DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/02/2012 8:24 AM |
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Went out of town on Saturday night to go to a wedding and had my neighbor watch Dexter. My neighbor called said that he couldn’t get Dexter to poop and all he wanted to do was eat grass. Well… from my understanding he ate a lot of grass and now is having issues with his butt. He keeps licking at it so I put the cone back on him so he can’t get to it and make it worse, but it looks inflamed and doesn’t really close all the way. He’s still pooping and eating, but really isn’t himself. So before work I gave him his meds from the surgery (antibiotic, ACE, and a pain killer), put the cone on and headed out the door.
Has anyone had any experience with this? I haven’t taken him in yet on the hopes that it will clear up on his own, but if it were to continue into tomorrow I was going to take him in.
Thanks |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7843
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| 07/02/2012 9:21 AM |
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| He could have inflamed or impacted anal glands. I would take him to the vet. The anal glands really can bother them even if they are not impacted and just need to be expressed. Have his anal glands ever been expressed? |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
   
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/02/2012 9:29 AM |
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They were just expressed during his first surgery. About 6 weeks ago.
I did some did some web searches last night to see what was going on, and that was one of the possible reasons for the inflammation. I just didn’t think that could be it because they were expressed not long ago. Do you think that would be the cause so soon from when he had it done?
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weerubbertummy
Ayrshire, Scotland
MH
Posts:726
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| 07/02/2012 10:35 AM |
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Although Kintra was always dragging her bum and needing her anal glands expressed, i do remember one occasion when she was in at her back end constantly and it looked a little inflamed. We kept an eye on her, she was still eating and pooing normally, then the next morning i watched her poo (strange hobbies on this forum  ) and the first part of her poo was a piece of straw-like grass which she'd obviously eaten. Within a day it had calmed down, so my guess was that it had been lodged near the opening before being pushed out.
Poor baby, i hope whatever it is passes soon, but i'm of the opinion that any dog that needs anal glands expressed (no matter how regularly) should go to the vet if they're having problems with their bum, as according to our vet they're potentially more prone to (benign) growths than those dogs who manage to excrete naturally through pooing alone. |
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Miss you forever Kintra baby xxx |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/02/2012 10:42 AM |
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His poo has been a little loose for the past 6 weeks, but yesterday and today it was quite runny. I was assuming that it was a loose because of the medications, and last nights and todays was from the eating of grass.
I’ll give the vet a call at lunch today to see what they have to say about it. I feel really bad for the little guy. First his knee, now this. |
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weerubbertummy
Ayrshire, Scotland
MH
Posts:726
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| 07/02/2012 11:14 AM |
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Poor wee soul, give him a hug from me 
It's so difficult when they're not feeling right, but (and i'm certainly no vet) i wouldnt be surprised if it's all the meds, but i'm sure the vet could change the meds or give him something to at least stop the loose poos. |
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Miss you forever Kintra baby xxx |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/02/2012 12:16 PM |
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| Gave the vet a call. I have an appointment setup for tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll get this all cleared up. Thanks for you responses, and I’ll be sure to give you an update. |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7843
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| 07/02/2012 12:35 PM |
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Yes it could still be the anal glands. I check my dogs regularly and express them when needed. It could also be grass that is stuck and he is straining and licking that area causing the inflammation. He may also be dragging his butt too and you just haven't seen him do that. There are some old threads on here that discuss this topic. Please keep us posted as I am really interested in what the vet finds. Give Dex a big hug and kiss from his shorthair friends in TX.
Wee with shorthairs it seems the younger dogs seem to have a harder time self expressing the anal glands, but that does seem to clear up once they reach maturity. I have been taking care of my dogs anal glands for decades and only once did I have a dog that ended up with a tumor there. This dog was a cocker and she ended up with malignant tumors in a variety of places so I don't think it really had anything to do with the glands themselves. She was also fairly old and had heart problems too. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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weerubbertummy
Ayrshire, Scotland
MH
Posts:726
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| 07/02/2012 1:30 PM |
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Never really gave it much thought but now that you've mentioned it Texas Belle, the bum dragging did actually subside when she was around 2 years old. I never realised that it was something they could grow out of.
