[jcris]

Sorry about the title 😉
My spoo Belle licks her behind a lot and I’m wondering what I can do to help her out. It’s clearly around her anal sacs Her poop and look normal and she drinks water well. So I’m curious what I can do?
Hope you’re 4th was quiet

 

[jcris]

Also there looks like scabs over the sacs. And staining. I keep up on her grooming.
current supplements are glucosamine/chondroitin and fish oil

 

[lily cd re]

Take her to the vet!

 

[Dechi]

Definitely take her to the vet before doing anything. Scabs on the rectum is not normal (if you see scabs, they can’t be on the anal glands since those are internal).

Beckie is also a butt licker and after 3 years of searching, I think I’ve found a probable cause. It’s too early to know for sure but I believe her discomfort/pain was caused by food allergies. Right now I am feeding her pre-made raw food, one protein/one ingredient at a time. Turkey is definitely fine, chicken has tested positive for allergies and beef is the next protein in line for testing.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

chicken has tested positive for allergies and beef is the next protein in line for testing.

Can I ask how you're testing? This is something I'd like to do for Peggy's allergies/anal glands.

And yes, if a dog is licking so much they're causing sores, I'd say it's time to see the vet to make sure the glands aren't impacted. Is it possible she's also scooting? Gracie used to scoot down the rough concrete of our driveway and I was always shocked when she didn't injure herself

 

[fjm]

Sophy had an abscessed anal gland - no signs of pain or discomfort, and the first I knew was her licking at it repeatedly. It came shortly after she had a long bout of diarrhoea and soft stools, and I think the glands became impacted as a result. All cleared up with a short course of ABs.

 

[lily cd re]

As regards testing for food sensitivities I would do NutriScan. It was well worth it for our dogs and if you have insurance it should be covered.

 

[Dechi]

Can I ask how you're testing? This is something I'd like to do for Peggy's allergies/anal glands

I’m buying pre-made raw food containing one single protein, no vegetables, nothing else (except green beef tripe in some recipes). She’s having no carbs, no fillers, no supplements, or anything else. Green tripe makes the meal complete and she loves it !

Bold Turkey – Bold Raw

boldraw.com

The only treats she’s having are dried turkey and dried duck (which hasn’t been tested per say yet but she was having it before and I took a chance and it’s fine).

So if she has a reaction, there is only one possible cause and it’s easy to spot. When I test a protein, I feed it for 14 days, unless she has a reaction then I stop. When I started the chicken, she had discomfort and started licking her butt after the first meal. I gave her two more meals and she kept having symptoms so I stopped. It took 5 days before she stopped licking her butt from the 3 chicken meals !

After I’ve tested a few more proteins (beef, pork, duck), I will start trying formulas which include more than meat. Then if she has a reaction, since I won’t know which of the many ingredients in the formula she doesn’t tolerate, the whole formula will be banned. When feeding raw, you’re supposed to rotate at least three proteins and if she tolerates those three, plus turkey, then we’ll be good to buy bigger boxes, to save a little money.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

It took 5 days before she stopped licking her butt from the 3 chicken meals !

Wow! If you were to start a thread on Beckie's elimination diet journey, I'd be excited to follow along. It's such a commitment, but clearly worth it.

 

[Dechi]

Wow! If you were to start a thread on Beckie's elimination diet journey, I'd be excited to follow along. It's such a commitment, but clearly worth it.

I was going to wait a little more but I can start now if it helps.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I was going to wait a little more but I can start now if it helps.

I think it would help a lot of us, and definitely me!