Many pet parents at one time or another had to deal with a scooting dog, and usually it is overlooked when this is done only in rare occasions, but if your dog is constantly scooting and he leaves some brown or yellow secretion on your carpet, bed, etc., you need to take him to the vet as soon as you get a chance because there is a good chance that his anal glands are impacted, infected, or abscessed, but the best way to find out if that is the case and rule out any possible underlying problems is by talking to your vet.
Kingston, the beautiful pit bull staying with us, had this problem so I took him to the vet and she told me that his anal glands were impacted and that if this was left untreated he could have developed an abscess which would have been very painful for him.
The vet told me that some dogs get their anal glands impacted because there is not enough fiber in their diet while there are others that never have this problem. Kingston had his anal glands expressed at the vet’s office and she told me to do the following in order to avoid or diminish the possibility of a recurring episode:
- Feed him premium food
- Maintain proper weight. Overweight dogs are prone to scooting
- Exercise your dog every day. A sedentary life can aggravate this problem
- Add fiber to his food such as: apple, oats, brown rice, beans, etc.
- Decrease and/or replace treats, not all of them of course, with a little piece of apple
Every dog is different, so the best thing is for you to talk to your vet and she can guide you and tailor something specific for your dog. After we came back from the vet, Kingston went to take a nap. I think he was tired not only because of the procedure, but also because he had a few women petting him and giving him compliments. Oh, what a hard life this gorgeous pit bull must endure:)
AllMyCanineCompanions 
I’d never heard of this until we found Lucky outside of Walmart and took him home! But I Google it and was glad to find that many dogs do this. Well, not glad, but glad it wasn’t something direly serious. When we took him into the vet it turned out that his anal glands simply needed to be released. We’re going to take him in regularly now. Poor little guy. He doesn’t leave behind any color though, only a fishy scent.
I am glad you took him to the vet. I was unaware of this with my first dog, Casey, but as time went by I learned by asking the vet and other pet parents:)
I have a very funny story that is making me laugh out loud. However, I cannot share it because it’s kind of gross.
Oh come on, don’t be shy. Share it:)
Feeding raw bones (under supervision) can make the ‘output’ a little harder, which in turn also expresses the anal glands all by itself.
Wow! I did not know that. Yes, feeding bones of any kind to your dog requires supervision. My girl, Alex, was choking with a small raw hide bone a couple of years ago. I had to put pressure right under her rib cage and here came the raw hide bone. Since then I made it a point to always be present when she has a bone of any kind:)
I’ve always wondered why dogs do that. Thank you for sharing!
No problem and thank you for visiting my blog:)