As for the comment about growths, sorry Dr Wiffel if i worried you when i mentioned benign growths, it wasnt my intention to do any scaremongering. I did really just mean that he (the vet) mentioned that sometimes with dogs who have problems with bum dragging/anal glands they can be caused by or are more inclined towards harmless growths, something that put our minds at rest with Kintra. |
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Miss you forever Kintra baby xxx |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:3134
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| 07/03/2012 5:28 AM |
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| I think it could be the anal glands cuz if he has been loose then they could need expressing sooner than normal... |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/03/2012 9:44 AM |
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Just got a call back from the vet. They said that it was inflamed, and that the anal glands looked fine and not impacted. They also said that it was probably from an upset stomach and loose poo. They are going to give me another antibiotic to treat the treat the stomach and the loose poo and said that it should clear it up. Almost makes me wonder if it would have just cleared up on its own. Poor little guy… he could barely walk 5 feet without turning around in agony to lick his butt, which was really hard to do with a cone on.
Thank you all for the replies! I hope this clears up soon. |
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smatulewicz
Michigan
MH
Posts:1190
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| 07/03/2012 11:25 AM |
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| Poor bud! Tummy troubles could definitely explain why he was mowing down on grass. Though, not always...they tend to do that anyway lol. I sure hope he gets to feeling better soon. Nothing makes them more self conscious than bum troubles. |
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kpwlee
Raleigh, NC
MH
Posts:994
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| 07/03/2012 11:51 AM |
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Poor little guy
swift healing buddy! |
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It's Bugsy's world...
http://dailyzoomie.blogspot.com/ |
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everbell
Kanata, ON
MH
Posts:3164
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| 07/03/2012 12:41 PM |
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| Poor fella just can't catch a break! |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/03/2012 2:04 PM |
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| I know. I’m beginning to wonder if it will ever end. Sounds like this one was an easy one, now I just have to focus on getting that knee to heal. |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/05/2012 10:46 AM |
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| Just wondering, does anyone have any idea how long this will take before his butt’s feeling better? Seems that his poo is starting to get a little harder, but he still has an itchy/irritated butt. I can give the vet a call, but I’d hate to keep calling them. |
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kpwlee
Raleigh, NC
MH
Posts:994
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| 07/05/2012 11:31 AM |
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can you get some hydrocortisone spray? I just looked it appears they market it for dogs but I was thinking of stuff you can buy in a drugstore or walmart/target type place
Bugsy gets an itchy butt from time to time and I spray it with benadryl or hydrocortisone spray
Also is it metronidazole (Flagyl) that they gave you for the runny poo? that does work fast.
I would also call them and ask if he can come off any other meds at this point. With all the stuff he's on I am not surprised his GI tract is a mess. Last summer they gave my dog something after he had a lump removed that tore up his GI and we had to have several refills of the Flagyl to clear it. Even still it took months before he had truly normal poo
Give that little guy some extra loving from me and do ask about dropping some of the meds. |
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It's Bugsy's world...
http://dailyzoomie.blogspot.com/ |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/05/2012 12:57 PM |
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| I will look into the spray! Sounds like a good tip. I did ask about the meds when I took him in and when I picked him up. They said that the meds should not counteract each other, but I suppose that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t cause any GI issues. I have to give him the ACE and the now 2-Antibiotics, the only other one is the pain killer Rymadohl (sp). I’m not sure that there’s really anything that I can cut out. |
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everbell
Kanata, ON
MH
Posts:3164
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| 07/05/2012 5:21 PM |
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| You could try some bag balm on his bum. It is a natural antiseptic and no harm if he licks it. |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
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| 07/06/2012 7:31 AM |
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| I’m going to see if I can find some of that bag balm. Looks like they sell it at Walgreens. I put a call in to the vet this morning. I figured that at least his poo should be fairly hard by now, but it’s still runny any not helping things, and he still has a poo leakage problem. I just hope I don’t have to take him in again. |
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