Here’s a consult for all you vets out there. First let me tell you that I have an appointment to take my dog to the vet tomorrow but thought I’d get some opinions.
History is a 9 y/o F spayed Tibetan with one day of biting and scratching at her posterior and dragging her butt on the ground. Very uncomfortable appearing. No GI symptoms or urinary problems. Here’s the pic
I bet she needs her anal glands expressed. Definitely get the vet to do it (it stinks)!
I’m no vet but have ahd pleanty of Female dogs. Its either a yeast infect or some sort of deramtitis. My bet is on the yeast.
Hell I’m only a paramedic and don’t even do much of that anymore, but… don’t they somehow push on and “decompress” the anal glands? They do it to my golden every year I’m in there for check-up. Smells like hell, but stops her from dragging her butt around the house.
That’s my bet too. Yeast.
DDx:
Full anal glands
Worms
Atopic dermatitis
That’s all I’ve got for now. :)
Ddx full anal sacs, anal sacculitis, food allergy, vulvovaginitis :)
My, that picture is exciting…
I’m with Webhill – anal sac issues (simple full anal sacs vs inflamed/infected vs rarely neoplastic), possibly vaginitis, though her vulva doesn’t look too inflamed. I’d have to take a look at her vaginal mucosa to r/o vaginitis.
I love how the entry below is “half-assed CPR”, and right above it is a full blown ass! (although I hope it isn’t a full blown one)
Perivulvar dermatitis, most likely primarily atopic with secondary bacterial infection. May have underlying vaginitis or anal sacculitis also, but doubtful. Check for fleas and flea allergy dermatitis on rump, groin, and caudomedial thighs.
I don’t know why I opened this at work. Now my boss is wondering why I had a picture of a dog’s butthole on my screen.
Just wait…some vet is going to post a picture of their spouse and ask you for a differential! ;-)
Even without being a vet, anal glands need expressing for sure.
(Okay, never say “always”, “never” or “for sure”, because then it’ll surely be another vulvovaginitis/yeast infection, but the anal glands were always what caused the typical butt dragging in *my* dog (my suspicion is that the butt dragging works a bit on emptying them). I’m not sure how much constant discomfort they cause, though. Hope your dog is getting better soon after the appt.!)
Anal glands. They are supposed to drain themselves when the dog poops but sometimes they get clogged up. It’s a smelly process and something that can be done at home. Paper towel in one hand, squeeze both sides of the tush at the same time and smelly yucky fluid will come out.
Based on the hx I’m going to throw in with the anal gland crowd, hopefully nothing more serious but that’s what a hands-on exam is for…
Wow. Remind me not to catch up on this blog while I’m eating breakfast. Somehow my fired egg sandwich has lost its appeal.
So what did the vet say???????
Anal glands and dermatitis need to be ruled out. She looks very irritated around her vulva. Given that she is a 9 yr old spayed female, I’d recommend taking a fresh sample of her urine in for your vet to look at. She could be incontinent with a sore-looking vulva like that, or have a UTI.
So the vet said it was candidal vulvovaginitis due to not drying her adequately after a bath. It’s nearly gone now after treatment with ketoconazole wipes. She’s happy again!
This is the most exciting image on this website – I am glad that the dog is ok but even more glad that the picture is still up so I can interfere with myself.