I'm sure there are some groomers that have been trained to do this correctly, and this use to be thought a required part of the grooming process, but they have learned that not all dogs need this, and many can empty their glands on their own. If not done correctly, you can push the contents further up, and cause a serious infection. Joey couldn't empty has on his own for the first 8 months, but finally out grow the problem, the vet said some dogs just don't push hard enough. Some people also think if done when not needed it can cause a build-up, and necessitate the further need of emptying them.
I can't help you with the food situation, I know usually they say adding ¼ new to ¾ old the first day is good, but any problems at all you should cut back on the new. The soft poop wouldn't bother me as much as the fact that the area look swollen, but this could be from the anal glands, or irritation from the food. So I'll let the experts take over. |