Why does my dog do this?

Question

I have a 3 year old female beagle/dachund mix. She likes to rub herself all over dirty laundry. Also she Scoots her butt all over the carpet, then smells where she scooted. Why does she do these things.... And i was wondering what i should do about her itchy flaky skin.
Also, she is the only dog i have ever seen that buries her bones, she will search the house and try to bury it so much that her nose bleeds!
Is my dog weird!

thanks everyone for the feedback! i think that it is her anal scent glands, because sometimes there is a foul smell coming from her butt....

Answer 1

No, your dog is normal. First thing,the rubbing on the dirty laundry....very normal,if there was something super stinky outside,she would run for it and dive in,rubbbing all over. Dogs love stinky stuff,period. Now the scooting, she is expressing her anal glands,marking the carpet,or, she may have worms. Does she lick and itch her rearend? Does she eat alot,but not gain weight? Those are signs of worms. Otherwise, it is also normal to express their anal glands,that is their welcome call to other dogs,that's why when dogs meet,they smell each other's butt. It is telling the opposite sex that they are ready. Now, the itchy skin. Start your dog on Omega 3 fish oil products. You can find it in quality treats,or a part of a quality dog food,which would be purchased at a feed store or vet's office, not at your local grocery. Burying the bones........again normal for the breed. These dogs were used in hunting to get burrowing critters out of the ground. I would give her something similar to a bone, but not a real one. She will benefit from the chewing and gnawing, but not taste the marrow and go into a frenzy. Good luck.

Answer 2

yes, check the glands and empty them...they are locate at the 4 o'clock and the 6 o'clock-7 o'clock postition under the dogs tail near the opening of the anus. Its just the way a dog leaves his\her signature when the go to the bathroom. And you watch dogs the next time you see them greet one another in a friendly way. They first touch noses...look for the tail to wag either fast or slow like its going to the beat of a song...guess what its doing? Its wiffing the cent of the glands in the air for the other dog to smell, and thats why the other dog goes immediately to their butt to smell it. They can get lots of info from the dog, including thier rank (domnant or submissive) what they ate today, or even where the live and people they have been around just by sniffing butt. Weird huh? Its not that hard to empty them, just gross. Most of the time dogs empty them on their own every time they go to the bathroom, but some need a little help. Ihave found that the smaller dogs seem to have trouble doing it on their own, since they don't get as much opportunity to go potty and if they do, they go so much that the glands never have a chance to fill up completely and they could be sleeping when they fill up, and then the never get to empty them. When and If you do decide to do it, make sure you wear gloves and do it outside in the grass or in your tub as if that stuff gets on your clothes its very hard to get out..its like a poop and skunk smell combined! Put your fingers at the position as stated above and pinch. You'll feel them if they are inpacted. The dog may yelp or try to bite you. You are pinching a private area! If that happens and you get too nervous, a vet or groomer may be yor next choice as they have muzzles they can use. Try the groomer first as they will be cheaper than the vet. Your dog's glands could be impacted\infected, and a groomer won't be able to do it then as they can lift the tail up, and feel for them and can tell they are fulll, but not able to get anything out from the outside. The vet will be the obvious alternative after that. If the sacs have been emptied adequately, the dog should stop scooting in a couple of days. If the sacs need to be emptied every few weeks or more, you may opt to have the sacs permanently removed called ANAL SACCULECTOMY. This procedure is complicated because many local nerves control fecal continence, the fact that any change in the local musculature of the anal sphincter area can affect fecal continence, and the fact that with chronic anal sac problems anatomy is distorted. Draining tracts can develop after surgery if the gland is not completely removed. Still, despite these pitfalls anal sac removal is considered a relatievely simple surgery by most board certified surgery specialists. If this procedure is to be done we generally recommend that a specialist (or a veterinarian with extensive experience with anal sacculectomy) perform it. Many people own pets for years without ever learning that anal sacs exist at all and the “wive’s tale” that worms cause scooting erroneously continues. I posted a link thats not too graphic below...you must have a"shockwave plug-in" to see the interactive picture. Good Luck with your beagle\doxie mix! :)

Answer 3

my dog does the same thing. The scooting could be caused by impacted glands. The best way to remedy this is to 1. go to your vet,they can clean her out, or a groomer or you can do it your self. First get a rubber glove, like ones that doctors use, and then lift her tail. and squeeze on her anus. This will squish the stuff out. This is the puppy equivalent of dingleberrys.
As for the skin, put a table spoon of oil, canola, or olive in her food. My dog has made his nose bleed from the carpet as well. Try to discourage this behavior when ever possible.

Answer 4

It's normal. Dogs would normally roll around in smelly substances to mask their scents to make it easier to hunt. Scooting could mean that your dog's anal sacs need to be emptied, but she's female, so that's not probable, so she probably is trying to get some scents in a different way. The itchy, flaking skin means it's dried out and you should try not to bathe her as much. If you see a vet you could probably get a prescription for some moisturizing cream. Burying bones is normal, in the wild a dog would have to store leftover food, burying it to keep other dogs away. Your dog isn't weird at all.

Answer 5

She likes the smell of the dirty close and wants to make herself smell the way so she plays and rolls all over it.

The scooting on the floor is most likely due to full anal gland and they need to be emptied. It is hard to tell you how to do it so your best bet would bet to take her to a Vet or a groomer and have them empty the sacks.

These sacks are each side of the rectum and is used to coat their poop to give it her smell. Small dogs often have to have these glands emptied cause they don't have the strength to force it out.

Answer 6

the laundry thing...maybe it just smells like you and she likes it.

scooting her butt...she probably needs her anus sacks emptied or she has worms

itchy flaky skin...make sure you don't wash her too often (once a month at most, if possible) and get shampoo with oatmeal, Ive heard of people using baby oil.

burying her bones...all dogs do it. get her to do something else when she's trying so hard her nose bleeds.

your dog sounds normal, but talk to your vet about the butt scooting

Answer 7

Burying things are very normal for dogs to do. But her scooting her butt around is not a good sign. At my vet's office- there's this sign that says that if your dog drags their butt around on the ground, to bring them in because it's something that needs to get treated.

Good Luck.

Answer 8

lol!
i'm not sure about most of your dog's quirks,
but the butt scooting can be a sign of worms OR she needs her anal glands drained(thats her way of trying to do that herself)
My aunt's a dog breeder and groomer, and thats what she has always said can cause the butt scooting.
just take her to the groomer and see if she stops afterwards. :)

Answer 9

well my dog roll around in my dirty clothes too it is your dogs way of showing affection cuz they like the way you smell since dogs have away better smell they can smell everything on your clothes ..., and when a dog scoots they are itching their butt, cuz sometihng is wrong, sounds silly but it is true!
i would take ur dog to the vet to check about that and the itchy skin thing..

Answer 10

dogs just like to roll in stinky things, lol.

Actually, alot of dogs bury things, she sounds like she needs more walks, and more play time, else this could become a very destructive behavior!

As for the scooting, sounds like she has worms, take her to the vet, and while your there, talk to them about her skin so you can get some medicated/special shampoo stuff.

Your dogs not weird, she's a dog doing dog things!