Strange new wound on my dogs rear. Abscess or something else?

I apologize ahead of time for how gross I am about to be, but I need help this is a scary first for me. Yesterday afternoon my husband noticed blood on the floor where one of our girls were laying. We at first thought one of them started there cycle, but I thought it looked off and when I looked I found a strange wound near her anal area. It was oozing redish brown stuff and when I tried to clean it more poured out. It's still oozing a little bit today not near as much as yesterday and she has been licking the spot off and on since I found it. Closest I can find is a abscess online. I'm going to try and attach a photo hopefully it works. I need to know what it is and what I should do now? Can it be treated and healed at home or should I get her to a vet? I've been rinsing it with warm water and she's been caring for it in between rinses.

Hello!  I'm afraid that I'm struggling to orientate the photo (which way is up, where the anal gland is, for example) and it is hard to say whether this might be a burst anal gland, an abscsess or something else.   Either way, it sounds likely to be very painful - that looks to be a full thickness tear to very delicate skin - so pain treatment, with or without antibiotic support, may well be needed.  Dogs tend to lick these areas like crazy when they hurt, which can further damage the skin, sometimes badly.  Keeping it clean may help but these areas can be extremely sore and sensitive.  I would like to think that such a tear would be seen by a vet. Wishing you the best of luck and please do let us know how you get on.

Sorry about the photo. It's hard to hold her tail right and get a good clear photo with my phone. She was laying down in that one so it made it a little easier. I took another one that is a little better. She's pretty furry back there so it's fun getting a clear picture of it and I don't want to hurt her by messing with it to much. She is licking it and I'm trying to keep a eye on her and it as well. If it is a anal gland that has abscessed and burst/ruptured is there anything I can do for her until I am able to get her to the vet? I've done some research, but every site says something different. Hopefully you can tell better what it is with this new picture. She's standing up and her tail is at the top of the picture this time.

Wow - Its good of you to try again for me so quickly!   This lesion does look to be in about the correct orientation for a ruptured anal gland but one cant rule out a small fleshy tumour, such as an adenoma.  Anal glands are very contraversial, not least becaue there is much that vets didn't know about them until now and new information being found out about them all the time.   There is also a lot of treatment folklore within breeds.  Preventing licking can be a good idea if it gets obsessive, so it's worth speaking to your vet in advance about pain releif +/- buster collars.  There is an awkward happy medium between keeping the area clean and applying moisture to or wiping a sore surface, which can make it worse.  Your vet should advise.  If you search for 'anal glands' in the blog, you may find some helpful articles.  Best of luck!

:0O !!   No anal gland articles in blog.   My apologies for that error and I will feed back that new ones may be needed.

I read something about warm saline solution or a epson salt and warm water treatment with a rag a couple times a day. Is that something I could do to help her besides keeping her from licking so much? Is there any kind of medicine I could put on it to help her feel better? She's going poop regularly still and she doesn't seem to be in much pain. She's not yelping or anything just squirms around and tries to clean it off and on all day. Other than that she seems okay. Her appetite is normal and I'm giving her plenty of water. I'm trying to find a vet here, but everyone seems to be booked up at the moment so I'm kind of stuck nursing her myself for now.

I hear that it doesnt seem much of a problem now, but of course continued self trauma could become one.   At its best, anal gland disease tends to turn chronic (moderate level, ongoing).  The problem is that the correct treatment depends on knowing the underlying problem - allergy?  A lump? A tumour?  - so the best treatment is likely to be veterinary at this stage.