dragging ass

[jmg]

my female has recently been dragging her butt on the ground and seems to be doing this more and more. i am somewhat worried because my first inclination is "worms". does anyone have input on this. i have my dogs hearguard but since the hurricane i missed giving it to them the last 2 months.

[Marinepits]

Sounds more like she may be trying to express her anal glands. Have you noticed a really foul odor coming from that area? (More so than usual, lol) If she can't express them herself, you may have to help her or bring her to the vet to have the glands expressed.

Since you missed the heartguard for two months, get your dogs tested for heartworm first before continuing the pills (from my vet).

[Luigi]

Yup, could be anal glands. If you can firm up your dogs stools, that may help. You can express them yourself if you're sure that's the problem, but I prefer letting the vet do it. Also, if they are impacted, your dog will sometimes need an antibiotic, which the vet can offer.

Any fishy odor? (yuck, I know) . . .

[suki]

yup, I'm tinking too, the sacs or worms, ....

[ZenTrainer]

Scooting is a sign of anal glands needing to be expressed. Probably the scooting did just that so that by the time you get to the vet they will be empty.
Adding fiber to your dogs diet should fix that. Pumpkin or Fiber One or switching to the dog food Wellness.
Heartworms are in the heart and then the bloodstream, they don't make dogs scoot.
You are ok if you missed two months of Heartguard.
And odd thing about Heartguard.
They tested the lowest dose that would last for 2 months and then prescribed it for every month.
Of course they didn't give out this info willingly, only when forced to by the Freedom of Information Act!

[suki]

There are several types of worms, besides heart:
round, hook, whip, and tape, to name a few. Tape worms can actually be seen, resembling white rice, crawling on or around a dog's rear end, yes, causing it to "scoot".

[ZenTrainer]

Yes, there are lots of kinds of worms. Heartworm medication treats all but tape worms which are caused by eating a flea.
*Usually* scooting is a sign of anal glands needing to be expressed. Many vets here have posters of just this. Tell a vet that your dog is scooting and they will check the anal glands.
I would not even think of worms being the problem, which is not to say it isn't, just wouldn't be my first thought.
Another good reason to scoop poop every day. Makes a nice health check.

[suki]

If, in fact, worms are the culprit, a specific diagnosis of worm types is necessary, because different worms respond to different medications. I was taught to never combine worm medications. (JMO). And if your dog is on heartworm preventative medication, PLEASE, consult your vet, PRIOR to any further treatment or medications.
Either way, sacs or worms, I wish you luck.
how's your furkid doin, btw????

[suki]

on the subject of heartworm, this, from the Globe:



WASHINGTON After a Food and Drug Administration reviewer alerted managers to a surge in safety problems with a veterinary drug, supervisors transferred her from the case and the agency began secretly to investigate her.

The reviewer, Victoria Hampshire, was the agency contact for people reporting side-effects after dogs received ProHeart 6, a treatment sold by Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of Wyeth, to prevent heartworm disease. Soon after receiving an injection, almost 5,500 dogs suffered serious side-effects and more than 600 dogs died.

Wyeth told the agency it had concerns about Hampshire's objectivity, citing an apparent conflict of interest because of her participation in an online pharmacy that sold competing heartworm drugs.

According to Senator Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa, whose office released documents related to its investigation of ProHeart 6, the case reflects how, a year after the agency faced embarrassing testimony that it placed Merck's interests ahead of those of consumers who were taking the painkiller Vioxx, the agency remains "too cozy" with the industry it regulates.

Hampshire is the latest in a trio of agency whistle-blowers whose cases reflect agency ties to drug companies that Grassley called troubling. They include Dr. David Graham, who voiced concerns about the heart risks from Vioxx, and Andrew Mosholder, who raised issues about the safety of antidepressants used by children.

The documents provided by Grassley, chairman of the Senate finance panel, include Wyeth's confidential PowerPoint presentation to the drug agency and a letter describing the field representative's allegations.

The agency's investigation exonerated Hampshire, and ProHeart 6 was removed from the market.

Grassley has requested more documents from Wyeth, which could form the backbone of a congressional hearing that mirrors one Grassley held last fall, after Vioxx was pulled from the market.

Hampshire, a longtime government scientist who came to the drug agency in 2001 from the National Institutes of Health, said in an interview that the experience shook her trust in the agency.

"I certainly felt that I was expendable," said Hampshire, a senior regulatory reviewer.

"Given my track record in government, I would have liked for them to have come to me and ask me if the allegations were truthful and what records could I produce to vouch for that fact," she said. "I don't understand why it was necessary to secretly investigate me and reassign me without a good reason, because it really created fear and paranoia."


A spokeswoman for the drug regulatory agency, Susan Bro, said, "The FDA acted properly with respect to this matter." A Wyeth spokesman defended the company's response, saying it acted "responsibly and appropriately."

When the agency approved ProHeart 6 in June 2001, veterinarians switched dogs from heartworm pills to an injection that promised six months of protection. Troublesome signs quickly emerged, with a huge allergic reaction suffered by dogs added to the drug's label.

By 2004, ProHeart 6 had $35.2 million in annual sales and more side effects - liver problems, autoimmune disease, severe seizures and deaths - that Hampshire brought to her supervisor's attention.

Three of Joanne Plummer's dogs were treated with ProHeart 6. A Gordon setter named April and a mixed terrier named Cougie suffered kidney failure and were put down within a week of each other. The third dog, a Jack Russell terrier mix named Angel, survived but went bald.

Dog owners' complaints helped persuade the agency to ask Fort Dodge to recall the drug on Sept. 4, 2004. On Nov. 19, Wyeth presented its case against Hampshire to the agency. Between then and a Jan. 31, 2005, public hearing about the drug, Hampshire was transferred.

"I was given no substantive explanation," she said. "I was simply told that Wyeth had pulled some plugs. I understand from the person who reassigned me that consumers were one of the things that Wyeth worried about; that I had too much contact with consumers and I should be less visible."

She learned of the drug agency's investigation later.

The agency looked into a Web site for veterinary drugs that Hampshire joined as a prescribing partner. Prescriptions from the site yielded $196 in income over four years, she said. Hampshire said she reported the income to the agency, in addition to her moonlighting at the local animal clinic and consulting for the Humane Society.

Doug Petkus, a Wyeth spokesman, said the field representative who derided Hampshire was not speaking on behalf of the company, nor did Wyeth request Hampshire's transfer.

"We made the FDA aware of her affiliation, which we thought really amounted to a potential conflict of interest," Petkus said. "All we asked is that the agency review the information we provided them."