Miss Molly and her anal glands

I know this is an unpleasant subject, yet, a very important issue to discuss. For those of you who own smooth coat Dachshunds, you already know this variety requires little grooming; a weekly brush and monthly toenail trimming is usually sufficient. But, did you know that your Dachsie has two anal glands (on either side of his or her anal opening at approximately five and seven o’clock) that if not expressed regularly, bacteria can develop, resulting in infection?

My two Shih Tzu’s, Sam and Libby, are professionally groomed once a month, at which time the groomer expresses their anal glands. However, Miss Molly, being a smooth coat Dachshund, doesn’t require professionally grooming, instead depends on her human mother to do the dirty deed.

The reason I bring this topic into discussion is because I believe there are many Dachshund owners, like me, who don’t think about their smooth coat Dachsies needing their anal glands sufficiently expressed, especially since they require little or no grooming. Well, unfortunately, they do need their anal glands cleaned out occasionally, and it is very important that this be done on a regular basis.

With that being said, I just performed this procedure on Miss Molly for the first time. At 1.5-years-old, this was a little uncomfortable, to say the least, for her, but she handled it with grace!

For those of you who don’t know how to perform this important grooming and health procedure, I am attaching a short video that is worth the watch.

How to Express the Anal Gland: Dog Grooming Basics -- powered by ExpertVillage.com