Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Reasons why a dog scoot

By Jerry Welsh


Dog owners are frequently perplexed with the weird behavior of the pet. A pet turning in circles to continuously chase the tail and one that sleeps with the four legs in the air are rather weird behaviors that than a pet owner would find hard to explain. Another weird behavior of the pet is scooting. To push the body forward, a dog would use the two front legs not unlike a paddle while dragging the rear end against the carpet or the floor.

A dog that cocks the head or one that chases the tail endlessly is an amusing sight that will elicit laughter from the family. No matter how entertaining the dog is, the family would tire of watching the pet. An owner can't help but think that something must be wrong with the pet.

Boredom is one of the reasons why a dog would scoot. Dogs that are ignored would do anything to get the family's attention because being social animals dogs would crave for the attention of its human family. By dragging its butt the dog can get the attention of the family and would bask in the clapping and shouts of encouragement. Aware that the act is accepted, the dog will scoot over and over again.

A dog may have other reasons for scooting apart from amusing the family. Scooting is a sign that the pet is either in pain or uncomfortable. Due top the dog's propensity to ingest anything, strings, plastic or cloth that gets stuck in the rectum can give the dog an uncomfortable feeling. The hair on the anal area especially on long haired breeds can have clinging dried up feces. The scooting is done to remove the foreign objects that are causing the dog discomfort.

Worm infestation and anal gland disorders are possible reasons why the dog would drag its butt on the floor. A tapeworm infestation will make the dog scoot as the segments of worm on the anal are will cause severe itching. Another reason why a dog would drag its butt on the ground is anal gland disorders. The anal gland is nature's design to give the dog its very own and distinct odor. Nature has designed the draining of the anal gland secretion to be done when the dog defecates however because of low quality food, dogs commonly have soft stools. Soft stools would result to impacted anal gland. A dog with an impacted anal gland will be weighed down with pain and discomfort thus it would scoot.




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