dog dragging his butt on ground

I have a dog I rescued about 4 months ago, we r all getting on really well.
I don't know an awful lot about dogs but he has started in the last few weeks dragging his arse off the ground. My friend said he has worms but I haven't seen any.
I have seen few threads on here were ' emptying anal glands' was mentioned. What does this mean exactly?
Excuse my ignorance

Whispered

Dogs have glands either side of their anus which empty, or are supposed to, when they go to the toilet. If they do not have enough fibre or bulk in their diet, or if their poos are too soft then there wont be enough pressue put on the glands to empty them. So the fluid builds up and becomes uncomfortable for the dog. Scratching themselves off the floor is their attempt to empty them. You might also see the dog biting at the base of their tail a lot and a fishy metallic smell (absolutely vile). You can go to a groomer or the vet to have them emptied, some owners do it themselves, but I personally wouldn't recommend it.

Have you wormed the dog since you got it? If you haven't wormed the dog, you wont see worms, if you keep the dog wormed you should never see worms (again, absolutely vile). Dogs need to be wormed regularly. Your vet probably did it when you went to get the dogs vaccinations, if it hasn't been done in the meantime, you'll need to do it now again.

Delancey

Dog possibly has worms but more probably it's the Anal Glands that are the problem here , a quick trip to the vet should see it sorted - emptying glands takes no time at all.

Apanachi

Agree with the other post, it's very likely to be the anal glands, we have to get our dogs glands emptied on a regular basis, it's quick, doesn't bother the dog too much (it does stink getting it done though :eek:)

falabo

sounds like anal glandes to me

Zapperzy

You don't have to see any worms for him to have worms. Dogs should be wormed every 3 months so if he hasn't been done since you got him then do him. Avoid the worm doses you get in shops and get one from the vets, something like drontal or prazitel is a good wormer.

andreac

Most of the time this is a sign of the anal glands, rarely worms. If there is an ongoing problem with the Anal Glands then its usually down to the dogs diet.

Its a fairly routine procedure done by the vet but try and bring the dog sooner rather than later as its quite uncomfortable for the dog if they arent emptied soon.

marley123

as above most likely Anal Glands... my smallest dog has to have them "emptied" on a regular basis.

chris139ryan

was the dog fed anything spicy ? this has happened our older dog in the past and thats what happened, but if not i doubt its worms id say its more anal glands being full

Apanachi

andreac wrote: »

If there is an ongoing problem with the Anal Glands then its usually down to the dogs diet.

Really? I didn't realise that (and our vet never mentioned it) our dog's diet is the same as it has always been, but in the last 2 years (approx) she's been having problems with her anal glands, could it be an age thing?

Should I maybe change her diet to senior dog food? (having said that, she doesn't adapt well to food change...)

Honey-ec

Apanachi wrote: »

Really? I didn't realise that (and our vet never mentioned it) our dog's diet is the same as it has always been, but in the last 2 years (approx) she's been having problems with her anal glands

How are her stools? A dog's poo needs to be nice and firm and, for want of a better word, "knobbly". Stools of this texture serve to massage the anal glands as they're passed. If a dog's poo is too soft (usually caused by diet), then obviously this won't happen and you will run in to problems with the anal glands filling and they'll need to be expressed manually.

Apanachi

Quite firm actually - except for once last week when the shop was out of her regular dog food and we had to buy a different product, but as I mentioned, she doesn't cope with food changes very well.

She does however, of late, eat everything she finds on the ground (whether it's a bit of bread someone threw on the ground or other dog's (or human's :eek:) poo, so that could be it.

cocker5

bubblypop wrote: »

I have a dog I rescued about 4 months ago, we r all getting on really well.
I don't know an awful lot about dogs but he has started in the last few weeks dragging his arse off the ground. My friend said he has worms but I haven't seen any.
I have seen few threads on here were ' emptying anal glands' was mentioned. What does this mean exactly?
Excuse my ignorance

Bring him to the vet to get him sorted but going forward add some all bran to his food two days per week.... not with milk or anything just some of the twigs... it really helps keep the anal glands clear!

My vet advised me last time my dog was in to add all bran, my cocker is on burns which has low enough fibre (which i wasnt aware of :eek:).... but my vet said its fine but to add the all bran.... after a few weeks your dog will be fine

getz

most of those washing dog and nail clipping shops do it as well

tk123

getz wrote: »

most of those washing dog and nail clipping shops do it as well

They're called groomers?! Getz are you ok there? :D

zyndacyclone

1. worms
2. glands
[3. if he's long haired, he might just have some dried poop stuck near his anus, wash or clip it out.]

Try worming him. If that doesn't work, take him to a vet or groomer to have his anal glands expressed. [You can do this yourself but I wouldn't recommend it as it smells unbelievably foul and is messy as hell. If you do want to, here's the basic idea: http://www.wikihow.com/Express-a-Dog%27s-Anal-Gland

enjoy.

Justask

I know thisis totally off topic but when I saw this I started to laugh.

My son (teenager now) was one of those babies that never craweled just shuffled around on his bum. My pup last week draged her bum on the ground and my son asked what she was doing I said duno thats a sign for worms but i've wormed her. His face dropped and said 'Eh did I do that when I was a baby cos I needed to be wormed'