14 Reasons Why Your Dog Keeps Licking Base of His Tail? With Home Remedies

As a pet owner, you might have noticed that it licks under and around its tail. Have you ever wondered why my dog keeps licking the base of his tail? You might have thought about this thing or maybe ignored this. But, behind this behavior of your furry pal, many reasons can be hidden and which sometimes turn into the cause of worries.

In today’s article, we will discuss this behavior of your dog so that you can take appropriate decisions and precautions to save your dog from any severe illness.

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Reasons Why Does My Dog Lick The Base of His Tail?

There are many reasons behind the behavior of licking the base of the tail or the butt. Below we have mentioned some of the most common reasons, read the article to know this weird behavior of your dogs in detail.

1. Disease in the Anal Gland:

If your dog often licks under the tail or around the tail then your dog may have some pain or irritation in its anal glands. The interesting fact is you may know or don’t know that your dog has two anal glands. If one of them gets infected or affected by any outer injury then your dog often starts licking its tail. You also might see your dog scooting along the floor. It is also because of the irritation in the anal glands.

2. Pain in the Reproductive System:

This particular problem is usually faced by female dogs. Most of the female dogs go through some irritations while they are about to give delivery. During this time their body discharges secretion from the vulva opening, as a result, they often lick the area to keep themselves free from itching.

3. Heat Waves:

Another reason is the heat wave. This happens mostly in the summer season. It is because you are in scorching heat your pal becomes sweaty if it has long fur. Because of the itchiness your dog keeps licking its bum and tail base.

4. Allergies:

Allergies can be another cause of the tail licking habit of your dog. Dogs also get affected by allergies from food and environmental elements. As we humans get affected by allergies from food, similarly our furry pal also goes through the same thing.

Dogs are allergic to some foods. So, when they eat these allergic foods their body reacts to this and you may see that your furry pal may get skin rashes and blisters. This food allergy may cause skin patches, irritation, and many other health issues too. It is suggested to keep away these allergic foods from your dog.

5. Contact dermatitis:

Whenever we walk on the grass or go through patches of weeds sometimes we see some red skin itchiness, right? Yes, it is because of contact dermatitis. Likewise, the same thing happens with your dog. When they roll in the dirt, play on the grass or the patchy weeds they get infected.

This infection and its reddish spot can appear in any place on your dog’s body. If your dog’s tail gets this kind of infection then you may see your dog licking its tail.

6. Fleas:

One of the most common problems for your dog starts licking its tail and butt is fleas on the body. Fleas are small parasites that reside on the skin of your dog. It is barely visible with naked eyes. Although you can see them if you carefully notice your dog’s skin.

By fleas-poo it is easy to locate them. Fleas left their waste on your dog’s body. This waste is brown. So if you notice fleas on your dog’s body then you should consult with your veterinarian first.

However, there are many lotions and spray available on the market that can kill fleas but it is suggested to consult a veterinarian as early as possible.

7. Arthritis:

Yes, Arthritis or maybe bone weakness can be the reason behind your dog’s tail and butt licking habit. This particular problem you will notice in old dogs. Over time when your dog becomes old, it starts developing arthritis problems. You might not be able to diagnose this problem. Out of the arthritis pain sometime your dog may start licking its butt. In this case, you must consult with your doctor to treat the arthritis pain.

8. Muscle cramps:

When our furry pals play around it may get hurt themselves. Most of the time you will notice that dogs try to put pressure on their back legs. Sometimes they hurt their back legs while playing on hard surfaces and eventually they start growling and licking the base of the tails and butt area.

9. Internal Parasites, or Worms:

This is possibly the most common problem that makes your dog lick the base of its tail. It happens when your dog turns old or maybe it is very young. During this time dogs do not have a strong immune system, as a result, worms or parasites can build them up inside the dog and make your dog uneasy.

If it happens with your dog you might notice that your dog licks under the base of its tail. Most of the time a worm called tapeworm is the cause of a lot of health-related issues to your dog.

To get rid of this problem you should consult with your veterinarian. According to his suggestion, you can give your dog deworming pills. Or you can ask your dog’s veterinarian to do the deworming process.

Read Also: Heartworm Disease in Dogs in the US

10. Hormonal Imbalances:

Yes, you read it right! Like human bodies dogs also have several hormones that work for their skin, coating, and fur! If your dog has hormonal disbalances you might see your dog licking the base of its tail. Hormonal imbalances happen when your pal gets affected by other diseases or when its immunity goes down.

Sometimes it happens due to irregular appetite as well. If your dog has hormonal disbalances then you can understand by its skin. The skin and fur become less shiny and pale when your dogs’ hormones do not work appropriately.

