Why Does My Dog Drag Their Butt?

Why does my dog scoot their butt on my floor? Have you ever wondered why? So have we!

Hi everyone! My name is Stephanie Goodman, and I am your host of the Furbabies Podcast and the upcoming Furbabies Summit. I am here with our Furbaby Question of the Day!

Do you have a scooter? No, I do not mean the fun little mode of city transportation. I mean our dogs! Little scooters! This is where you are going on about your day, when suddenly your adorable dog drops his or her butt to the floor and starts scooting across it? Yeah, THAT Scooter. If you have you know it can sometimes be messy, and it is often stinky! But why do they do it? We have wondered that too! So, we set off to find an answer to this question in the series of “Why does my dog do that?” and we found some interesting information!

If your dog is suddenly scooting across the floor, it is usually indicative that he or she is having a problem with anal glands. What? They have anal glands. Yes. 😊 If you have not heard of these before, they are two little pouches of tissue that are right under the skin. There is a little sac on each side of your dog’s anus. Why do they have these? Well, these glands make the scents that dogs use to mark their territory and identify each other! When it is outside, no problem. Indoors? On your floor? It can be smelly. Usually, dogs can empty them when they poop, as the internal pressures pushes out the secretions. Or they can be emptied by an external pressure, like scooting across a firm surface. OR, and this is the yucky one, they can be emptied spontaneously and unexpectedly! This can happen if your dog is afraid or is in some sort of distress. Hopefully it is not on YOU but do not despair, it has happened to a lot of us too! Yes, the smell will come out. 😉

Now normally these glands can be as small as a pea or the size of a grape depending on the size of your dog and how full they are. If they are ever unable to empty these glands, they can become impacted, and it can be painful for your poor dog! You may see signs like scooting or chewing their bum area as they are trying to empty them on their own. You may see redness or even pus around their anus. A smaller possibility but one we all worry about is the presence of a tumor. Of course, it can be benign, but we don’t know until it’s checked out. So, in these cases it is best to call your veterinarian so they can determine why the glands are impacted, or if there is even an abscess there, treat it and help your dog prevent that from happening again. This is one of those cases where you really want your vet or a vet tech to show you how to do this before trying on your own, as it can be unpleasant for your dog. Vets and techs can relieve the pressure externally or internally, via a cloth or a gloved finger that can gently squeeze the gland and push out the fluid. It is the massage you never imagined you would see yourself doing, but we love our dogs, anal glands are normal, and here we are. 😉

Your vet can help determine the cause of the impaction and work to create a solution for your dog. It may be due to a food allergy that is causing your dog’s stool to be less than firm, so your vet may advise to change their diet to rule out probable causes. Bear in mind it may be something that needs to be checked periodically or even routinely given your dog and your vet can educate you on that. We love our dogs so much and once the