My dog will not stop licking his butt...help!

lisaandloki

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#1
Ok, admittedly I'm a new mom and I've had my shih tzu just seven months now. We recently moved from one state to another and we've been in our new home about 2 weeks now. He seems to be doing just fine but he's habitually licking his butt. A few times Loki has jumped straight up from being asleep to bit his butt. My first thought was fleas. I've been treating him with flea drops once per month, although I am not using K-9, which I hear is the only one that works well. I have searched for fleas and cannot find one. He gets a bath weekly. I've examined the area and nothing really looks swollen, but I am wondering if this behavior is indicative of anything. He has not been neutered yet but will be soon. It worries me and I'm grateful for any help/suggestions. I tried searching the thread for answers, but not sure what I should be searching for, for more information.

Thanks
Lisa and Loki
 
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#2
Hmmm well I'm not sure it this is related or not. My shih tzu kept licking his paws and after reading I found out that many shih tzus have sensitive skin and I should not bathe him more than every 2 weeks. (they also recomended a oatmeal type shampoo) This has worked well so far.

I'm wondering though since your issue is with the butt, does it look red at all? How often do you groom and clean his butt? (poo could be left on there that he is trying to lick the poo. Also many shih tzus get very uncomfortable when they are not groomed)
 
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#3
He may need worming or even just to have his anal glands expressed. Have his stools been loose often in the last few weeks. If they have, his anal glands may not be functioning properly and they may have become plugged. His symptoms are what one would expect to see if this is the case:confused:
 

Julie

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#4
anal gland problems was my first thought. I think it is more common in smaller dogs. Does your dog scoot across the floor on his butt? I believe that could be another sign.
I am really not that familar with expressing anal glands, none of my dogs ever needed this.


Does certain food cause it? or is there another reason?
 

Zoom

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#5
I would get his anal glands checked out; they impact more on smaller dogs, because they don't have the size needed to express them regularly. Any vet or groomer can do them, and most are more than happy to show owners how to do it themselves.

If the glands do become impacted, it requires surgery.
 

lisaandloki

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#7
Thanks so much for the replies....

I have Loki groomed once a month and it's just been over 2 weeks since he was at the groomers. Interesting because upon our first visit to the Groomer, I asked about expressing the anal sack and the groomer told me it was not a good idea to do it, because once you have it done you always have it done. He's not scooting or dragging his butt at all.

He's on the same puppy food he's been on since he was born and his stool, which I have been watching for, has been solid and maybe once in a while a little watery. He does seem to get constipated though. He always has plenty of fresh water available.

Thanks for all of this advice and if my replies to your questions make any difference....please let me know.

Lisa and Loki
 
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#8
lisaandloki said:
I have Loki groomed once a month and it's just been over 2 weeks since he was at the groomers. Interesting because upon our first visit to the Groomer, I asked about expressing the anal sack and the groomer told me it was not a good idea to do it, because once you have it done you always have it done. He's not scooting or dragging his butt at all.

That's so true. Most good groomers will tell you this matter is best delt with by your Vet and should not be rone as a matter of course. It's just not done routinely by groomers here anymore as it can cause lifelong problems.
 

lisaandloki

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#9
Update -

I found a very nice vet and I took Loki in yesterday. I collected a stool sample for them and he was due so we had him tested for heartworms, checked his anal glands and an overall wellness check. I've been giving him his heartworm pills once a month since he was 2 months old.

Well, I feel terrible. Loki had 2 intenstinal parasides..roundworm and cocsidia (sp) I believe is what they said. He weighed in at 14.5 lbs. I was most displeased with my former groomer. The vet also offers grooming services and while we were waiting to see the vet, the groomer came up and met with me. I had Loki groomed just over two weeks ago, had him shaved down for the summer (had taken him halfway down the month before that) and when I picked him up, the groomer had shaved his ears, so we lost the beautiful brindle coloring in his ears, his face..they completely took off his beard and moustache, which was lopsided. I brush his tail out just about every night. I always leave instructions (first time was to check anal glands too) but always for nail trimming, hair removal from his ears. Well, the new groomer took him down for a quick face, fanny and feet trim because the hair was cut so awkwardly on his face, and when she brought him back up she told me that the hair in ears was very long (so groomer didn't do this) she trimmed his nails and trimmed up his face so he looked so much better.

