anal glands????? Hemroids??

I'd make a vet appointment for her. If it is anal glands, expressing them is pretty awful and IMO better left to the pros. If for some reason it is anything else, you need to know that too.
 
Good luck.

Winston has trouble with his anal glands, and like mentioned it is easy to do at home but I'm not going to do it . . . . just doing it at the vets office made the ENTIRE room smell god awful. [:'(]  What your dog is doing sounds exactly like winston's behavior when their full.  If you want to check yourself to see if their full, hold his tail straight up and think of the "target" as a clock face.  Gently place your fingers at about the 4:00 and 8:00 positions and feel ever so GENTLY, my guess is you will feel one or two small lumps in either spot.

A note, I would not give pumpkin . . . . soft stools will make the problem WORSE.  You want firm stools to help express the glands naturally.

Dyan, I don't know if dogs get hemorrhoids, but I do know that the skin around the anus can get irritated and red, and even bleed a bit from straining.  I'd venture to guess that the redness is not caused by anal glands...unless full glands are causing Bubby to lick the area enough to actually cause the irritation.

Gently place your fingers at about the 4:00 and 8:00 positions and feel ever so GENTLY, my guess is you will feel one or two small lumps in either spot.

A note, I would not give pumpkin . . . . soft stools will make the problem WORSE.  You want firm stools to help express the glands naturally.

Thanks for the "lesson!"  I guess I will take her outside for this one. You know, I work for a vet and I have never been in the back when they are doing anal glads,,,and its funny that often the OM comes from the back and says "shew,,,they just expresses anal glands back there and the whole room smells!"   HHHmmm, and I had Bubby at work yesterday to pick up my paycheck,,,had I known then that we had a problem.
Bubblegum DOES have firm stools....and in the two years that I had her I have not had to have them done...I almost think this is an irritation. You know yesterday (before I noticed she had a problem)  she did not poop all day,,,and later around 6 I was getting ready to go to dinner and I noticed she was laying in a ball with her nose at her but and she seemed to be staring. So I knew she had not gone so I ran her out and sure enough,,,she took a dump immediately.  So that is why I was thinking pumpkin,,,that maybe since she had not gone for a while she kind of irritated herself and is now licking to make it better. Thought maybe pumkin would regulate that stool a bit.
Well, a little later (when it warms up a bit) I plan to take her for her walk so I will check those anal glands then.
I really appreciate your help guys!

Dyan -- vet visit.  Anal glands can actually become infected, or impacted.  But if she's licked enough to make them red, then it's a vet visit for sure.  My vet showed me years ago how to express them 'internally' but it's a messy, nasty job and given the symptoms probably better done by a vet.

Well I took her for a walk and then checked her out.  I tried to see if anything comes out and it didn't,,,but that don't mean I was doing it correctly either.  She didn't seem as red as she did this morning,,,,,,I'm going to watch  her tomorrow.  I didn't give her pumpkin for supper,,,didn't want to add to any existing problems. I could take her to work with me on Monday if I feel worried still.
 
Thanks everyone!

   Dyan; Jessie has anal gland problems and needs them emptied about every six weeks. They have to be done internally as hers are deeper than average so I let the vet do it; I tried to express then externally but it doesn't work. She will chew her "butt" and also scoot, but she also chews that area when her allergies are bothering her. The skin around the anus is very sensitive and turns red quickly when she chews there. I put a little Betagen on a Q-Tip and dab in on the anal skin, being careful not to get it in the center because the skin there is super sensitive. It's very effective in reducing the itching and redness. Another thing I use is Preparation H cooling gel; it has aloe vera in it. The way I tell the difference between allergies bothering her and the glands needing to be emptied is if she still chews there after I treat the skin then her glands are full.

Thanks for that info Janice.
You know,,,she doesn't do anything typical of what people say when their dogs anal glands are causing problems....no scooting,,,no biting,,,,she was just intently licking there this morning.  When she didn't want to stop when I called her is when I walked over to see what she was after. 
Another thought is that she has gas tonight, she normally has no trouble with gas. I'm wondering if she is having a little problem the last day or so.   HHHmmm!
And I wondered about Preparation H, because I'm thinkng she will lick it.
What is Betegen Janice?

What is Betegen Janice?

 
   It's the generic of Gentocin. It's a spray I get from my vet and has a steroid and an antibiotic; it's used for mild skin irritations. Yes, they can lick off the Preparation H but Jessie doesn't seem to. It seems that when Jessie's anal glands are bothering her, she chews the area and scoots; when the itching is caused by allergies she just chews the area. Boy you can easily tell when they have gas can't you [:-]?  Is she licking there today?

Oh,,,,,,,,,,,,,thanks for explaining Janice.
No,,,I haven't seen her lick today at all...in fact,,,geez...with all the Christmas stuff I did today,,,and have been trying to get her for a walk since its warm out today,,,I forgot all about this. Isn't that something!    But she has been pooping twice a day for the past two days,,,so I am watching this. I think its a quite normal thing,,and its not soft or runny or anything,,just unusual for her.
Thanks for asking!

I would still take her to the vet to get her glands expressed.

Licking and gas are also signs of anal gland problems.  My chi became unusually obsessed with his rear end a couple months ago and I realized he needed his sacs expressed (for the first time).  So I took him in and I was right, they were full.  This was shortly after putting him on a higher quality food, so I think the food was part of the cause (I've read that premium foods can exacerbate this problem?).  Since then I've added Nature's Variety medallions to his diet because I figure the high meat and bone content should firm up his poo and hopefully help him express his glands naturally.  He hasn't needed them expressed again (yet), and I'm hoping I will be able to keep them in check with his diet.  I've read that the more you manually express them, the more they need it, so I don't want to create a bigger problem by getting it done unless it really needs to be.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling...if she continues to pay extra attention to that area, then it very well might be the anal glands...and just in case I'd probably rather take her in and have them checked then to have them unexpectedly rupture or become impacted/infected.
 
ETA:  I forgot to look at the date of the post before I replied, so I just realized how old this was.  Is she better now?

Actually, pumpkin may make the stools look softer, but its the added "bulk" that really makes the difference. The fiber holds water, making the stool thicker. High fiber diets are often used to help control anal gland problems. I use a high fiber diet in one of my allergic cats to help him express his anal glands.

Also, if his anal glands continue to be problematic, anal glands are like ears, they're often irritated due to allergies. Your dog may have developed a new allergy, or maybe there is something new in his environment that he's sensitive to.

Thanks everyone....I forgot about this until you guys posted again.
Actually that day or so was a one time thing,,,,she hasn't had any  problems since, thank goodness.  But I will keep watch on her...and take her in if I see that there are any problems. Also when I take her for her check up in the spring, I'm going to remember to ask the vet about her anal glands...just to check them.