My puppy is just over 7 months, when we first got him he had terrible worms which were treated, and ever since we first got him he's always dragged his bum on the floor, it looks pretty funny but must hurt and is disgusting when he does it in the house!! He's upto date with his worming treatment and has advocate which treats fleas ticks etc, he has also had his anal glands done continuously but still does it, I've now noticed he strains when going to the toilet. Any ideas what else this could be because it's driving me insane!

Dragging his bum, still, could still mean his anal glands aren't working as they should. These are scent glands, and are never empty. They should express with every BM, provided the stool being passed is normal. If there's a period of looseness, or even hard stools, they won't work as they should. This is when they can become impacted or/and infected. So even if they are being expressed manually repeatedly, this will only empty them - and they will refill . Are you having your vet empty them? If he's doing it (and not just a groomer), he'll be able to see if the matter in there is 'normal' and treat accordingly. These glands should not be needing to be continually emptied manually and often this can make matters worse. This is one for your vet to check.

Secondly, difficulty in passing a stool can be caused by prostate problems. An older dog of mine started this and his prostate was found to be enlarged - we had to have him castrated to stop all that. Your puppy is very young for this to be the case - and if he's castrated, I'm not sure, but I don't think his prostate is likely to be in trouble. Again, one for the vet.

Possibly hemorrhoids. Bring him to the vet to see if this is the case. Otherwise, it may just be that his anal glands are severely dried out. Check to make sure that he is drinking lots of water. If he isn't eating wet food, try switching to that. Dry foods are often filled with too many carbs that animals don't need. They are carnivores and require meat . Canned food should list a meat as the first ingredient and not contain things like wheat or corn. This should help him to relieve himself easier. However, talk with a vet first to make sure it's not something more serious like an internal injury.

You might try changing his diet, dogs can get constipated the same as humans can. He might have an allergy. Also, I forget if KC's have their tails docked or not but I have heard of breeds such as cockers, etc. having similar behavior patterns due to tails being docked, as it creates a "ghost" pain/feeling much like when a person has a arm or leg removed and they can still "feel" the limb.

Sounds like an anal gland infection. sometimes simply emptying them doesn't clear up the problem and if you are feeding something that doesn't have enough fiber, he could be constipated.
If he's constipated, the anal glands are not emptying when he poops.

Anal Sacs.
Tapeworm Infestation.
Allergic Disease.


^ Get him checked out/tested for those. From top to bottom, ie get Anal Sacs checked and see if they need expressed first. TWI next, and then allergic disease.

You might want to get him checked for worms. Worms cause a dogs bottom to itch and so they drag there bottoms to get rid of the itch.

He must be consipated a little and it hurts him when he gets ready to go to the bathroom so ask the vet what to give him for stool softener.

Could it be the worms back again? Check with your local vet, even a phone call could probably help. It could be what he has eaten - allergic reaction or even his size and growth. Hope this helped!

Gross!

James Wellbeloved is a dry food so should be producing a more bulky poo and is meant to be less prone to allergy.

I guess you have had a look to check for "clinkers" ... yuk .. can be a problem sometimes, but a swift wipe. .. after all we do it ;-)

It does rather point to a problem with the anal glands, or another issue with his rectal area like a growth .. but in such a young dog? ... . how about trying another vet? Is there somebody else in the practice you use?