why does he scoot his bottom?

im sure i read somewhere that dogs scoot on there behinds to express their anul glands and that this was normal. but i keep hearing to the contrary and that its either worms or that they need expressing by the vet. as the vet is shut at the moment (it is late) i thought i would put it to you. jadan has had all his worming since we got him, and i havent noticed any rice like bits or spagetti in his poop. do anul glands need expressing or do they do that themselves? he does scoot on the floor at least once or twice a day but has done so since we got him about eight months ago...i think...i know it has been going on for some time and like i said i read this was normal but now i am not so sure. :?

Wesley does this as well and I've heard that some dogs just do this to keep clean. They just aren't as lucky to have toilet paper as we are.

If they scoot many, many times a day that can be indicative of an anal glad problem, but if it's just once a day or every so often it's probably an itch issue or maybe it's their way of telling you they need to go out! Chester will scoot every once in a while if he really needs to go #2. Sometimes he will scoot for no apparent reason and I imagine it's because he's got a little itch. Chester has never had his anal glands expressed and he's never had problems with them. Also, puppies seem to scoot more than adults for some reason. I always thought of it as Chester's canine version of the pee-pee dance that little kids do!

I would make sure your furbaby is on a good diet that produces good, firm stool. Good solid stools will naturally express the glands every time he poops. From what I understand, some dogs just have problem glands, but most don't and once you start having the glands expressed by the groomer or vet you will have to continue doing it.

Here's a website with all the info you could ever hope to know about canine anal sacs: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_anal_sacs.html.

That's my 2 cents. I hope it helps!

I was taught to tell clients that if their dog was scooting they should be checked for worms.

In reality, my dogs scoot - and on the concrete of all places. OUCH!

Wallis has anal gland issues and always has. Hers cannot be expressed externally and she has to go in for the gloved hand routine. (Thank goodness I never learned to do that!) She has a growth in one of hers that needs to be removed soon, and had a gland rupture at one time. Of course she was on my bed when that happened and it was a bloody mess.

Tibby has all sorts of issues, including scooting. I think Sasha does it just because everybody else does.

As GudRum says, they ideally should empty themselves when the dog defecates; it is a way of marking their territory. But that doesn't always happen.

I would recommend that you ask your vet about it the next time you go in OR if the scooting increases. Otherwise, if he's got an itch let him scratch!!!

Can also be a pointer to SM, anything else going on that you are concerned about?

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

poor wallis that sound painfull bless her. jadan is on jwb and has nice firm little sausages funny i end up discussing the excrement subject at work too!!!! thanks for your replies. i didnt think it was worms and i had noticed that he does shuffle sometimes just before he needs to go out, usually followed by a little wiff!!! so that helps with the house training if anything else. and it is usually just after as well so maybe i am just being a hypercondriac. its so difficult when they cant talk to you and tell you. i just got worried after talking to a work collegue and she assured me it was worms and i had to stand my ground and say i was sure it wasnt and ended up doubting myself. he is due to go in for a wormer tablet so will take him along for a bit of fussing over and will ask then.

Take a sample of his poop when you take him for the next worm tablet - it won't hurt to have them test it just in case.

You won't be truly a hypochondriac about your animal until you've worked around animals for 10 years - then everything you see them do or any type of symptom has you running back to work with them in your arms!!
I finally reached a point where I would make myself ignore obvious stuff, until the groomer would ask "What's wrong with Bonnie Jean" (first shihtzu I had) or I would ask my daughter if she had noticed anything wrong with one of the cats (we had 7) and she'd say "Like the fact that he hasn't moved from that spot for a week?" One extreme to the other! Now it is frustrating because I don't work any more and my vet doesn't appreciate the knowledge that I have............

I'm sure your little guy is okay - but from one worrier to another it won't cause any harm just to check!

Usually worms, if treated for worms anal glands... but if he is only doing it sometimes he may just have an itchy bottom! Our vet told us that Cavs seem to often have issues with anal glands, Jake used to have to have his emptyed every month or so

soma said:

Our vet told us that Cavs seem to often have issues with anal glands,

Click to expand...

Perhaps you could tell your vet a little about SM. Scooting around on the bottom, which many owners and their vets think is always an anal gland problem, is a pointer to the condition in many affected dogs.

Please don't over look it.

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

Alison_Leighfield said:

soma said:

Our vet told us that Cavs seem to often have issues with anal glands,

Click to expand...

Perhaps you could tell your vet a little about SM. Scooting around on the bottom, which many owners and their vets think is always an anal gland problem, is a pointer to the condition in many affected dogs.

Please don't over look it.

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more, Alison. Maxx was always a bottom scooter and had his anal glands emptied several times. As soon as he showed other symptoms James sent him for x-rays and then a scan and the rest is history

After watching the videos and reading more about SM it is really a frightening thing. Tibby sometimes acts like the dog in the second video - complete with yelps and whining. Or she gets on to the very tip of her bottom and goes around in cirles, first one direction then the other.

It doen't sound good, does it? And wonder why I've had a tension headache all week?

None of my worries are helping you, Angie. I'm sorry! Let's just hope the little feller has an itch he can't get to any other way.

will def mention to the vet as got go get my cat flea and wormer too soon....pets get better treatment than me....i had a bad cough over xmas and so did my little boy(my son sean!). he had all the cough mixture and when it ran out i didnt bother about myself just carried on!!! think its bcos i know they cant do it for themselves. or im just one big softy!!!! anyway...thanks for all your comments. hopefully he is just itchy...i gave him a bit of trim in that area yesterday so maybe it wont be so tickly!!!. ever since i posted this i noticed it is more often than not either before or after he has been, but will check him out anyway. :flwr:

Alison_Leighfield said:

soma said:

Our vet told us that Cavs seem to often have issues with anal glands,

Click to expand...

Perhaps you could tell your vet a little about SM. Scooting around on the bottom, which many owners and their vets think is always an anal gland problem, is a pointer to the condition in many affected dogs.

Please don't over look it.

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

Click to expand...

Unfortunetly my boy passed away last year my MVD