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  #1  
Old November 17th, 2008, 12:09 AM
Mgue Mgue is offline
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Dog cleans bum on carpet!!

Most times when Ozzy goes poo, he sits on the grass and drags his bum along, like he's cleaning it off. I call it "skooching" his bum. Well, now that the snow has fallen, he hasn't been skooching outside.

We recently put down a WHITE textured area rug in our living room (it had been removed until he got housetrained) and he's decided it's the perfect place to skooch!!

We saw him do it this morning - he did it twice!! Once at 8am and again at 11am. We caught him in the act and immediately did the whole "bad boy" thing and he laid on his back to surrender.

But I'm wondering do your dogs do this? And how can I get him to stop/know that he's not supposed to do this? Do we need to clean his bum for him??
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  #2  
Old November 17th, 2008, 01:38 AM
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Could be that his anal glands need to be expressed.
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Old November 17th, 2008, 06:59 AM
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Could be worms too.

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  #4  
Old November 17th, 2008, 07:52 AM
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Could be anal glands. When Phoebe starts doing this, I give her a handful of All Bran cereal with her food for a couple of days and it usually stops. If it doesn't stop, then it means her glands need to be expressed, so I take her to the vet to have it done. You could try doing it yourself, but ...eewwwww! The smell and the mess are enough for me to pay the few bucks to let someone else do it. You probably don't want to scold him for doing it indoors. It's not a behavioral thing, it's a physical issue, like scratching an itch. You'll want to keep an eye on things whether he's doing it inside or out.
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Old November 17th, 2008, 09:09 AM
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Yeah, dogs don't usually just "clean" their bums, they're scooting because there's an itch or discomfort...like the others said, I'd be worried about anal gland issues or worms or irritation of the anal area/genitals.
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  #6  
Old November 18th, 2008, 11:16 AM
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Really? I never thought it could be anal gland issues. I thought it was just something he did cuz he likes a clean bum!

He's pretty much always done it though, that's why I thought it was something "normal" for him... I'll have to look into this anal gland issue. Does only the vet do it? Would a groomer?

He's on heartworm medication, so I don't think it could be that....
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Old November 18th, 2008, 11:25 AM
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Definitely get the anal glands looked at because if they aren't expressed properly on their own they can get nasty infections.
The vet will do it, but I also think a groomer will.

I'm not entirely sure that heartworm meds work with intestinal worms as well. I could be wrong.
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Old November 18th, 2008, 11:29 AM
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Some heartworm meds will take care of some, but not all, intestinal parasites (keep in mind that not all parasites are worms). Some dogs have chronic anal gland issues, which can be quite uncomfortable and can lead to infection if they're not expressed (emptied) routinely. I'd first start with a trip to the vet to see if that's in fact the problem (bring a stool sample too for an Ova/Para test as well). If it's the glands, a vet tech, a knowledgeable groomer, or a game and open-minded owner who's been shown proper technique by a vet, can do expressing at home.
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  #9  
Old November 18th, 2008, 11:47 AM
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Thanks I'm taking him to the vet today!!
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  #10  
Old November 18th, 2008, 04:10 PM
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Thanks so much!! The vet said his anal glands were full. I'd have never thought of this without your help, so I super appreciate it!!
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  #11  
Old November 18th, 2008, 04:13 PM
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Ozzy must be feeling happy with no more itchy bum.
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Old November 18th, 2008, 08:02 PM
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100% PURE canned pumpkin in his diet will do the trick too
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Old November 18th, 2008, 08:09 PM
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yep hugo get all bran for his glands... cos he doesnt like the vet emptying them... so a handful of bran!! lol...
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  #14  
Old November 18th, 2008, 09:41 PM
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Yes, I'm sure he's feeling much better now!!

Should I feed my dog the pumpkin/all bran when he starts scooting again? Or should I feed it regularly?

What happens?? It just relieves itself??
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Old November 19th, 2008, 08:48 AM
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If the stools are well-formed and firm enough, usually the act of the bowel movement will express the little bit that's accumulates on it's own. But like I said, some dogs seem to have chronic problems with this...adding fibre to the diet via veggies or fruit (like the pumpkin) might help.
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Old November 19th, 2008, 01:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bendyfoot View Post
If the stools are well-formed and firm enough, usually the act of the bowel movement will express the little bit that's accumulates on it's own. .

