Dog with possible anal sac infection

by April
(Covington, WA)

My 2 year old black lab mix often has a smelly discharge from her anus. It smells like metalic tuna. For some reason it seems to happen more when she's stressed about something, but sometimes it just happens out of the blue. I was just wondering if you might know what this is and if there is anything that could be done about it, it really smells quite bad. Any advice you might have would be helpful. Thank you!

Hi April,

It sounds like your dog could possibly have an anal gland infection. Dog have two glands or sacs on either side of their anus that can become infected or inflamed. One sign of this is smell/discharge/pain.

It would be best to have your vet examine this dog to see if there is an infection, and not just expression of the gland during stress.

Thanks,

Dr. Chris