[dendad]

One of my Chihuahuas has developed some sort of anxiety or nervousness every morning at the same time. It lasts for about an hour or so. She eats breakfast at 5:00 a.m. and the attacks start at about 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. There no consoling her. She shakes and can’t seem to get comfortable. She walks around and around acting like something is scaring her.

She eats Freshpet Vital, chicken recipe for breakfast and again for dinner. She doesn’t have this problem in the evening, so I’m thinking it’s not the Freshpet. The Freshpet ingredients are Chicken, Chicken Liver, Chicken Broth, Peas, Carrots, Eggs, Brown Rice, Rice Bran, Carrageenan, Natural Flavors, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil, Inulin, Celery Powder, Salt, Spinach.

The only other thing she eats is a half chew of Glandex for her anal glands. It’s ingredients are pumpkin seed powder, granulated pumpkin seed, apple pectin cellulose powder, Quercetin Dihydrate, L. acidophilus, D-Alpha Tocopherol, Bromelain, Ascorbic Acid, canola oil, desiccated pork liver powder, flaxseed oil, glycerin, potato starch, rice bran, sorbic acid, sucrose, sunflower lecithin and water. I give this to her and her sister (another Chihuahua) with their breakfast. The other Chihuahua has no anxiety issues at all.

I have given her a Hemp calming treat, but it doesn’t help.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Patricia A]

Maybe a vet visit to make sure there is she doesn’t have an abscessed anal gland. .Very painful for her. . The change in diet might have led to constipation and she was unable to express her anal glands with bowel movements. Hence the impaction of glands.
Here’s a site which explains better then me. Hope it helps.
https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/anal-sac-disease-dogs

[Patricia A]

I looked at the Glandex reviews. I always start with the negative ones. So some dogs had adverse reactions to the supplement. But doesn’t hurt to try.
I find there is sometimes no rhyme or reason to why some of my dogs over the years had the scooting and others never had to have the expression of the glands.
Had a Doxie when kids were little and probably not on the best diet with all the table scraps and not knowing back then about kibble quality etc. But he never had soft stool, or anal problems. Lived a long life of over 17 for our Pookie. Had Chloe our first Chihuahua and even though stool was never loose, had the scooting and always needed expression.
My mom came to live with us and hence we also have added to our already two Chihuahuas’. I know my mom was giving her table scraps and even found her dog bowl filled with Pepperidge Farm gold fish due to start of dementia.
So now living with us, she has lost a few needed pounds and on and loose stool has totally stopped with diet I give our other two. So living with my mom she was getting too much fat in diet which also causes my two to have Diarrhea.
I feed a combination of freeze dried in Primal and Stella Chewy’s. Their treat is one Bixbi Rawbble nugget. They get a little Stella Chewy’s Raw coated chicken kibble to stretch the freeze dried since now it’s getting expensive with having three.
I always go by the DFA reviews and only get the 5* proteins because I believe less fat.
Treats are high fiber raw baby carrots and string beans being canned low salt or raw.
I went REALLY, REALLY, REALLY slow when introducing these different brands and proteins. This way I can tell which doesn’t agree and also it takes a few days for digestion to get used to. Maybe stick switch SLOWLY with a few Stella’s kibble. See how she does. Then if want and all good add a little freeze dried in one brand and protein. Stella’s also comes with the freeze dried in the kibble.
Hope this helps her but sometimes it isn’t even the diet .

[dendad]

We have two Chihuahuas. One of them is constantly having to have her anal glands expressed. We feed them Freshpet Chicken in the evening and Freshpet Beef and bison in the morning. They also get a pumpkin supplement in the morning. I’m thinking the beef and bison food might be the cause. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

[JENN L]

I have found that anything fishy seems to cause my border collie to have issues with his anal glands. . .fish chews, fish oil . .. I fed him Farmina for quite a while and then switched to Orijen Regional Red. I found his stinky issue to improve on Orijen :). Then I bought another bag of Farmina and he’s back at it. My question is: what is really causing the issue, though? Both foods contain fish, in fact, it looks like the Orijen has more (oil plus fish and fish meal vs Farmina Boar with just fish oil). Could it be something else? What should I be watching for with his foods?

[Amanda V]

Hi,

We have a 55 pound mixed breed pup who’s 2 years old. He has a very sensitive stomach and so far the only food he’s done well on is just food for dogs turkey and whole wheat pasta. We have been cooking fresh food for him for over a year but we travel a lot with him which makes it hard. We want to try a dry food but don’t know where to start. Before the fresh food we tried Purina, hills, blue Buffalo, etc. he was even on the vet’s chicken prescription food. Does anyone have any suggestions for dogs with similar stomachs? We are open to regular dry or dehydrated raw. With precious dry food he always had bathroom issues as well as would throw up fairly frequently, have itchy paws and need his anal glands expressed often. The fresh food fixed everything but the itchy paws and anal glands. Thanks in advance!

[sienna11711]

Hi all, any bit of advice or insight?

9 year old spayed female boxer, 56 pounds, eating 3 cups of Victor Professional Formula daily.

