keeps licking his bottom

[tobysmama]

I don't know if this is just a bad habit Toby has started or if there is something wrong. He licks his bottom and tail stump all the time it seems like. We have looked at it and nothing seems wrong from what we can see but he keeps doing it. Does anyone else have this problem. We are not sure what to do but the licking is grossing me out.

 

[JokersSoul]

I googled licking and found this... I hope it helps....

If he has full anal glands, you can't see that. A vet that goes inside (not the treatment where they just squeeze from the outside. it does not empty the glands adequately) and cleans the glands will releave the discomfort. Full glands can make a dog lick at it's butt. Sometimes another symptom is dragging his butt on the floor, or ground, etc., but not always.

Also worms are not necessarily visible. He could be licking from worms. Even a stool sample does not always show worms. The tests for some worms will only come back positive if that kind of worm is throwing off eggs or pieces of itself, if it is not in that phase, then there will be no signs of it. Only way to absolutly know why your dog is licking itself, is to take him to a vet.

But the first two things to ask the vet to do is, check the anal glands and if those are not affected, then ask for an all around wormer. Do not use the wormers sold in stores. They do not do a complete job and miss many of the types of worms (plus are not always safe, that is one reason they are sold in stores so cheap).

 

[TwoDogs]

He may need to have his anal glands expressed.

 

[argosrocks]

as gross as it sounds,its not that tough to do at home,you can even watch instructional videos on it at youtube to help out,all you need is a few napkins,a calm dog,and what i do is usually have a bath tub ready to give him a bath afterwards,but thats not necessary,also,if you have an aversion to VERY bad smells,id suggest bringing him to a groomer or vet that does it,it can be quite nasty,other than that,its just a matter of squeezing with your two thumbs from the 9 oclock and 3 oclock position around the dogs anus in an upward fashion in order to "squeeze" out the glands,sorry to get so graphic,but thats what is involved,fairly simple,also,constant licking may not be a sign,but "butt scooting" across the carpet is almost a 99 percent shot that the glands need to be expressed.

 

[baxtercruz]

I'm glad you brought this up, because Baxter has been doing this lately too... When he was a puppy he bit at his tail all the time and now the very tip of his tail doesn't grow hair- I just always assumed it was itchy or healing from being docked and then turned into a habit...

But recently he's been licking at his butt pretty frequently. He gets a bath about once a week ( to try and reduce allergies), and I've been trying to wash that area really well... but it never occurred to me to have his anal glands expressed. Ew. Guess I'll have to look into that too.

 

[JinaU]

Should they need their anal glands expressed regularly? I thought I read something somewhere that said in most cases they didn't but some dogs might have a recurring problem with it. I've seen Luke do the same thing...I think he is doing it more to his nub though.