My dog is 2 years old and she has been doing this now for a few weeks off and on. She was just at the Vet 9/3/09. She was in there for diarrhea and some vomiting. She got a prescripion for Metronidzole,Probiocin, and Reglan. Also she was tested for parasites and it came up negative. They expressed her anal glands too. At that time I did not mention the odd behavior, because I thought it had to do with her problem. Now she seems to be doing it more. It seems like she is in a trance when she is doing this, because she will totally ignore me. She just continues to rub her butt back and forth, turning her head, and sticking her tongue in and out. I am very worried and my husband thinks it is nothing to be concerned about.

I think she does it because it feels so darn good.

Kind of like when you scratch an itch that's driving you crazy.

If the vet says she's OK , then that would be good enough for me. But just in case, you should be able to get an answer over the phone.

Usually that is a sign that their anal glands are impacted... are you sure the vet got it all out?

I am not sure they expressed all the glands , but the sticking out the tongue and turning her head side to side really freaks me out. It is like she is in another world. Very hard to explain. Other than that her health is fine. I am a big worry wart.

I agree with Sariss, her glands may not have been fully emptied or may be infected.

My mother emptied her Great Danes glands a few days ago and he is back biting at his rear again... she thought she got it all but obviously did not.

The tongue poking out though is nothing to be worried about, it's just a quirky habit when she is thinking.. same way people bite their lip or chew a pen.