Most dog owners are familiar with the scene: out of nowhere, your beloved pooch starts incessantly dragging their backside along the ground, sometimes grimacing when they do it. What’s that about?!
Conventional wisdom was that this meant that your dog had worms and, indeed, occasionally that’s the case. However, in the vast majority of cases, this “scooting” generally means that they have an issue with their scent glands.
Dogs (and many animals) have a scent gland either side of their backside. These glands serve the purpose of giving each animal its own unique identity – remember, dogs “see” in smells, in that smell is their primary sense, as sight is ours. So, in the same way that a dog “marks” their territory by peeing on a tree or lamppost, when they pass a motion, these scent glands (also called anal glands) discharge their contents to let other animals know that your dog has been around. Hence the reason that dogs sniff each other under the tail when they meet: they’re simply identifying each other by their unique scent!
(By the way, these scent glands have been adapted by the skunk to use as a weapon to spray at their enemies, so if you experienced scent gland secretion you can guess how bad it smells!)
So, what should you do is you see your dog scooting? Well, if it only happens very rarely, the chances are that the dog is doing a reasonable job of emptying their scent glands, so you don’t have to do anything. If it’s persistent behaviour, it could be that the glands are blocked or infected, so best bring the dog to your vet. In rare cases, these glands need to be surgically removed, but in most cases the problem can be solved by getting your vet to empty the glands and give some good dietary advice for your dog.
And don’t forget to worm your dog regularly (at least every 3 months) as this could save you and your pooch a trip to the vet!
By Dr. Steve Hallahan MVB PgCertDent MRCVS @drstevethevet@gmail.com
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