What is Scooting? Do Parasites Cause Scooting?

Have you ever seen your dog scoot his bottom on the floor? There could be a problem with the dog anal sac. The dog will drag his bottom and push forward with his hind paws. This is known as scooting and associated with having an anal sac disease. The cause of the scooting can be from irritation from parasites in the anal region. The scooting is something that needs to be taken care of immediately because the problem will worsen. Also, the dog will be in pain and distress. In addition, if the condition goes untreated it can lead to an abscess or rupture in the anal region.

Some people are under the impression that parasites alone can cause scooting but that's not the case. A dog can have the scooting without any parasites being present. There can be other reasons for a dog to scoot like gland infections, tumors in the anus, or injury to the anus.

Flea bites can cause scooting and irritation to the anus. Some dogs will try to bite the anus area and this can lead to a dog scooting. Cestodiasis is an infection in dogs caused by adult tapeworms. Also, Cestodiasis can cause a dog to scoot because this condition irritates the anus.

The dog will need to be treated in a timely manner or the dog will resort to scooting. Some dogs will pass tapeworms in their stool and the tapeworms will crawl near the anus. The crawling of the tapeworm will lead to itching in the anus region. The dog will try scooting to relive the severe itching and burning in the anus area.

If the dog's stool is examined then the doctor will be able to find a packet of eggs. The packet of eggs will need to be handle with care because the package can easily be broken. If this happens it will hard to determine if the dog has tape worms. Tapeworms will have the appearance of small rice grains.

The tapeworms will be white in color but turn yellow when taken from the dog. You can see the tapeworms in motion near the dog's anus or below the tail area. There can be a number of possibilities for a dog to be scooting but it's important to find the reason for the scooting. The wise choice is to seek the attention of a veterinarian for diagnosis and cure. The veterinarian will be able to pinpoint the cause of the scooting and able to prescribe a treatment.

Source:Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook by Debra M. Eldredge DVM