How often should they be squeezed? The last time bailey had it done was when he got his injections.  He is a year old on Wednesday and I have noticed he seems a bit smelly even when I bath him more at his back end and there is no poo trapped on his hair and his blankets seem a bit smelly even though they are washed every few days.  Its a strange smell and I was wondering if it was maybe the glands.

It sounds like his glands Bailey.  There's no hard and fast rule about when glands should be expressed.  Some dogs NEVER have to have help to do this and others impact on a regular basis and need squeezing.
If you are aware of the distinct 'anal gland' odour :( or notice that he's scooting his bottom along the ground then the chances are his sacs are full and not being emptied naturally.
Hope this helps
Lara x

Hi bailey,

I have a 7 year old GSD and she has always her problems with her anal glands since she was a pup.  Lara is right in that they should empty themselves whenever they pass motion.... naturally.  I take my girl to the vets every 3 months for them to be emptied.  If she is Hotching or Scooting which ever way you know it, then this is a good indication that they do need emptying again.

Jasper

I have to empty Tiva's every 2 weeks to once a month...I finally figured out exactly where they are and now I'm a pro :D something to be excited over puting my finger up my dogs bum :( But someone's gotta do it and I'm not gonna pay a vet fee :D LOL   She always scoots her bum on the floor and I no it's time, sometimes I noticed it is hard and pasty where other times it shoots out like water more the one anal gland needs it then the other....So make sure you have latex gloves, ky jelly (thats what I use) and alot of kleenex.

Good luck :)

I've never found it necessary to insert my finger up the dogs bum emptying the glands and I used to do my bitch around every fortnight. 
Lara x

Thats how my vet showed me to do it :) So I jsut followed the same way...She had me do it there so I knew what I was doing and not hurt her...Took some practice and I now know what Iam doing.

I also have to empty my little dogs anal glands approx every 3/4 weeks. It is very obvious when they need emptying as she licks her paws constantly. I was also shown how to do it correctly and it certainly didn't involve placing fingers in the dogs anus. You have to be very careful when you do empty the gland as you can hurt the dog or cause more problems for them. Maybe you should check this advice with another vet after all I'm sure it can't be very pleasant for you or the dog, it's not the nicest of things to do!
If it only had to be done occasionally I would probably leave it to the vet.

I had to have my dogs glads removed as they were becoming full too often

Cariad
That is so bizarre about licking her paws coz my Bichon is doing this even more than usual today and scooting her bum across then floor. I'm taking her to the vet tonight, good job!

Jo