As gross as it is I express the anal glands for my Chihuahua's after every bath but they only get a bath about once a month.
With Bella I have not started this yet and will not do it each time she gets a bath since Yorkies get such frequent baths but once she is older I will probably express her glands about every 2 months unless she has an obvious problem.
Usually the groomer always does this as part of a good grooming.
Some dogs seldom if ever need this but it seems like smaller dogs actually need this more than larger dogs. I think it's because they don't weigh very much and so when they sit on the rear to try to express it and drag themselves around their weight doesn't provide enough pressure to cause the release.
There are probably several reasons these glands get full but if they get full and impacted your dog is actually very uncomfortable .......and you don't want them to drag their butts around and release this stuff on your carpet or you! EEEK
