I’m sure that on more than one occasion you’ve seen your furry friend or some other dog on the street dragging his butt on the ground while walking with his front paws. The situation itself is quite funny, although I don’t think it’s as funny for the dog as it is for us when we see him doing this strange exercise that, frankly, looks like some type of penguin walk.
The reason why your dog drags his butt is very simple: it itches. Dogs can get an itchy anus for several reasons, and since they have no hands to scratch, the most practical solution is sitting their butt down and dragging it across the floor. Let’s take a look at the most common reasons why a dog drags his butt and how to fix them.
My dog drags his butt – anal glands
If your dog’s butt is itching, one of the most likely causes is that his anal glands are full. Dogs, cats and some other mammals (not humans) have glands around the anus that secrete a substance when they defecate, so that when they poop, they also leave behind some of the liquid contained in the glands.
They do this to leave their personal scent in their feces; it’s like a fingerprint identity. The liquid from the anal glands of each dog smells different, so when dogs smell some poop, they already know who it belongs to. This brings us to that famous question: Why do dogs sniff each other’s butts? Basically, to know what scent each dog has in their glands so they know if they have ever smelled any of their poop in the neighborhood before.
It’s an odd way to leave their personal mark in their droppings, but also very effective.
It’s not necessary to empty these glands manually; usually dogs empty them when they poop. But sometimes, the glands are not emptied and your dog suffers from annoying itching, so he starts to drag his butt on the ground.
If this is the case, you simply have to protect your hand with a latex glove and, with the help of a paper towel, firmly grab onto your dog’s anus and pull slightly outward, so that the glands are emptied on the paper towel. If you don’t know how to do this, you should go to your vet and let them do it, so you can learn how to do it at home in the future.
It is extremely important to check your dog’s anus thoroughly before doing this procedure, because it could also be the case that your dog has a crack in his anus or in the glands themselves. If you observe any injuries to the anus or near the anus, you need to go to the vet to get the proper treatment.
My dog drags his butt – Parasites
Another common reason why a dog’s butt might itch is the presence of internal parasites. Dogs are our passion, our life, our most faithful companions and best friends, but… they’re also kind of gross! When they go out for a walk, they smell other dogs’ poop, their pee, eat things off the ground, etc.
That’s why it’s pretty easy for dogs to get internal parasites (what we humans know as worms), in the form of small, thin, long worms in your dog’s own poop and frequent itching in his anus.
The best way to check if your dog has intestinal parasites is to look at their droppings. If you see that in his poop there are small worms or maggots (usually very thin and whitish), your dog has a parasitic infection. But don’t panic; it’s very simple to fix.
The best way to eliminate internal parasites is by giving him a pill designed for this purpose. Your vet will give you the right pill for your dog because, depending on the size of the dog, he’ll need a bigger or smaller pill. All you have to do is give him the pill along with food and you’ll have solved your dog’s parasite problem.
To ensure that your furry friend doesn’t get more parasites, you should give him an anti-parasite pill once every three months. This way, he’ll always be healthy and won’t suffer from those annoying itches.
My dog’s butt itches –What to do
Knowing the main reasons that can cause a dog to have an annoying itch in his butt, we must review how to analyze and observe our furry friend to determine the exact cause of his anal discomfort.
If you see your dog licking his anus frequently or dragging his butt on the floor, the first thing to do is examine his butt. You should check that there isn’t a piece of grass stuck (hanging) inside, because sometimes when they poop, a piece of grass or string that they ate gets stuck in their butt, hanging out. This bothers them a lot and can be a reason why they scoot their butt on the ground. If you see this, just help him get the piece of string or grass out.
You must ensure that your dog doesn’t have anything strange in his anus; no cracks, fissures, insect bites (bees, wasps, etc.). If you see something strange, you should go to the vet to determine the problem and get the proper treatment.
If you don’t see anything in your dog’s butt, the next step is to check their poop (you’ll have to look at their last poop) and make sure there are no worms or maggots. If you find something strange that moves, you simply need to go to your vet to get a pill to eliminate your dog’s internal parasites.
If you haven’t detected anything in his anus, or around it (glands), and if you haven’t seen anything unusual in his poop, then it’s possible that your dog hasn’t emptied his anal glands and needs you to do it manually. It’s a very simple process, but if you don’t know how to do it…
As you can see, the reasons themselves aren’t very serious, although some of them do require veterinary care.
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