So two weeks ago during Finns check up the vet squeezed his anal glands stating that while Yes, the were very full they weren't infected. She asked why I originally inquired about this, and I explained that Finn has been licking his hinder more then what I would consider normal for him.

He's started doing it again. Now for the past few months we have put him back on his Nutrisource for his dog food. His poops are logs, formed, and soft if you would squeeze them in a poo bag. Now my question is should I go back to a grain free food.

He seems to be doing very well on this food, but we will be changing him to Adult when what we have is gone. I made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow to get his lymes booster (yes I did do this shot, our neighbors dogs both got hit with lymes disease in the past month from ticks on the apartment property.)

I have requested to be shown how to do these because I have a feeling he's going to the one of the dogs that is going to need this every few weeks. He doesn't drag his hinder on the carpet but licks it a lot.

Any advice about anal glands where I might not have to manual squeeze them for him? Diet changes, I know raw is cheaper but I am limited on freezer space since I reside in an apartment. The next place will be bigger since it will either be a side-by-side with a basement or our first home. I would like for him to do this on his own.

Raw is not a guarantee of never having to touch an anal gland. Of my four, who all eat the same raw diet, two still need to have their anal glands manually expressed every so often.

It's really not that big a deal after you've done it once or twice. I do it when giving the dog a bath.

IMO, it wouldn't be the deciding factor in a food switch if you were otherwise happy with the food you are feeding.

Good to know. I was reading some older posts that said along the lines of changing diet might work because it puts more fiber in their diet so when they "outside" these would release naturally.

That's the idea. A quite firm poop will, in a perfect world, squeeze out a little bit of anal glad juice with each evacuation and keep it from ever getting full.

But we live in an imperfect world. If you're otherwise interested in trying a raw or grain-free diet then by all means give it a try. You may find a diet change is the answer to this issue. Just wanted you to know that it doesn't always do the trick.

Did the vet do a fecal?

Butt licking can sometimes be a sign of worms.

Mm no. I will ask about that tomorrow. Ty