Anal Glands/Licking Butt?

[JacksonsMom]

Just tonight, within the past three-four hours, Jackson's kind of been licking at his butt.

It doesn't look red or irritated at all. He got groomed about a week ago so I don't think it'd be irritation from the buzzer or anything. I don't think this groomer automatically does anal glands, it's extra $$, so I am just wondering if maybe he needs them expressed. His stools have been firm.

I felt down there (gross, I know!) but I wouldn't even know what anal glands feel like. I do feel two sac-like things, but not sure if that's normal, or if that's the glands? Anyone know? Should I attempt to empty them myself at home, or is that a no-no? I just watched a few videos lol.

He is going to the veterinary dentist tomorrow for a free re-check of his teeth from his dental surgery two weeks ago. But they are a dentist, so I'll feel like an idiot asking about his glands, I am not sure they mess with that kind of stuff.

 

[Emily]

Could be anal glands... my roommate's dog was always licking at his butt and then there would be the distinct, lovely scent of anal gland secretions, lol. She switched him to raw though, and after a few weeks of boney poops, he's stopped.

I'd take him to the groomer to get it checked out, not the vet. It will probably cheaper and if your groomer is competent, just as good.

 

[SailenAero]

if it smells "fishy" it's usually anal glands - it can go away after he poops or they might need to be expressed. there are online instructions or you can pay the vet to do it. i've only expressed anal glands once on my dad's min pin - i kind of "squeezed it like a pimple" and followed online instructions and some very smelly goo came out and then no more problems!

 

[JacksonsMom]

Yeah it doesn't smell fishy. He's expressed them naturally when he was scared before - like when he stayed overnight at hospital, when he got his nails trimmed, etc, and boy it smelled horrible! But I am not sure if he's ever had them "professionally" squeezed, lol.

Our groomer is a mobile groomer and she was just here last week so I can't really have her come back and pay her travel fee, etc, just to do that.

Do you think asking the veterinary dentist tomorrow (they ARE a regular vet, too, I think - at least they were at some point, right?) if they think they need to be expressed is out of place? lol.

 

[Tankstar]

You can always try asking them. You could always try calling a groomer, and ask them if they just do anals. we do it in our shop, its a quick and easy process. Or if your brave can try watching a few videos online and do it yourself

 

[Aleron]

IME many toy breeds end up needing their anal glands expressed routinely, so it wouldn't be at all unusual if that was Jackson's issue. I don't see anything wrong with asking the vet dentist about it.

 

[Barb04]

One of my dogs does the same thing but he has allergies.

 

[Kat09Tails]

It might be that he needs his anal glands expressed or it could be something else. Booker is the one of mine who can't always get his expressed on his own and usually he butt drags if there is an issue and I give him a quick empty and a bath.

There is a movement among groomers to leave anal glands for vets to do unless specifically asked by the owner for a variety of reasons. The main one is that there is evidence routinely emptying anal glands via squeeze may be more damaging than good.

Anyway, your dental vet shouldn't have a problem IME giving him a hand and seeing if the problem goes away. You might consider adding some more fiber to his diet or look into a dietary change if you find this is a routine issue. You can also look into learning how to do them - it's not hard with the external method

 

[JacksonsMom]

Well, I chickened out and didn't ask the dentist, lol. I just feel like they probably went to extra schooling and such to NOT have to do things such as anal glands, LOL, I dunno, just felt awkward.

So anyways. I was curious about fleas potentially because I read one of the signs is licking the butt. And we did find one flea in my dads house at the very bottom of a storage box that had been sitting there for months. Just ONE though. We've never seen a flea on our dogs nor have I ever dealt with them so I am not sure. He's on Frontline, but he's gotten three ticks attached since putting him on it, so I wonder how much it works lately. I just thoroughly looked through his hair and combed with my fingers upwards, plus his hair is super short right now, don't see anything. So I kind of doubt it's fleas. Plus, like I said, he was just groomed last week.

Maybe it IS allergies. He has been a bit more itchier than usual lately. It's been unusually warm here. We also started a new food (Fromm, which I think is amazing) but maybe there's something he's not reacting well to. We are on our second bag. I was thinking the antibiotics were maybe bothering him though because he had this tiny tiny red bumps near his private area and they went away once I stopped antibiotics. He hasn't had any pills since over a week ago.

I might just give him a regular bath tonight and give him another food for a few weeks and see if it improves. I also had just placed an order for coconut oil because I had been wanting to try it so maybe we'll see if that helps. He's never really had dry skin before, or allergies or anything.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Sounds like a lot of dogs are having allergy problems right now.Violet's dealing with some allergies, and it got to the point where she needed 3 different kinds of medecine. She was licking a lot, so it could be an allergy. Either way, I hope he gets better soon!

 

[JacksonsMom]

He's not licking obsessively or anything -- like I would say it's for about 5 minutes at a time every couple of hours and then he leaves it alone.

I'm going to do a food switch to experiment. Because it seemed to start right after I started him on Fromm (which I LOVE so I hope it's NOT the food). But we're going back to Acana -- which is what he was on for a year and it was always the best food I think he may have done on. I was always the happiest with it. Then after he got supposed pancreatitis from too much fatty human food, I stayed away from higher fat foods, but at this point, it's been months and my current vet doesn't believe it to have been pancreatitis at all. So anyways I feel safe.

So anyways, we're going through a bag of Acana and I guess I'll see if the itching stops. I'll try the Fromm again after this bag and if it starts up again, I guess I'll assume its the food.

 

[Southpaw]

Do you know if it's his anal glands yet...?

I wouldn't jump to allergies and switching food over one instance. If it is his anal glands - it doesn't mean this will be a recurring problem. But it IS common in small dogs. The dogs I've seen who have anal gland problems directly related to allergies are dogs that showed symptoms in other ways too - being itchy and licking in other areas. So needing his anal glands expressed... doesn't mean there's an allergy.
I do Lucy's like every 8 weeks (whenever she gets groomed), she never shows any signs of being irritated back there but sure enough, the glands will be full.

Feel free to switch food of course, but first make sure you get the glands expressed... if you haven't done that yet... and that is indeed the problem.

 

[DogKisses]

I would get it checked just in case, they can burst or get inected if they become too full.