Is it normal for my dog's rear end to have a metallic smell sometimes?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding River. I suspect he is expressing or leaking fluid from his anal glands. These are two sacs that sit under the skin on either side of the anus. They express fluid each time the dog defecates to mark its scent. Occasionally the glands will become too full and leak or the animal will accidentally express them when startled. I would start by having them expressed at a veterinary hospital. Groomers do not tend to do a thorough job. They will let you know if the contents appears normal or not and make a recommendation on how frequently to have it done. Some dogs will need them expressed regularly. I hope this information helps!

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!

What you are smelling may be anal gland secretions. If one or both of the anal glands are very full they will sometimes "overflow" and then you have them exit the anus. This is a very bad sort of fishy smell. Next time you visit your vet for his vaccinations, you should have the vet examine them and empty them if necessary. If you think he has problems pooping or if he cries when pooping or if he scoots his behind on the floor, then they may be infected or impacted and need to be checked by your veterinarian.

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.

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.

Cats have two small scent glands on either side of their rectum called anal glands - if these glands have been leaking a little or if she has expressed them recently, you may notice a very strong odor from her rear end. You can try cleaning the area around her rectum with some warm water and soap to help get rid of the smell. If this is a recurring problem, I recommend having her seen by a vet to check for infection or impaction of the glands.

The anal glands have openings on the inside of the rectum. Every time your dog poops, some of the anal sac content is applied to the poop. This is your dog's business card. so to speak. This is how he leaves a scent behind telling other dogs that he was around. It is likely that there still was some excessive anal gland secretion from the scare-episode and likely there is more anal gland secretion on the poop than usual. So the next poop will likely smell less. This is a normal physical event and not sign of an illness.