11. Due to cut:

When your dog has some cut pain around the base of its tail, your dog starts licking its base to massage the area. Even they put saliva on the particular area to get rid of the itchiness. This is also a natural way to keep themselves clean.

12. Anxiety Disorder:

Not only do we humans have anxiety disorders! Our furry pal also goes through these problems. Whenever we leave our pals at home all alone for a long time they get bored after a certain period. Even, they sometimes start licking the base of their tales without any reason. You might see out of fear also your dog licking and biting the base of its tail.

13. Grooming behavior:

When you see your dog is licking the base of the tail without showing any appropriate symptoms it means your dog may have some grooming issues. To put it in simple words, your dog may have long fur and it’s not clean even. To clean its fur your dog may sometimes lick on its own.

How to Stop Your Dog from Licking the Base of Tail and Butt?

To answer this question we have talked to the veterinarian and got some ideas to keep the dog away from licking its butt and tail.

• You have to notice the behavior of your dog first, check whether your dog is licking its tails and butt out for any reason or not. If you do not find any irregular symptoms, then probably it means your furry pal is licking its tail and butt because of a lack of grooming sense. If you train your dog about manners then it might be possible to keep your dog away from this behavior.
• If your dog has an infection on the base of the tail or has any kind of wound then it’s important to take care of that. Put antibacterial lotion and ointment on that area to avoid itchiness.
• Many veterinarians say, out of nothing your dog starts licking its tails out of boredom. Try to make your dog spontaneous. So, it will avoid tail and licking behavior.
• The easiest way to stop the base licking of the tail of your dog is to take it to the veterinarian first. They will diagnose your dog then they will suggest you to ‘what to do or what not to do.

What Should You Do if Your Dog Keeps Licking Base of Tail?

It’s a worrying thing to worry about when your dog continuously licks the base of its tail or some other areas of its body. Especially when you take your dog with you hiking or even for walking. However, you can stop this weird behavior of your dog by taking some precautions. All you need to keep an eagle eye on your dog’s hygiene and behavior, we have found some essential ways that you can adapt to keep away from tail licking habits.

• Take care of the grooming part of your dog. If it grows long fur then make sure clean and comb it regularly. We often do not comb and trim dogs’ hair. As a result, it grows unnaturally in sensitive areas.
  This caused a lot of issues like giving shelter to parasites, rashes itchiness, skin patches, and many other health-related issues. So take care of the grooming part of our furry pal very carefully.
• Give a bath to your dog daily. It is suggested to clean your dog with antibacterial shampoo. In hot summer your dog may feel itchiness, so to avoid this you must bathe your dog daily.
  Even in the rainy season also there is a huge change of bacterial infections on the skin of your pooch. So giving a bath with antibacterial shampoos is very important to avoid weird tail licking behavior.
• Keep an extra eye on taking care of your dog’s diet. If your dog has some food allergy then it is suggested to consult the veterinarian first then according to his guidelines you must put foods on your dog’s plate.
  Checking the allergy profile of your dog is an important thing that you should not avoid. We often ignore this thing. But, there is a study saying most dog owners do not care for their dog’s food. You should not do this and be very careful.
• If your dog gets bored by sitting all alone then make sure to find some time to play with it. We often leave our pals all along at home while we go office. But it is important to spend quality time with your dog.
  Interactions and traveling with your buddy will make your dog happy and agile and will keep it away from inappropriate behaviors like licking the butt and tail. So by the next time you see your dos is barking at nothing or licking its tail try to take it out with you for an instant walk.
• If you feel like there’s no sign of skin irritation or even any other symptoms but your pet’s poo is not in the right color then it might be the cause of worry. It might happen due to a worm or parasite named tapeworm.
  This tapeworm sometimes makes your dog irritated and out of stomach irritation also your dog starts licking its tail. So, it is suggested to visit the veterinarian as soon as possible.

There is a process name deworming in which your veterinarian will deworm the inner bacteria and parasites of your dog.

Conclusion:

Dog licking the base of its tail is normal behavior of your dog but, sometimes it becomes a matter of worry. So if you see your dog is doing anything wrong or abnormal then it does this behavior continuously.

We have already discussed with you the probable factors and causes of the tail and butt licking behavior of your dog. If the above-mentioned tips don’t work then one should go to the veterinarian as soon as possible. We often leave this issue behind but this is an important thing to look after. Take your pal to the veterinarian and get your dog’s check-up done.

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FAQ: Dog Keeps Licking Base of His Tail