chewing

[Allyse718]

My dog Maggie keeps chewing on her back by her tail. She has been doing it for probably 2 weeks on and off. I've checked her and there is nothing there. Her skin just started to look a little irritated today after I got her groomed yesterday (a little pink). She has started to stain slightly. She's a lhasa apso and i've heard of shih tzus doing this as well. I didn't know if anyone knew of anything that was simple and would keep her from chewing/itching herself or if I truly need to take her to the vet.
Thanks...
Ashley *Jasmine, Katy, Maggie, and the new addition Daisy*

[Zoom]

Have you had her anal glands expressed recently? Sometimes they'll start chewing when the sacs are getting impacted. Or it could be an onset of an allergy, or she could be bored/stressed. Chewing can signal so many things.

[Allyse718]

What does it mean to have her glands expressed? I think I've seen it when i go to drop her off at the groomer's on the sheet that they give me but I'm not exactly sure what it does. Thanks!

[Zoom]

There are two sacs on either side of the anus that have a liquid inside. They're usually expressed when the dog goes to the bathroom, but a lot of smaller dogs seem to have trouble doing it themselves, so they get "backed-up" and begin to cause discomfort.

[MafiaPrincess]

My dog licks her bum obsessively if her glands are getting unusually full, but usually her poop is soft or smallish and I'm aware of what may be coming because they aren't being emptied efficiently anymore.

I'm not sure I like groomers expressing glands routinely. In some dogs I've found that they seem to work less efficiently at expressing them themselves, meaning it's no longer a choice to take them to the groomer or the vet for gland expression on a rather often basis when it might not have been an issue before.