Why does my dog scoot, have a foul smell, and poop when scared?

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are daily variations in the defecation routine so this is not necessarily abnormal. I would not be too concerned about this as you will most likely not run into this issue. Have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Oh good! I am glad there isn't purulent discharge from her vagina. Most dogs with an anal gland infection do feel fine. They just scoot and sometimes the discharge will leak out. I still recommend an appointment to have the anal glands expressed. I have seen infected and impacted anal glands rupture through the skin. It isn't an expensive visit and will hopefully make her feel better! I hope this helps!

It is extremely likely that she pooped because she was scared, Being very scared makes animals (and people, too) lose their poop. Blow drying is very stressful for a dog who is not used to it from when he was small, Frequent bathing is not necessary for a dog, and neither is blow drying. You should only wash your dog when she is very dirty (such as after rolling in something stinky). Frequent bathing causes dry itchy skin, which then can turn into a chronic skin condition. You may want to teach her that being in water is fun by going for walkies near a pond or lake, where you can entice her to go swimming (chasing after a ball, for example). Then getting wet while bathing her may not be so scary. Once she is not so scared any more she will likely not lose her poop like that.

Poor little guy! This could be a scary event for him, but I can't think of anything you are going to be able to do to help him emotionally. If he has any loose stool or diarrhea that can cause him to have accidents in the house, and this needs to be addressed by your veterinarian. Otherwise just give him time and he should get over being afraid. Definitely don't punish him as that will just make him more anxious and afraid.

I bet you are smelling anal sac/gland fluid. They are scent glands dogs have just inside there rectum. They are supposed to express a small amount every time they defecate, but sometimes they will leak if they get startled, or bark forcefully. If this is an occasional problem it is normal. If she is scooting or licking her rear end or otherwise acting uncomfortable then she should be evaluated by your veterinarian to make sure she doesn’t have an infection. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

That sounds like anal glands and when pets get surprised, they can express these glands. You may want to wash her rectal area and the underside of her tail to get the fluid off her fur. Please feel free to post any additional questions.