Dog tearing at her bum

misschoo

Hi all my dog had cruciate ligament surgery a month ago for which she has to wear a cone afterwards for 2 weeks. This resulted in her not being able to groom herself and it drove her mad & she kept scooting. I got my Vet to check her anal glands twice and there was nothing there. Last Thursday she pulled tufts of hair from around her bum and the area where her tail meets her bum. Her groomer had a look on Friday and said she was quite raw (she wasn't groomed - she was just clipping her nails for me). I put the cone back on her and tried to put aloe Vera on her but she went mad and actually lunged at me. I wormered her thecend of Feb and I can't see any evidence of fleas. Anyone any advice? I am going to contact my Vet again tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

Bells21

Is there any evidence of flea dirt anywhere in your dogs fur? Could it be possible that your dog may have an allergy to something? Have you changed anything in your dogs environment recently? Food, bedding, new cleaning products etc?

misschoo

No - no flea dirt or allergies. However I am minding another dog with skin allergies for a few weeks. They are apart from each other though. This all seemed to happen when she couldn't groom herself with the cone & it seems to have turned into an obsession.

Millem

misschoo wrote: »

No - no flea dirt or allergies. However I am minding another dog with skin allergies for a few weeks. They are apart from each other though. This all seemed to happen when she couldn't groom herself with the cone & it seems to have turned into an obsession.

Does the dog food have beet pulp by any chance? I have a bit if an obsession with it. My oldest girl did the same thing to her bum randomly out of the blue. I put her back to burns and it has healed and never come back.
My youngest is always on burns as she has ear/skin problems and it's literally the food that she can tolerate.

tk123

Is she able to poo ok? My boy will be 3 weeks post op and was reluctant to go at first - I guess because he couldn't squat properly with the pain in his knee? Or could it be mites I wonder?

Choc Chip

Graphic post ahead!

Does she have long hair round her bum?

Our little one does (if I've been lax on the stripping) and it bothers him if he has a poo and a bit gets stuck and dries on. Any chance she's been pulling her hair out cos poo had stuck to the hair round there?

If she's pulling it out maybe a little hygiene trim might make her a wee bit more comfortable (and might make it easier to see what's going on underneath too?)

Bells21

misschoo wrote:

No - no flea dirt or allergies. However I am minding another dog with skin allergies for a few weeks. They are apart from each other though. This all seemed to happen when she couldn't groom herself with the cone & it seems to have turned into an obsession.

Could it possibly be some stress then with the injury and another dog in the house too or would she be well used to having another dog around?

sillysmiles

I noticed that after our guys knee surgery there was a lot of paste - I assume some sort of iodine based paste from surgery around the tops of his legs - so I spent a good bit of time brushing him ot get it out. I couldn't stand the smell of it and it was clumped and looked like it would pull the tender fur closer to the skin.

Personally I think I would try grooming it for him, a gentle wash and brush in case there is something caught in it.

4.5 weeks post surgery and it's getting easier!

misschoo

No there's been no food changes. She's pooping normally & the hair is clipped & tidy around her bum. I'll have to phone the Vet later and see what she says. This had only happened since the surgery

misschoo

Bells21 wrote: »

Could it possibly be some stress then with the injury and another dog in the house too or would she be well used to having another dog around?

I think this is what the problem is. She couldn't groom herself for two weeks with the cone on so I'd say she was very irritated and just went at it hell for leather once the cone came off & has made it more irritated now! She doesn't seem bothered by the other dog - he just sleeps most of the day and doesn't bother her. God dogs - worse than kids!!!

Bells21

Good idea to have the vet take a peep and see what they think. Poor baby, hopefully she's back to herself soon. Let us know how you get on.