# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/21 "2006-07-20T13:30:06Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > 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. My dogs have a toothbrush toy. It looks like a series of rubber gears, held together on both ends by a rubber knob. I put a speck of chicken-flavored canine toothpaste (which you can get at any pet store) between each gear and then give it to the dogs to gnaw. All three of them have beautiful white teeth. ---
**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, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/22 "2006-07-20T13:33:22Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > My dogs have a toothbrush toy. Do you remember where you got it? Sounds like a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/23 "2006-07-20T14:00:28Z")
Maybe I just have a strange one, but my dog just loves cleaning his own ass. He has no shame. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/24 "2006-07-20T14:18:56Z")
> [@Surly Chick](#): > > Do you remember where you got it? Sounds like a great idea. [This](http://www.hartz.com/Our%20Products/Browse.asp) is the toy. I usually refuse to buy Hartz products, but this one was an exception. I found mine at a grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/25 "2006-07-20T14:21:23Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > [This](http://www.hartz.com/Our%20Products/Browse.asp) is the toy. I usually refuse to buy Hartz products, but this one was an exception. I found mine at a grocery store. Aw, dammit! It’s not showing up. It’s called “VMX PetVantage™ Oral Hygiene™ K-9 Cleaner™ Dog Toy” I copied the image location: [http://www.hartz.com/Our%20Products/Products200/3270099402.jpg](http://www.hartz.com/Our%20Products/Products200/3270099402.jpg) Let’s see if that works. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/26 "2006-07-20T14:45:23Z")
No, and it hasn’t ever occured to me to do so. My dog has [this](http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9434&rel=1) dental toy. That, along with bones and dry are keeping teeth clean so far. ---
**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, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/27 "2006-07-20T14:49:22Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > Aw, dammit! It’s not showing up. It’s called “VMX PetVantage™ Oral Hygiene™ K-9 Cleaner™ Dog Toy” I copied the image location: [http://www.hartz.com/Our%20Products/Products200/3270099402.jpg](http://www.hartz.com/Our%20Products/Products200/3270099402.jpg) > > Let’s see if that works. Cool, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/28 "2006-07-20T15:13:47Z")
I don’t _routinely_ wipe the cat’s butt, but I have done it if needed. He seems to have a somewhat fickle digestive system, causing bouts of messy poo. This really doesn’t happen very often, but you know, it’s one of those things that stands out when it does. Mr. Del and I, however, have a disagreement about how to handle this. I will wipe. If the messy poo incident happens on Mr. Del’s watch, he refuses to wipe the cat and will instead fill the bathtub and bathe the cat. I think that’s silly, it’s a lot more work to deal with a wet cat (although I should add that the cat is pretty good about baths, he doesn’t fight it) than to just wipe him with a tissue. Mr. Del is taking the “in for a penny, in for a pound” approach and figures that if he has to do something as unpleasant as dealing with a cat’s butt up close and personal, he wants it to involve soap and water. We also brush the cat’s teeth. The vet suggested it, but added it was mostly for our benefit – the cat had icky tooth breath all the time. Dry v. soft food didn’t help the issue. We’ve had a big improvement in the cat breath department after we started brushing. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/29 "2006-07-20T16:18:00Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > 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. They are called “Dirty Dogs,” the dogs not the owners. > [@](#): > > 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? My little Shih Tzu ‘comes clean’ most of the time. If there is just one dingleberry or discolorization my wife insists on giving her bottom a bath. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/30 "2006-07-20T22:46:44Z")
> [@MaddyStrut](#): > > You probably don’t want to know what I’ve had to do for my horse. Is that why you spent that year in college? ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/31 "2006-07-20T23:07:53Z")
> [@Surly Chick](#): > > 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. This can be really dangerous. If the string is long, a fair amount could still be up in his intestine, and pulling it out can cause major damage. It sounds like you knew how long the string was, but still, I’d be very careful. As for the OP, absolutely not, except on very rare occasions where there is some…intestinal distress. ---
**Author:** ![shopperoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@shopperoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shopperoo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/32 "2012-04-20T19:12:21Z")
I thought I would choke when my husband suggested I do this for my toy poodle. But after hearing several anal (no pun intended) ppl do do it for thier beloved pets and if it keeps her from obsessively licking back there it certainly would be worth a try. Because that licking drives me banana’s !!! ---
**Author:** ![shopperoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@shopperoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shopperoo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/33 "2012-04-20T19:20:57Z")
Any ideas on how not to freak her out? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/34 "2012-04-20T19:24:36Z")
No. Aside from diarrhoea, it would never occur to me to do so. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/35 "2012-04-20T19:25:38Z")
Zombie dogs seldom need to be wiped. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/36 "2012-04-20T19:26:23Z")
My mom wipes her pug’s “bungalow” as she likes to call it. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/37 "2012-04-20T19:28:48Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Ew ew ew I am so glad I keep a cat instead. Total gross out. Yes. When I saw the title I thought “And THAT’S why I’m a cat person.” Over time I keep learning that dogs are disgusting in ways I never imagined. I’m not going to someday find out that it’s common for dog owners lick their pets balls for them, am I? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/38 "2012-04-20T19:30:53Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > Yes. When I saw the title I thought “And THAT’S why I’m a cat person.” > > Over time I keep learning that dogs are disgusting in ways I never imagined. I’m not going to someday find out that it’s common for dog owners lick their pets balls for them, am I? Lick them? No… but perhaps implant fake ones, and fondle them, yes. Please don’t ask for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/39 "2012-04-20T19:36:43Z")
The day I have to do this is the day I get rid of my dogs. They’re nice and all, but not worth that kind of effort. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223/40 "2012-04-20T19:49:50Z")
This thread title makes me wish we had [this smiley](http://www.giraffeboards.com/images/smilies/stonk.001.gif). Because that’s the face I made when I read it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wipe-your-dogs-ass/365223.md?page=3)