Any ideas on Polly?? Update

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

I noticed yesterday that Polly was 'seriously' cleaning her butt so I told her to stop.  She moved and a few minutes later I noticed that Meg had followed her and now Meg was cleaning Polly's butt.  Told her to stop and had to repeat it a little while later.  Today it has gone on all day, on or the other constantly cleaning on Polly's bottom.  They are bathed every two weeks and their anal glands taken care of, they eat kibble and have nice solid stools.  They have never exhibited this behavior at all and Polly is not dragging or scooting her butt anywhere.  I have an appointment with the vet in about an hour and a half, keeping them separated until then, I am afraid they are going to create a hotspot.  The only thing different on Polly is letting her coat grow for the last two months, I generally run the clippers over her after her bath so she always looks the same.  I mention that but don't think it really has anything to do with what might be going on...Meg wouldn't try to clean her just because her hair is a bit longer.  Anybody have any ideas?

We did not see our regular Vet but one that we still like.  He said her stool is nice and firm, colon very nice and smooth, expressed a bit from her anal glands and thought there was mild irritation around the outside of the anus.  He feels like she may have a mild infection but does not know what could have caused it, if her anal glands are mildly infected it could be why her and Meg keep trying to clean it up.  She got an injection (steroid), some Amoxicillin capsules and Zymox topical to help stop the itching and help it heal.  Fingers crossed now.  Love my babies and don't want to see anything wrong with them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Polly is spayed? 

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Yes, two years ago.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It sure sounds like anal glands....I'll be interested in what the vet has to say.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

No idea.  Neither of my doodles try to groom or lick the other ever.  When Beau was a puppy he would try to lick Charlie's mouth and Charlie put a stop to that the first time around.  I wonder what could be causing this with your two doodles.  I hope the meds help and Polly is back to normal quickly.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Judy, you mentioned that they are bathed and their anal glands are "taken care of" every two weeks. Anal glands need to be expressed internally; when it's done externally, which is how most groomers do it, it can actually cause issues with impacted anal glands. Ever since I learned that, I have asked my groomers to leave the anal glands alone and they are only ever expressed internally by the vet when needed.

It seems odd that if it's an anal gland issue, Meg is licking her. Dogs usually lick themselves because they are experiencing discomfort down there, but that wouldn't be causing Meg to get involved, lol. 

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

I also had the groomer stop expressing the anal glands every time which was 7 to 8 weeks.  Since then we have very few "lick" sessions.  I have never had Elli's (who's been with us a year) anal glands expressed and I kind of doubt her previous owners took her to a groomer...and I have yet to see Elli have a lick session.  As long as the stool is firm the vet said that naturally expresses the glands for the dog.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

The girls go in this Friday so we will be discussing this with her.  I appreciate the input.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Strange....I hope the treatment resolves the problem and the girls are back to normal soon! 

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

Hope Polly will be back to normal soon.  Such stress when they have problems.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for the update.  Be sure to give her a probiotic or yogurt while she is on and for a while after the antibiotics.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Thank you for the probiotic reminder, I will start that this morning.