Then the vet checked and his left anal gland needed to be expressed but the right one was ok. The stool sample came back with the above results and they did the heartworm exam. When they checked his anal glands they found that hair had matted just at the base of his tail (all this time I thought THAT was his TAIL..come to find out it was hair matts which I couldn't even see, and they cut ALL of that out. Then they gave him his first round of meds, 2 larger pills and 3 smaller pills, and they put it into some moist Science Diet c/d dog food, which he wolfed down. I have to give him 1.5 of the smaller pills day 2-9 and two more of these large pills in 30 days. The vet wants to see him again in one month.

So, I got him home around 5:30 and within first 10 minutes of being home, he was gobbling up his puppy chow and it wasn't long before he returned to licking but now I could see he was licking a spot on his tail raw, so I tried to keep him by me and not let him lick...I could tell it itched. By 9:00P he started vomiting. After the 4th vomiting episode (boy does that food expand in his stomach because to me it looked like he vomited more than he had consumed in 2 days) I called the vet's answering service and she called me back. After I described what was happening, she thought he had had a very stressful day and that the meds had been in his system long enough before he became sick. (I tried looking when I was cleaning the mess up but I couldn't see any pills). She recommended one half tablet of pepto bismal to calm his stomach, 1 benedryl tablet to help with the itching (she thought could be caused also by parasites) and she said I could put neosporin on the raw spot on his tail. So, while my brother ran to the drug store for me, Loki got sick 2 more times (eventually just watery gravy looking). When he got back, I tried to break up half a tablet and rolled it in the moist food (vet sent rest of can home with us) and he wanted nothing to do with that. I tried putting it in a small bit of cheese..he wanted nothing to do with that..so I never got the pepto or benedryl down, but I did put a spot of neosporin on his tail. He got the shivers (like he does when coming out of the bath) and for a bit I was worried he was having small seizures, but I think it was just the chills from so much vomiting. I finally got him comfortable and after about an hour I moved him with me into bed where he slept in one spot all night. This morning he didn't want to go outside and is sleeping in his bed next to me here at desk, which he normally does every morning once he's been outside for potty. Just this morning..no potty. Maybe explained by all the vomiting last night.

I feel like a terrible mom. The vet explained the worms were common and come from nosing around in infected soil. Since until 2 weeks ago, we didn't have a yard, I'm not sure if that happened on our walks when he was sniffing around or what. I'm also not sure how I go about preventing this in the future or if you even can. I had no idea the mess at the base of his tail was actually a wad of hair and it was obvious it had been like that for a while and groomer had just let it be.

Also, if he is not hungry what is the best way to go about getting the rest of his meds down? I know I'll call the vet probably b4 anyone responds to this post, but I'm so grateful for the knowledgeable advice I'm receiving here.

He did have a pretty stressful day so maybe it's ok that he seems content to just sleep.

Any similiar experiences or advice would be most welcome and thanks in advance.

Lisa and Loki
 

Julie

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#10
I am so glad you found a vet you like. Sounds like Loki had a very stressfull
day.
I bet he quits licking when he is all healed up.

If I were you, I wouldn't go back to that first groomer. You know she had to see the matted hair, and neglected to fix it.
 

KellyB

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#11
About the vomiting, I just wanted to say that we gave our dog worm-preventative medicine (given to us by the shelter) and she got very sick and threw up several times. So that could be what upset your puppy's stomach.

Good luck. Sounds like she's on the track to feeling better in no time.
 

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