Yep exactly We currently feed raw. Before our switch we had to take Luke to the vet every 2 or 3 months to have the glands expressed. I know some people do it on their own but nope not for this gal
Ever since we switched he has not had any build up in his glands as they do it naturally. The raw poops are a bit harder and it happens everytime he goes
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Old November 19th, 2008, 02:27 PM
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That begs the question: what are you feeding him now?
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Old November 19th, 2008, 08:44 PM
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Just a silly question....I thought that fibre, such as bran or pumpkin makes the stools softer, and makes BM movements easier. SO....how can this help a dog with anal gland issues, when harder poops help to empty the glands?

My older Minpin scoots on occasion, and the vet emptied her anal glands. If bran or pumpkin will help her, but I THOUGHT that made the poops softer or looser. I'm just plain confused!
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  #19  
Old November 20th, 2008, 09:23 AM
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Mine was doing that yesterday on the carpet too. I figured I would clean his bottom to see what was up so use your imagination on this one. I found a little peice of dried poop.....since removing this, he's stopped skooching.
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Old November 20th, 2008, 12:59 PM
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Fiber regulates. So if the dog has diaherria it will firm up the poop. If the dog is constipated it will make the dog go
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  #21  
Old November 20th, 2008, 06:24 PM
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This is all really more than I ever thought I would know about dogs bowel movements and anal glands.

I feed Orijen puppy right now. We also feed grainfree treats and carrots and those chicken fillets from Costco.

The vet thought it was odd that his glands were full, but he said hopefully now that they are empty, Ozzy will be able to do it on his own. How would I know if he's doing it?? The vet said I'd see dripping after, but I don't.
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Old November 20th, 2008, 07:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mgue View Post
This is all really more than I ever thought I would know about dogs bowel movements and anal glands.
welcome to our world

I've been reading your thread because a dog I adopted this summer has the same problem but it's not allergies or her glands. Read about the All Bran , I just bought some tonight , hope to see results
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  #23  
Old November 20th, 2008, 11:23 PM
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I saw dripping tonight! I hope this means that this won't be a continuing problem for Ozzy!! Thanks again everyone!!
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  #24  
Old December 18th, 2008, 12:40 AM
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Max used to scoot all the time and it was bc of his anal glands. He had such a problem with them that we were at the vet every 2-3wks to have them expressed bc I couldn't tolerate the smell in order to do it myself. Bc he has several allergies to food and environment I had to be careful what I gave him. My vet suggested green beans bc they are high in fiber. I would add a few to each of his meals (he's only 20lbs so he doesn't eat much) and then I would use them as treats as well.

Unfortunately for him even though this helped quite a bit he still had problems. Eventually I had to have his anal glands removed, I'm not a proponent of having surgery done to fix things that could possibly be managed in other ways but it really was the best thing for Max. He was scooting several times a day, every day and spent the majority of his time licking at the area to the point it was raw, not to mention all the trips to the vet to have the glands expressed - and each time they were full.

If considering having the glands removed find a vet who has done the surgery several times successfully bc if done improperly it can cause incontinence. Max had his surgery done in August/September and has been fine since - no scooting, no incontinence and completely normal stools.
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Old December 18th, 2008, 03:33 PM
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I also had my dogs anal glands removed many years ago, but it should only be a last ditch effort. Not just so the dog doesn't skootch on the carpets. If you use pumpkin make sure it's the pure pumpkin and not pie filling. A small spoonfull every couple days should help if it's just for this. But it may never be an issue again if you're lucky. Fresh fruit or veggies would probably work just as well if you can introduce them to the pup. Yeah people here are a wealth of information about poop and anal glands huh... But they're things you gotta know.
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Old December 18th, 2008, 04:30 PM
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Our last podcast (audio recording) addresses this very problem - feel free to take a listen directly from your computer by clicking the play button on the page.
http://pets.ca/blog/?p=77
Hope it helps and good luck - Marko
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