My dog yelps when touched near her tail after grooming. Is she hurt?

She could have a tail sprain causing discomfort or skin irritation in that area. An anal gland infection would be another possibility. If she is that painful I would recommend seeing your veterinarian for an exam to determine what’s causing the pain.

Two causes come to mind: 1) Hachi picked up fleas at the groomers and now they are congregating in the tail area and are biting him. Check the base of the tail for fleas and fea dirt and use a flea preventive regularly. 2) Unfortunately many groomers think they know how to empty anal glands and when it is to be done (even when there is no need to!) and do it wrongly, squeezing hard from the outside. THis often bruises the anal sacs and the area around them and starts to get inflamed and hurts. If you can rule out fleas, I suggest you take Hachi to your vet for an exam of the anal glands. He may need an antiinflammatory to resolve the irritation and possible pain.

yes, I am afraid it is possible that a groomer damages anal glands. Most groomers offer emptying anal glands as a service, however, do not do this correctly and also do it even when it is not necessary. Emptying anal glands/sacs should be done by a veterinarian and only after the vet examines them and determines that they actually are impacted and need emptying. So, when you take your dog to the groomer adamantly request that they leave the anal sacs alone. As for the scooting and furiously licking, dogs with food allergies often can get irritated anal glands. It may be worth trying some hypoallergenic food for 8 to 12 weeks to see whether this subsides. If so, then your dog is suffering from food allergies and you want to discuss an elimination diet with your veterinarian.

Ella may have impacted anal sacs which is something your veterinarian can easily diagnose. Your vet can also empty them if they are impacted. Sometimes groomers do this as a service, but most are not good at it and the dog ends up with bruised tissue that then hurts. I suggest you take Ella back to your veterinarian for a recheck re the ivdd and a check of the anal sacs.

If this has only been going on for a day or two, 'swimmer's tail' or 'limber tail' is a possibility. This is a swelling of the muscles at the base of the tail that can result in significant pain, and it can seem like the dog is unable to move it's tail. An injury would be less likely with no history of trauma. Spinal/lumbar pain is also possible. Anal gland inflammation could also cause some discomfort although it would be unusual to cause such extreme pain. Unfortunately I think a physical examination by a veterinarian would be necessary to diagnose the problem.

A lot of dogs feel "ashamed" after a radical hair cut. It also feels so different , and probably smells different and they do not understand what happened. So that is likely one reason why he is irritated. As for him looking back at his bum....unfortunately many groomers offer the service of "emptying anal glands", but do not do this properly, so often the anal glands would be irritated at best, or bruised at worst. It is possible that they are hurting. If this does not go away by tomorrow, I suggest you have them checked by your vet to make sure they were not damaged in the process.

Harvey may have injured his tail or he may be having an issue with his anal glands that are located right inside the rectum. If this behavior continues for more than 24 hours I would recommend taking him in to your vet to be checked out. Best of luck. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.