In My Garden 2024

WendyBartter said:

That paints the most indelicate picture I have imagined so far this season!!!  Please don't send photographs

I just had a pretty rubbish day and what better way to cheer myself up is to sit out with my foxes. Lots of noise from over the park so it seemed daddy was on his own...he done the toilet on my newly cut grass, then this....

Excuse my offal  commentary it wasn't intended but I had to share  

I'm glad the fox could cheer you up - I'm used to cats and dogs doing that (usually on the carpet!) but I can honestly say that's the first time I've seen a fox do it

Sadly I have just been told it isn't that funny after all. It's trying to clear block glands

Falling down the Google wormhole I have just read more than I ever wanted to know about foxes and their glands but it was suggested that the bum-shuffling as seen in your video would be a way of scenting, so perhaps he is just marking his territory 

I didn't even Google it , was another birder that basically gave me the most severe outcome possible...so much for cheering myself up. Foxy seemed fine, he looked fine he ate fine and he done the toilet

If you want to fall into the wormhole too take a look at - https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/questions/answer/why-are-foxes-so-smelly-part-2 

At the very least it might cheer you up to see more foxes (which are NOT defecating in your garden )

Linda257 said:

I didn't even Google it , was another birder that basically gave me the most severe outcome possible...so much for cheering myself up. Foxy seemed fine, he looked fine he ate fine and he done the toilet

It could be an anal gland problem, which is very common in dogs, male and female, likewise the dragging of the backside across the grass (trying to be polite at breakfast time), who also used  the same glands for territory marking. However, dog diets are more man-manipulated along with being very domesticised. This seems to be becoming more and more apparent in urban foxes due to the availability of human discarded processed foods.

They will continue to eat normally, though I've not seen or heard of any that stop eating as a result. The treatment for dogs is a painful squeeze of the glands to release the blockage, by a veterinary surgeon.

One of our visiting dog foxes does the same, it was whilst talking to someone a while back that I learned they too can have anal gland problems.

I was gonna remove the vid but I think it's educational for idiots like me that doesn't have pets so never seen nor heard of this

With dogs it's called scooting. 'Scooting indicates that something is irritating, itchy or painful such as worms, anal gland problems, itchy skin or something stuck around the bottom'