My dog is eating the hair off his butt and back. I have tried to see what is wrong but I can not find anything back there. I check his poop and there are no worms. What could this be?

Hi faulknerpayton,

Is your dog losing actual hair around the rectum? Or is he just itching at it relentlessly?

The first thing I can think of would be allergies. Because the rear end of a dog has less hair, things are more noticeable, such as itchy and inflammed skin.

My other thought, if this were a long haired dog that requires grooming, would be that the groomer cut a little too close to the skin in that area and is causing the dog to itch due to razor burn.

And than last, but not least, would be an anal gland problem. When anal glands become impacted or infected, dogs will do strange things to try to relieve the pressure and/or pain. If her bottom appears to be swollen or red, than its time for the vet for you.

If her booty looks normal in skin color and isn't puffy, then try applying a cortisone cream to the affected area and see if it gives her relief. Make sure you either rub the cream in well, or sit with her for 10 minutes or so until it absorbs into her skin.

If the itching doesn't stop and she appears to be biting at herself worse, I would suggest a vet. Although uncommon to cause a problem on the rear, mites such as demodex and sarcoptes, can cause a dog to itch the hair off them. These two mites can only be diagnosed by a vet via microscope.

You could also try giving your pet benedryl. If you decide this route, just be sure to buy pure benedryl with no decongestants in it. The dosage is 25mg per 10lbs of body weight. This medicine would be given twice a day. The benedryl may make your dog sleepy, but is a pretty safe medicine to give. But if there is no improvement within a few days, you should probably go to the vet.

Just one more thing.. next time you have a question, it helps to post your question separately from other peoples questions. Not only will you get more ideas and answers, it also will prevent an old thread from surfacing. It just keeps things simple.

Hope I helped you!