Owning a long haired dog is a pleasure – there’s the softness of their fur as you hug them, the beauty as they runs with the wind blowing through his coat, and the compliments from passers by as you go walking together.

There is one part of living with a long haired dog that is less than pleasant, and that is “poopy butt”. This occurs when your dog’s poop gets caught in their hair and doesn’t fall to the ground properly when they poop. The result is that you have a daily clean up job that you’d definitely rather do without.

How can you manage poopy butt?

1.Keep the hair around his bottom trimmed short

The most important part of preventing poop sticking to your dog’s hair is to keep the hair around his bottom trimmed short. Poop is much less likely to get caught in short hair. You can use hair cutting scissors to do this; alternatively invest in a pair of clippers to cut away the long hair.

It may take your dog a little while to get used to the sound and feel of the clippers. Take your time, use lots of rewards and make it a positive experience (for both you and your dog.

Treat yourself to a glass of wine after. The operative word being AFTER. (Trimming and drinking don’t mix)

You’ll need to clip his hair on a regular basis, so make sure he’s not stressed by the experience.

2. Make sure his poops are firm

You can also take steps to make sure his poops are firm. Soft feces are much more likely to get caught up in the hair around his bottom.

If his feces are a bit loose, add some fiber to his diet and that may help firm them up. Alternatively, feed him a highly digestible, low residue diet, and that usually results in smaller, firmer poops. Food with a high meat content is ideal. A raw food diet will definitely help with this and you can get better raw dog food that from We Feed Raw.

3. Worming medication

Make sure you keep up to date with his worming medication, as intestinal worms can also contribute to soft feces.

4. Have products on stand by!

Have products on stand by just in case. Keep a pre-moistened wipes for dogs handy, and your clean up job is much easier. These pads will remove any discoloration on your dog’s hair, while its all natural herbal extracts and colloidal silver help prevent the growth of bacteria on his coat. For the best results, rub the pad well into his fur, both with and against his hair.

Life is busy, and there isn’t always the time to bathe your dog to clean up a poopy butt so definitely keep a bottle of dry shampoo for dogs in your arsenal of pet products. This all natural waterless shampoo cleans without water, and will remove poop that is stuck to your dog’s coat.

You already spend a lot of time grooming your long haired dog to prevent knots and tangles and keep his coat looking good. It doesn’t take much longer to trim the hair around his bottom, and then you won’t have to deal with any more poopy butt.

Also, besides a poopy butt, you might find this article helpful to see how Just brushing your dog’s coat can help alleviate itchy skin.