my five year old rescue lab/pointer mix started crying tonight every once in a while and then chews at his tail. He went out and circled three times and then laid on his stomach and cried and then got up and ran in the house. His tail is down. He had a normal stool earlier today and also was negative for worms.
Sonnya Crawford says:
January 08th, 2009 at 02:28 PM
There could be several reasons for this behavior. The first would be fleas or a flea allergy. The base of the tail is a common place that dogs chew and mutilate when they have a flea allergy. The solution is to put a good brand of flea control on him (Revolution, Advantage, or Frontline). The other option is that his anal glands may be impacted or infected. I would recommend a veterinary visit to rule this out. How long ago was a parasite check done by a veterinarian to determine that he was negative for worms?
Dr. Sonnya Crawford, DVM
User says:
January 09th, 2009 at 10:14 AM
He was checked for worms last week. And he gets Frontline Plus once a month. I did take him to the vet yesterday and it was in fact, impacted anal glands which is what I thought but wasnt sure. He is now doing much better. Thank you so very very much for your advise.
Sonnya Crawford says:
January 11th, 2009 at 01:46 PM
I'm glad he is doing better! Dr. Sonnya
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