge. What's wrong?

Your dog may have infected or impacted anal glands. This certainly would explain the discomfort and foul smell. I recommend getting him seen by your vet as soon as possible to have them checked to make sure that is indeed what is going on, expressed and maybe put on antibiotics to help him heal faster.

It is likely that your dog possibly has an anal sac impaction or abscess. The licking will actually make it worse. You shoulld take her to a veterinarian where the anal sacs can get inspected and expressed or flushed if necessary. You can help your dog in the future by feeding a teaspoon to table spoon full of canned pumpkin daily in her food which will faclitate eliminating feces.

I would need a bit more information, but given your description above I am concerned about Rocky's anal glands. In healthy dogs, they express on their own, but in some cases they fill up and need assistance in being expressed. Even worse, sometimes they become impacted and infected. This requires antibiotics and medical intervention. In the most severe cases, the anal glands need to be surgically removed. Based on your description I am concerned that his are impacted and infected. I would have a veterinarian examine right away to confirm.

Poor Maggie. There is a good chance this is the discharge from her anal glands. Dogs has 2 glands, one on each side just inside of their anus, that usually naturally express when they have bowel movements. Unfortunately, some dogs do not always express these and they will get full. Then they will accidentally express them by scooting their booty, licking back there, when they get frightened, or just because they get too full. I would have your vet’s office try to express her anal glands and you may need to give her a bath to see if that gets rid of the smell. Some dogs need regular expressing every 4-8 weeks. Most vet clinic do this for a small charge or even for free. You can also have your vet show you how to do it at home but I must warn you, it is a nasty job. :) I hope this helps!

That is likely to be caused by a vaginal and perianal infection (probably secondary to a dermatitis in the perianal region). A check up is required to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics and local disinfection with appropriate solution (betadine diluted should be fine) are likely to be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

One possibility would be that Ozzy is expressing fluid from his anal glands. Anal gland fluid often has a fishy smell to it that attracts other dogs. I am attaching a handout below with more information on anal glands. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=625 If that sounds like what might be going on with Ozzy, then I would recommend scheduling an appointment at your veterinary office to have them check Ozzy's anal glands. Hopefully they will be able to express the fluid and resolve the problem. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Yes, just based on your description (since I can't see it), it probably is a ruptured anal gland abscess. If the dog will let you, keep the area clean (you can use a baby wipe) and apply some Neosporin to it twice a day until the owner returns. It would also be recommended that you get her a "cone" collar to stop her from licking it. If you don't want to buy one you can try to make one at one - see YouTube video link below: ( https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=make+dog+cone+home ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.