Anal Glands, huh?

I've had dogs all my life.  And while I've heard of anal glands, and I've read up on how to drain them and how to identify signs that a dog is having anal gland issues, fact is, not one of my dogs has ever had an obvious anal gland problem.  No butt scraping and dragging, no . . . anything.  I've had dogs live as long as 16+ years, and never once had their anal glands drained.  I'm not sure what that means.  Perhaps I've just lucked out.

Today is Charlie's first time to be professionally groomed.  In fact, it's the first time any dog I've ever owned has been professionally groomed.  I hand strip/pluck his back, so they'll only be doing legs, butt, head, feet (including claws) and, yes, anal glands.  Have fun with that Charlie!  I'll be sure to post before and after pictures.

Of Charlie's head, not his anal glands.

They've had our poor, excitable boy for over three hours now.  I hope he's not giving them grief.  I hope they didn't cut his ear off.

Charlie will be one year old on the fourh of October.  We've been here for a year and a week.  Seems only yesterday.

And they just called--off we go to get our Charlie-dog!

Charlie, pre-grooming

Charlie, post-grooming

Honestly?  Not all that much of a difference, and a little choppy around the face.  But his claws look better, his ears look neater, and his anal glands have been handled by someone other than me.  The groomers said he was very well-behaved, polite, and stood perfectly for him, even with face and nails.  What a good boy, he got a new Kong toy for being such a sweetie!