It's not a nice thing to have as I experienced last night.
Bit of a strange subject to talk about I know, but my experience could help others just like me.
Mum noticed that I was scooting along the floor on my rear. This is not natural so Mum being anxious, took me into the garden to see if I could eliminate there.
Oh no, dear friends. As try as I did, not a poop was to be seen!
So Mum brought me in and had a good old look at my bottom through her magnifying glass. To both our horror, some nasty stuff was seen half in and half out, if you get my drift.
Armed with wet wipes, Mum gently teased away the nasties and combed through the hair to rid of any danglies and softly massaged my rear end to help ease away my stress.
Being a clever Mum, she added a weeny bit of olive oil to my grub which was lovely!
All that seemed to do the trick as I proved to Mum this morning by leaving a great poop example in my pen on the kitchen floor!
There's a few things you might need to know about us doggies, particular long haired breeds such as I:
We can be prone to something called 'mechanical constipation'. This is basically an external physical obstruction, such as hair, which causes us to be unable to eliminate.
The solution is to keep the hair around by bottom trimmed. This doesn't mean shaving right down to the skin. Oh no, it simple means to trim a small circle or slightly elongated teardrop about the size of a 1 pence piece. This simple act will help much more that you will ever anticipate!
So guess what I'm in for later!
Now, before we move on, just a word about scooting along on my bottom. Whilst Mum managed to sort me out last night, she is aware that this might be a sign of something else not quite right.
So I'm going to talk to you about ANAL SACS.
These are little bag-like structures located on either side of my bottom at approximately 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock. These glands produce secretions which occur whenever I have a bowel movement.
These secretions are a way for me to leave my 'calling card' to let other animals know I've been around.
If everything is functioning normally, regular bowel movements will keep the anal sacs relatively empty and trouble free.
Sometimes though, these anal sacs become blocked and cannot empty naturally. One of the signs that this is happening is the "scooting on the ground" behaviour. If left unattended, nasty things can happen.
Now, helping doggies to unblock these sacs is to express them manually. The Havanese Fanciers of Canada's great book called "From Nose To Tail" gives step by step instructions on how to do this, but Mum is a little unsure.
So, when we visit the Vet's for my second set of jabs this Wednesday, Mum's going to ask those nice ladies how to do it and to check me to ensure is as it should be.
I'll keep you posted.
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