Itchy rear and acting startled?

Annamarie

ever since we've had our dog he's done this weird thing where he would jump up all of a sudden and act like something had bitten him. we kept trying to figure out if there was some kind of trigger, but it was pretty random. we thought maybe fleas, although he's on a flea treatment (Program). we thought at one point it was tied to hearing a noise and being woken out of a deep sleep but it was never consistent. we ran every kind of test possible (blood, urine, fecal) and there was never any obvious medical reason for it. he often jumps off the couch and looks at his hind end but not always when he does the startled behavior and we could never tell if he was looking at his rear, tail, hips, or what. When he was a pup this would scare him and he'd hide for hours afterwards, now that he's older he just gets annoyed and puts himself to bed in his crate or our bed and that's the end of it.

well the other day I noticed the base of his tail/anus and it looked inflamed and irritated like he'd been scratching or biting. it's never looked like this before. when he did his jump up off the couch thing he looked at his rear and then started rubbing his hind end on the carpet, something which is definitely out of character for him.

i'm thinking worms maybe???

Shalva

could be worms
could be anal glands

I would bringa stool sample the vet
I would have the anal glands checked
s

Annamarie

we've had him checked for worms in the past (that was fun, getting a fecal sample...) and nothing came up, but I suppose it won't hurt to do it again. it's always possible he's picked something up.

and every time we've had his anal glands checked they've been full, yet none of the vets have recommended routine expression so I'm not sure if them being full means anything?

Shalva

what is his stool like.
my experience has been that dogs with a softer stool have more anal gland problems but that dogs with an extra hard stool do not.... because they naturally express their anal glands when they have a bowel movement.... just something to think about.

if he has had anal gland issues in the past,,,, I would guess that is what is going on this time as well
s

Annamarie

his are usually pretty soft. I've heard that slender dogs for whatever reason tend to have anal gland issues as well.

how do you know if your dog needs them done regularly?

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Shalva

i think that most dogs that go to groomers get their done routinely as part of the groom....
I think for most others it is just a sense of the owners... like you know that his fill up pretty quickly so I would probably do them now and then take him to the groomer in a month or so and see if they need to be done again.... that will give yo ua good idea about how long yo ucan go in between having them expressed....

if you can harden up his stools that should help..... a little pumpking (canned) would probably do the trick for you....

s

Annamarie

thanks! I'll ask the vet about it and see if the groomer here will do it now and then. he's never scooted before the other day but you never know... maybe he was just showing he needs them done in a different way. it wouldn't be the first time he's done things out of the norm :P

i'll also try the canned pumpkin. we were giving him that with his homemade food for a while and he seems to do pretty well on it.

sillylilykitty

My first thought was anal glands. I agree with Shalva. Routine anal gland expression is the way to go for your Min Pin.

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