My frenchie started scooting since this summer. I don’t remember him scooting much or at all prior to this summer. So far we have taken him to get his anal glands expressed at the vet five times in the time span of 3 months. Every time we go, the vet says the glands are pretty full.
Since he was a puppy up until this spring he expressed his anal glands on his own and I know this because I could smell it sometimes or if he expressed on the couch he would do this “twirl of shame” and obsessively lick the spot where it expressed. It’s like he is embarrassed and he is aware that it smells funky. We’ve never punished him for expressing himself but we have reacted to the fishy smell by saying things like “ew it stinks.”
Fast forward to now, he never expresses his glands on his own and we think he is intentionally “holding it in” if that is even possible. After he poops, he starts scooting and his body language seems like he has something more that wants to come out but he is holding it in by putting pressure on his anus/scooting. He does this even after getting them expressed at the vet, so we know it is not just because his glands are full. I almost feel like it is a psychological issue where he thinks expressing his anal glands makes him a “bad boy” even though we have never associated anal gland expressing as a bad thing. He is such a good boy and never has accidents in the house since after he was a puppy and he’s so smart/aware of everything. I truly believe he holds in his anal expressions because he thinks it’s “going in the house”. And we are outside he scoots to keep it in too. I think he feels this weird sensation of the gland liquid wanting to express and he doesn’t understand the uncomfortable feeling so he tries to hold it in.
Sometimes when he has an “episode” of scooting inside the house, he pushes up his butt against the edge of his bed to put pressure like he is holding it in. And then he will make this really sad yelping cry sound continuously while he is obsessively licking his paws and nosing his bed and licking his nose. It’s not his normal cry/whine... it’s really strange and it is not the same cry he makes when he wants something/begging for food.
Has anyone ever experienced this or something similar with their frenchie??
Since he was a puppy up until this spring he expressed his anal glands on his own and I know this because I could smell it sometimes or if he expressed on the couch he would do this “twirl of shame” and obsessively lick the spot where it expressed. It’s like he is embarrassed and he is aware that it smells funky. We’ve never punished him for expressing himself but we have reacted to the fishy smell by saying things like “ew it stinks.”
Fast forward to now, he never expresses his glands on his own and we think he is intentionally “holding it in” if that is even possible. After he poops, he starts scooting and his body language seems like he has something more that wants to come out but he is holding it in by putting pressure on his anus/scooting. He does this even after getting them expressed at the vet, so we know it is not just because his glands are full. I almost feel like it is a psychological issue where he thinks expressing his anal glands makes him a “bad boy” even though we have never associated anal gland expressing as a bad thing. He is such a good boy and never has accidents in the house since after he was a puppy and he’s so smart/aware of everything. I truly believe he holds in his anal expressions because he thinks it’s “going in the house”. And we are outside he scoots to keep it in too. I think he feels this weird sensation of the gland liquid wanting to express and he doesn’t understand the uncomfortable feeling so he tries to hold it in.
Sometimes when he has an “episode” of scooting inside the house, he pushes up his butt against the edge of his bed to put pressure like he is holding it in. And then he will make this really sad yelping cry sound continuously while he is obsessively licking his paws and nosing his bed and licking his nose. It’s not his normal cry/whine... it’s really strange and it is not the same cry he makes when he wants something/begging for food.
Has anyone ever experienced this or something similar with their frenchie??
