Constipated pup

Canned pumpkin helps for both Diarrhea and Constipation. Just a little dolup (tablespoon or teaspoon depending on size of the dog) will be fine. Fiber helps move things along!
If she's "scooting" her butt on the carpet/grass it could be her anal glands need emptying. What breed is she again?
 
 

Back in the 70s I got a pup that seemed constipated.  I called the UCD vet hospital and whoever I talked to told me to give her 1 or 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil in about 1/2 cup milk.  Worked like a charm.

Thanks.  I knew there had to be something for home use. 
 
The kids overdramatize everything in this house.  Then I stopped by the vet on the way back to work and asked what they could tell me about the situation, and basically they said it could be anal glands and she could need surgery.  What kind of clinic suggests surgery before even examing the dog, plus this was a receptionist who told the kids this.
 
Sophia is a 5 month Daschund/Schnauzer mix.  I put both dogs description in my signature line

Just curious, what kind of food are you feeding? 

I knew this was coming, and its a hot topic, but both dogs are getting Puppy Chow right now.  Please forgive me for it, but every dog I have ever had contact with has had some sort of Purina mix and have lived full healthy lives.  I know theres better out there, but theres worse.  We had a brand from our local farm store that the dogs wouldnt eat until they really were starving, stopped that one quick. 

Not to seem even more blonde than I am, how do you know if a dog is constipated? I am sitting here trying to figure it out. Do they strain a lot? Do they just not go, do they look miserable?

Julie

We think she was.  She had a clump (its always around dinner time Im responding to this subject, sorry) stuck to her, but my daughter noticed she was whining and trying to wipe, when daughters whole drama got started. 

Oh, no, I wasn't asking for any other reason other than I was curious if it was Evo.  Willow had a really, really hard time going when we tried that.

You can tell if they are, they don't go for awhile, try to go but nothing happens, cry when they try to go, it was a huge problem for Willow.
 
Edited to add--Sometimes they (the dog) can be just really dramatic when something is stuck to there butt.  I know my husbands last dog would come in screaming and wiping all over the carpet if anything was stuck.  The first time she did it I thought something had happened to her outside. 

Thanks for not judging Willowchow.  I knew the question was going to get asked sooner or later and I know Pup Chow is not the greatest and is not preffered around the forum, I winced when the question was asked.

Im pretty sure it was also the dog overdramatizing.  She got one bath from the daughter today, but I think its going to take another, this is the pup that sleeps on my wifes head at night

assuming it turns out not the anal glands simply needing to be expressed (or possibly surgery) I offer the following-
my last dog would get constipated every time she got freaked by a long storm and pumpkin etc didn't work. The vet had me give her about 1 cap full (the kind that comes on top of Nyquill, etc I think it is called a medicine dose cup)of fiber powder. She said to use Metmucil or the generic version, but to make sure it was the plain, unflavored kind. We were suppossed to mix it with 2 cups warm water and rice and make a soupy mess of this mixture (it looked really grosse). Toss in a bit of chow or chicken, etc to tempt them to eat it up if needed. My dog slurped it right up - I think she learned it worked. By the next day things were moving along, so to speak. Caution - it made for some slimy runny stools next day. We learned when she had to go to get her outside FAST.
Symptoms were: Occ a small hard piece would come out. She used to get a firm gut, try to go a lot with no sucess, wimpered when trying to go, scoot on the floor/grass etc. We were told if it went on past 48 hours to bring her straight in because dogs could get really ill from not going. She did get impacted once - gladly paid the vet to manually remove the poo - nasty job if you ask me.

Momtomany, not a *blond* question at all!  If I'm remembering right, the dog would really strain and accomplish nothing.  She was pushing so hard her little hind legs (she was a cockapoo/terrier X) would come up off the ground, so we knew something wasn't quite right.

It could be anal sacs, but chances are good that they only need to be expressed, not a surgical procedure.  

All is better now for sure.  I gave her a good bath last night and she went successfully today.  Im sure it was just "junk on her trunk" that she didnt like.   Thanks for all the tips though.

Canned pumpkin works great for when one of mine are constipated. Also, a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil added to their diet also helps.