Why Does Dog Bite Tail At The Base Of His Butt?

Dogs normally use their teeth as part of daily grooming. This often involves very fast chewing-like motions at the base of the tail and pulling at any matted hair with the teeth. This can be done once or several times a day, depending on the dog. But if the dog suddenly begins chewing around the tail a lot more than usual, then seek medical attention.

If the dog is chewing under the tail around the rectum, then he could have impacted anal glands. The dog will also ‘scoot’, or drag his rear end on the carpet or grass, his hind paws off of the ground and the forelegs doing all of the work. According to The Veterinarian's Guide to Your Dog's Symptoms, unaltered male dogs can develop painful growths in this area. The dog will lick and chew in order to clean up the blood.

Although the contagious fungal infection ringworm is not itchy to start with, as it progresses any round bald spots will get itchy. The Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Manual notes that ringworm first settles on the face, paws and tail of a dog before spreading to other parts of the body. Check the dog for round bald patches.

The rectum is a warm spot on the dog, ideal for lice, fleas and other parasites. Dogs going after a flea will often bare his teeth before chewing at the itch. But if a dog is scooting and chewing around the tail and does not have impacted anal glands or rectal tumors, check for what looks like grains of rice around the rectum, tail and hind legs. These are signs of a tapeworm infestation.

According to the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, one of the complications that may come from docking a dog’s tail is improper healing, which causes incredible itching from the rump to the remaining tail stump. The dog can open up the skin and become infected. Painful growths caused by scar tissue can also result.

If there are no medical reasons why the dog constantly keeps chewing or licking on the tail or around the base of the tail, then he has developed a compulsive behavior or bad habit. The act of chewing has become pleasurable. The ASPCA recommends giving these dogs more exercise and more interaction with their owners to distract them from tail-chewing.

Take your dog to the vet and have his/her anal sacs checked. My dog was biting his tail non-stop almost. The vet technician cleaned the anal sacs and the vet prescribed a steroid and an antibiotic because the condition was pretty bad. Wish I would have taken him in to have this checked sooner. As a pup, he sometimes needed to have his anal sacs cleaned. I hadn't done this in years! Poor boy must have been suffering, but now seems to be feeling better already - and we just did it today!

The above answer is absolutely right, and if you rule out fleas, you dog can have either a food allergy or an environmental allergy.
Foos allergies are not something that happens just because you might have changed his food recently or gave him something new. In fact, food allergies are a buildup over time of something in the foods he is eating. If can nearly drive him insane.

Environmental meaning grasses, pollen etc. Honey from your "local" bees will help you and your dog build up the immune system. * NOTE: The bees need to be from YOUR area, as they are producing honey from the same environmental factors.
Consumption can be all you want. For your dog, start with a Tablespoon in each meal. If your dog gets diarrhea, simply reduce the amount.

As with any ailment, consult your vet. Your dog will need medication to stop the itchiness, usually an allergy shot.

For more on food allergies, and what is in dog foods, check the links on the bottom of this page: www.thelittlefoxes.net

There can be two reasons behind this behavior.
1: Allergy
2: Fleas
you should closely examine the area where he bites himself. If you see small particles, as if somebody had sprinkled pepper on his skin then he has caught some fleas. They are causing skin irritation.Adding Garlic and brewer's yeast to his diet might help if so. You can also try permethrin shampoo. Please use a fine/small-toothed comb, and comb his hair to get rid of fleas.

This is usually a sign of one of two things.
Either she has impacted anal glands, and they need manual squeezing out - a dog groomer or veterinary nurse can do this.
Or - she has fleas and this is the area that she cannot actually scratch, so she is nibbling instead.
The first is the most likely.

Chewing own body in dog can be due to irritations and itching. There are many conditions which can cause this itching. These can be

1. Skin parasites
2. Food allergy
3. Contact allergy
4. Fleas
5. Ringworm
6. Allergy to pollens and molds
7. Side effects of medicines
8. Hormonal imbalance

So, it will be good to get advice from vet after physical examination.

There are many possible reasons of tail chewing in dogs. It can also be his/her behavioral problem. Sometimes, dogs get infection or injury at tail and start to lick affected area. After the recovery, they keep chewing the affected area as habit. Following are some common reasons of tail chewing in dogs.

1. Allergy to flea, pollens, molds, dust, food, and insects bite
2. Contact allergy
3. Scabies
4. Lice infestation
5. Hormonal imbalance
6. Autoimmune skin diseases
7. Hot spots

So, it will be good to take your dog to vet for proper diagnosis and treatment.

It depends on how badly the dog is biting, and how old it is. Puppies are prone to chasing and biting their tails, and generally there is nothing wrong. However, if it is happening all the time and especially if the dog is full grown, he may very likely have some allergies. The other possibility is whether the tail could have been injured. An injured tail can cause tingling and pain and cause the animal to bite at the sore point. I really think that you are going to need to take the dog to the vet to check it out. Past the puppy age, there usually is something wrong with a dog (or a cat) biting its own tail.