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Rear end irritation

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  slough 
#1 ·
My 3 year old lab seems to have something irritating his rear quarter. Nothing that I can see but when he's laying around the house he has been constantly grabbing at it with his mouth the last few days. He seems bothered, to the point he runs to the basement and lays in his kennel whereas normally he won't leave the room I'm in for more than a minute or two. No limping or discomfort when I rub him back there. Have never seen this before and just concerned. Trip to the vet recommended?
 
#6 ·
slough said:
I don't see any irritation or discharge, so I was kind of thinking insects. He seems to bite at the tail area the most.
Fleas' favorite hangout. If you can't find bugs, check the anal glands.
 
#8 ·
Medic4049 said:
If you think it is insect related you can put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into a quart of water. This changes the skins pH enough to keep most biting insects away. Or use on of the One Spot style treatments.
:huh: to be drunk? or washed with? :huh:
fennel rubbed on the coat helps keep insects away too, just grab a handfull of plant and rub it on.
 
#11 ·
slough said:
Thought I'd update: Brought him to the vet...they couldn't see any signs of insects. Allergies was the guess...put him on a steroid yesterday...no improvement yet.
What does "couldn't see any signs of insects" mean? Critters like fleas are only on the dog 10% of the time.

You don't say whether or not the vet checked anal glands as I suggested. I just had the exact same thing you describe happen with my male, and the side he was biting at wasn't even the side with the problem (was biting at left side, right gland was impacted)! Allergies don't generally present the way you describe, and you should have seen improvement pretty quickly with steroids. I would be pretty unhappy with a vet who put a dog on steroids as a first choice in the situation you describe, but then I have a real problem with steroid use so maybe it's just me.
 
#12 ·
I apologize for kind of forgetting about this thread; I don't follow this forum much.

I guess what was meant by not seeing signs of insects is that the vet didn't notice signs of bites on the skin. He did not check the anal glands as far as I know. The steroid regimen didn't seem to help much. The nagging around the base of the tail went away in time but he still seems to have some sort of itch. I've tried switching foods (PPP to taste of the wild) which didn't help and have kept my house clean. I thought that winter would maybe take care of it, but it hasn't. I'm going to post a video of what he is doing. It doesn't keep him up at night but it does seem to bother him from time to time during the day. Could it just be in his head? Thanks for any insight. The middle 30 seconds of this video doesn't have much, so you may want to skip it.

 
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