Hi I am sorry to hear about your dog I have a GSD too. He has anal gland issues as well. My vet did not know what was causes it. He said “could be diet or just a condition” Well anyway, getting them expressed will fix it but the down side of that is it will come back and you will need to do it often, which is not good for the dog. It will weaken his anal glands. Anyway he was eating pro plan so I switched to Holistic Select and he seems better. Still he will lick at his bum but not often like on Pro plan. So the next step is to change the protein in his diet. I know it is not the grains that is causing it for my dog, it may be the protein. So I would try the hypoallergenic dog food and see what happens. Or try to find a LID of another brand. Best of Luck.
