# Do you wipe your dog's ass? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223 "2006-07-19T19:43:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/1 "2006-07-19T19:43:07Z")
On another forum, we were discussing dog care, and someone commented matter-of-factly that they regularly wiped their dog’s ass every time they came in from “doing their business.” When I expressed my surprise, another poster said they did the same. This is the first I have heard of such a practice. So I just thought I’d take a little poll: Do you wipe your dog’s ass when letting them inside? ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/2 "2006-07-19T19:48:09Z")
The dogs that we have at this time keep their hineys nice and clean without any assistance. We once had a Pekingese who needed help, though. The little rascal didn’t seem to mind hosting a convention of “Klingons,” and if we hadn’t done some ass-wiping, eventually there would have been more dingleberries than dog. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/3 "2006-07-19T19:48:55Z")
Um, that’s a big **no** here. When it was such a mess that it needed attention, having the dog sit in the lake, or getting out the hose were our choices. But generally, years would go by without needing to resort to either option. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/4 "2006-07-19T19:53:42Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > The dogs that we have at this time keep their hineys nice and clean without any assistance. But do you let them lick your face? ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/5 "2006-07-19T19:53:51Z")
Ew ew ew I am so glad I keep a cat instead. Total gross out. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/6 "2006-07-19T19:55:41Z")
When I first got my puppy, I did. She was chock-full of worms and had been exposed to Parvo. Worried that she might give something to my other dogs, I took her out to the front yard to defecate, and yes, I wiped her backside afterward. I didn’t know if there might be Parvo bacteria on there, or microscopic worm eggs on the outside of her anus which might get on the carpet and ingested by the other dogs. (I used a dampened rag with a bit of mild soap to clean her.) ---
**Author:** ![Waldo\_Jeffers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Waldo\_Jeffers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waldo_Jeffers)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/7 "2006-07-19T19:59:09Z")
I don’t wipe my dog’s ass. But, one of my best friends wipes her cat’s ass, and when I took care of him for a few months I did the same. He just wasn’t as good as other cats or dogs at keeping things clean down there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/8 "2006-07-19T19:59:31Z")
Our oldest cat has a totally non-fnctioning tail. Sometimes stuff gets caught in there, so we clean her with disposable wipes, and keep her fur trimmed as short as possible. It’s not the rectum that needs I, I have to point out, but the fur in that general area. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/9 "2006-07-19T20:00:12Z")
It’d probably be easier than teaching them to scootch their ass across the carpet. However, the question just gives me encouragement to stay pet free for a wee bit longer. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/10 "2006-07-19T20:12:41Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Ew ew ew I am so glad I keep a cat instead. Total gross out. And I am doubly glad I own a turtle and a lizard. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/11 "2006-07-19T20:16:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “It’s not the rectum that needs I,…” Ummm… _King Lear? Hamlet?_ ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/12 "2006-07-19T21:03:12Z")
I don’t know why the one person did it, but the other had shorthaired dogs - weirmaraners (sp?), and said their concern was not shit stains, but that the dogs not deposit e. coli throughout the house via what they wonderfully described as “brown eyed kisses.” I admit utter ignorance on whether e. coli lives in dogs’ guts, whether they deposit it via the simple act of sitting, whether wiping takes care of it, etc. I do recall a recent GQ thread discussing why animals don’t need to wipe… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/13 "2006-07-19T22:28:55Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > It’d probably be easier than teaching them to scootch their ass across the carpet. My dog doesn’t need any instruction at all about scootching his ass on the carpet – which is why, when his ass needs to be wiped, I wipe it. That only happens infrequently, though. ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/14 "2006-07-20T01:05:55Z")
I have on occassion, bu not my preference. When one of the dogs gets bad diarrhea, it requires some assistance (I have shelties–they have a lot of hair back there). Besides, whenever they get diarrhea that bad, I’ve usually cleaned up so much of the stuff that I’m pretty desensitized to it. The dogs have gotten me over any squeemishness. I’ve cleaned up their poop on days they’ve had explosive diarrhea, collected poop samples for the vet, mopped up dog vomit, picked boogers of the ends of their noses, and put my hands in their blood when they’ve had cuts. You probably don’t want to know what I’ve had to do for my horse. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/15 "2006-07-20T07:10:08Z")
Our golden goes nice and hard, no wiping there. Our 12 year old border collie/cocker mix, on the other hand, sometimes dribbles. We either wipe directly or on the carpet. He now knows to stop for a check after coming in. As for the grossness - I’ve had two kids, so this is nothing compared to that. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/16 "2006-07-20T09:32:46Z")
When my dog was younger, he loved to eat strings - especially out of sweatshirt hoods and the waistband of sweatpants. Periodically, he could’t poop the whole string out and I had to pull the remainder out of his butt. Ick. But it’s better than him scooting his doggy heinie across my oriental carpets trying to get it out. I try to keep all my stringed clothes out of his reach now. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/17 "2006-07-20T11:38:40Z")
I’ve never done it, but I know people who do. They also put clothes on their dogs and get their doggy beds monogrammed. And brush their teeth. I dunno…it just seems overly humanizing to me. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/18 "2006-07-20T12:13:33Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I’ve never done it, but I know people who do. They also put clothes on their dogs and get their doggy beds monogrammed. And brush their teeth. > > I dunno…it just seems overly humanizing to me. Brushing their teeth is a necessity, especially if the dog eats soft food. Nothing weird about that, it’s standard doggy hygiene. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/19 "2006-07-20T12:55:32Z")
> [@Surly Chick](#): > > Brushing their teeth is a necessity, especially if the dog eats soft food. Nothing weird about that, it’s standard doggy hygiene. I’ve never done it, but then I swear by dry food. Period. Partly because the canned stuff IS so hard on their teeth. If they ever needed a brushing, the vet took care of it. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/20 "2006-07-20T13:04:14Z")
I have, under unusual circumstances, but as a general rule, no. The present dog gets occasional diarrhea, and will need cleaning before I let her in the house. My old one had cancer and lost the ability to stand with her back legs, so sometimes she sat in her doo. ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223.md?page=2)