# Butt Licking



## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

Hi there!

Gipper has been licking his butt for a few days now. The actual opening looks a little red too (what a fun examination that was lol!) I know that this is usually an anal gland issue, but I did run out of food about a week ago and gave him a can of food that I had in the cupboard from before we switched him this summer (can was Taste of the wild, he usually eats Natural balance LID). I'm guessing this is a reaction to the food switch and was hoping the licking would stop once it worked it's way out of his system, but would that take a week?? Any other advice? He's got a cone on now to at least to stop(ish) the licking while I figure out what to do!


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

In addition to anal gland problem , it can be internal parasites or most probably yeast since you changed food. Some food cause not only allergy but also yeast


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

Peri29 said:


> In addition to anal gland problem , it can be internal parasites or most probably yeast since you changed food. Some food cause not only allergy but also yeast




Can I do anything to help? Or just let it run its course?


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## usually lurking (Apr 21, 2017)

Have you checked his anal glands? Checked his stool for any indication of parasites? Or had your vet do any of those things?


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

ndirishkmk said:


> Can I do anything to help? Or just let it run its course?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If it is not internal parasites or full anal glands, as I told you it can be yeast.However,in this case unless you change the food it won't heal.The body is reacting to something in his new food.
If it is anal glands, I am against emptying the anal glands. Once you do it, you will have to repeat it again. I first try homeopathy such as more fiber food , pumpkin.. You can search online. Try to have it emptied naturally and in case it does not work you can have your vet do it. But avoid as much as you can.


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

Peri29 said:


> If it is not internal parasites or full anal glands, as I told you it can be yeast.However,in this case unless you change the food it won't heal.The body is reacting to something in his new food.
> 
> If it is anal glands, I am against emptying the anal glands. Once you do it, you will have to repeat it again. I first try homeopathy such as more fiber food , pumpkin.. You can search online. Try to have it emptied naturally and in case it does not work you can have your vet do it. But avoid as much as you can.




It is actually not new food. It's the same food he was on last week. He just had a single meal of a different food since I had run out of his normal stuff and the new one was coming the next day. I didn't think it would cause this much issue!


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## usually lurking (Apr 21, 2017)

It is not likely the single meal he had. Again, it seems to me that you should actully *check* his anal glands to see if that is the problem. Have you checked his stool for parasites or had your vet check? You want to help your dog, yet you don't seem to have done anything to eliminate the most common causes. If he's licking and licking and his anal glands are full, they may be impacted, or he may require assistance to empty them, and being "against" it or not "wanting" to do it isn't going to change the fact that it may *need* to be done.


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Than it sounds the anal glands. It is red because he is licking it. You shall see the vet. The vet can recommend you what to do or emptying it. Again you shall maybe change the food with more fiber.


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## usually lurking (Apr 21, 2017)

Here you go: https://petgearlab.com/know-dog-needs-glands-expressed

Read the part about "expressing externally" and see if you can feel them. If you can, that's probably the problem. This isn't hard to do, at all. expressing them yourself isn't hard, either, if it needs to be done. Smelly, yes. Difficult, no.


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## mngoldenlove (Sep 26, 2017)

I would get his anal glands checked out, just to be on the safe side.

My dog's butt started to smell so we brought him in to get his glands cleaned; like we usually do a few times a year. Well the smell lingered around after his butt was cleaned. He was licking it and it was getting red and enlarging. Something didn't seem right so I went to a different vet clinic for a second opinion since his regular clinic wasn't' too worried cause they said his glands were empty. Well it turned out that he had an infection in his right gland and the left one was starting to become infected. 

The Dr. put him on meds and he hasn't had a problem since. We just get his glands cleaned out more frequently to prevent any infection again.


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