u/TrueSwordfish1738

Just to clarify first and foremost we are planning to go to the vet tomorrow! But I have OCD and have been googling like crazy what is up with my dogs behind and have found nothing that is the same situation we are having, so I would just appreciate an idea of what we could be walking into.

My dog is a 10 year old pitbull mix and as of 3 days ago now he has been obsessively licking at his anus and lower tail area (underside where the tail meets his butt area). It got super red and irritated looking from all of his licking so I got him a comfy cone he’s now been wearing to avoid licking.

He had a poo stuck out of his butt the day it started with a single strand of human hair in it. I didn’t pull on it of course but just got the poo off of him so we could continue walking. It seemed like initially could have been why he started licking, but it seems to have continued days later. His poo is normal (no blood, no worms, no struggle or crying to poo) he’s eating normal, drinking normal, and still very active and hyper aside from his cone limiting him a bit.

It seems like the base of his tail is bothering him most (as you can see he licked it raw almost when he sneakily got out of his cone for a few minutes 🫩) so I was thinking it could be fleas (thought I saw some flea dirt the first night), but I’m not sure why his actual anus would be red in those 2 spots if it were fleas? Google keeps telling me that’s anal gland issues.

I’m so stressed! Please share similar experiences they would be much appreciated!

Hey there. I usually lurk Reddit but I needed some advice so I made this page to ask about my dogs current situation!

He’s a big dog (pitbull mix) and recently turned 10. He’s always been in good shape and his behaviour has stayed the same recently. No changes in appetite, activity, hydration, etc.

Yesterday when he went poo it seemed a piece of human hair got stuck in it and was hanging out attached to his poo. I didn’t pull it out of course, just made sure that the actual poo fell off of his butt before we continued our walk and figured the hair will naturally come out on its own another time (this has happened before and happened with my childhood dog). That seemed to have irritated him and for the rest of the day he started obsessively chewing at his butt/where his tail meets his butt area. It got super red and raw so I immediately got him a cone to keep him from chewing at the area. I figure that was most of the damage and I’ve been putting a warm compress onto the area along with a bit of coconut oil. The next day it is still quite red and raw but has seemed a bit better since I put the cone on him when it arrived this morning.

He’s never had an issue with his anal glands since we got him 3 years ago but today when he went poo it looked like a small amount of that fluid from his anal glands maybe came out? His poo has been a bit softer lately (not diarrhea or liquid, just softer)(extra hydration due to the hot weather maybe?) so I’m wondering if that may be the case and to focus on trying to firm up his poops before making a vet appointment. He is horrible in cars and at the vet and requires a sedative everytime he does either and I also could really benefit from not coughing up a grand at the vet right now 😅. Just thought I would ask first, thanks everyone!

Something up with my dogs anus area, anyone experienced similar?

Can my dogs anal glands naturally express themselves?