Is my dog's scooting, licking, and scabs due to anal glands?

Question

My Maltese shih-tzu is experiencing some irritation around the anal area. She's been scooting a little and doing some licking but nothing excessive. However, there are some small scabs where it looks like she's rubbed it raw. She recently had a change in diet, but she doesn't seem very uncomfortable or distressed whenever she has a bowel movement. She's never had any gland problems before but I'm thinking that's the culprit. Any advice? I recently moved to a new state and vet funds are scarce. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 5 months old | 8 lbs

Levi Gordon, DVM · Accepted Answer

Cleaning the area thoroughly to prevent infection is vital. Also, if you don't have a lot of veterinary funds you can either ask if a hospital will do just an anal gland expression without a visitation fee. Or you could go to a grooming salon and ask them if that is cheaper. Most likely these signs are due to full anal glands.

Is my dog's scooting, licking, and scabs due to anal glands?

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