For the last 9 months we have been dealing with:

Behavior-wise
-restless
-sleeps a lot less during the day, wakes up earlier to eat
-clingy, doesn’t stop following me
-frantic and fearful when outside
-extreme reactivity to dogs that gets WORSE with more food (I know this sounds crazy)
-flinches when being pet
-will nip at strangers who get too close to her body (not always, still likes people a lot and always wants to say hi)
-will nip if you try to pick her up or move her
-doesn’t play or cuddle
-pees a lot on walks

Digestion/health-wise
-ravenous, always looking for food
-eats other dog’s poop on walks
-previously regurgitated kibble everyday, hours later
-previously struggled with chronic UTIs (low immunity)
-frantic in the AM about eating
-drinks excessively after checking empty food bowl
-shedding excessively
-anal glands leaking and peeing herself while she sleeps
-fat such as fish oil makes her nauseous / may vomit
-cannot digest real food period (ie. rice and boiled chicken, cooked veggies, cooked ground turkey, or raw meat)
-with the above food her stool is orange and slimy
-stool has changed over time since adoption at age 7 from pooping way too much but now it is normal, firm, brown

Labwork
-consistently low T4 despite using levothyroxine, took her off in Jan 2020
-T4 goes up into normal range when she is on anxiety medicine
-extremely high/out of range TLI
-high cPL
-has, at times, had very high PSL randomly
-no diabetes, no cushings, NOTHING glaring us in the face

-We have tried every digestive supplement you can think of and many different foods including grain free, with grains, dehydrated cooked, dehydrated raw, actual raw, and actual cooked
-We have worked with an animal behaviorist who does not think this is purely behavioral
-She lost 8 pounds eating up to 2 pounds of raw a day
-She is much less reactive on cooked food and raw, but will rapidly lose weight and be even hungrier
-We have also tried Hills Science Diet wet food for IBD, orange slimy stool
-She can only really “digest” kibble

Chronic low grade pancreatitis was brought up to me on another forum but her stool is totally normal, so not too sure.
I do think that whatever “this” is affects her thyroid function but the thyroid itself is not the root cause- vet agrees
I just recently began putting enzymes in her food and incubating 20 min with warm water– will see if any improvement

[Rachelle B]

My pup Walden just turned 4 recently. For the majority of the first two years of his life, he was on a Nutro chicken food, then a Blue Buffalo duck food. Then he started having issues with acid reflux, throwing up bile almost every single day. The vet recommended Hills I/D, I switched to that, and for almost two years Walden’s issues we’re almost non-existent (bile thrown up once a week at max). Back in November, he had what I believe I’ve researched and understood as an HGE. He suddenly had started to not be able to control his pooping, and was vomiting and pooping everywhere constantly. The vet found inflammation in his intestines in the x-rays and put him on Fortiflora and Metronidazole for I believe 10 days. I’d never had him on the Metronidazole, so I started the Fortiflora and was trying to start the Metro a couple days later over the weekend so I would be home and could see how he reacted to it. Well the next day the presence of blood appeared in the vomit and poop and he was very weak, so I rushed him to the vet immediately and they gave him a shot of penicillin and fluids I believe. He immediately started getting better and I finished up the antibiotics and Fortiflora.

After finally somewhat getting over the fear it was going to happen again, this February I started trying to transition him to a Hill’s Science Diet with chicken and after just a couple days of transitioning, I came home after Walden had been acting normal for days and he’d pooped all over the house again, this time however the blood was immediately there. I knew it had to be the same issue (even though the vet never found out the original issue) so I rushed him back there. They, like me, assumed it was the same issue (although they said the food change triggered it which I say is BS because that didn’t explain November), so rather than hundreds of dollars in the same tests as last time that showed nothing, gave him the same treatment, along with a diet of purely chicken and rice until his poop started firming up. I noticed after a few days his poop was still extremely runny, so instead of waiting, I started moving him back to his normal food. Poops started getting a ton better after less than a day off the rice.

Once he recovered from that, in March I went into overdrive. I’ve got to figure out what’s wrong with my sweet boy. He’d been regurgitating his food every so often and just plain throwing it up a few other times, but otherwise seemed okay. I brought him into my vet (Thursday) before things got to the emergency point this time. I’d done my research beforehand and I was down to a few ideas, with IBD, a food allergy, or an ulcer being the top ideas. The vet agreed and figured the way he’d been acting, especially with his increased issues of throwing up bile (he couldn’t go more than 5 hours without food), that it seemed like an ulcer. She prescribed Sulcralfate and Prilosec, along with weekly vitamin B12 shots for 6 weeks then we could re-evaluate if those should continue or not. Walden got worse quicker than he got better within that next week. To a point that he wasn’t keeping his food down at all and throwing up way too much. I went to my vet clinic Saturday, my normal vet not being there. They said his anal glands looked infected but otherwise he looked fine. I asked if there was anything I could do to help. She suggested the I/D low fat and told me to “go ahead and just put him straight on it, it’s the same thing just lower fat”. Okay I’m no vet but I’m not an idiot, my dog is already extremely sick, I’m not adding an immediate transition to a completely different food (which by the way, did have completely different ingredients) that I don’t even think is going to work. Well they did nothing that day so I figured I’d keep him on his meds and pray he got better. Sunday rolled around and he was looking worse. He didn’t want to jump around like normal, refused to eat, was constantly throwing up, and I couldn’t stand it. I took him to the emergency vet and they did some blood tests and everything looked fairly normal, so I had the choice to have him stay overnight and see a specialist and get an ultrasound in the morning (almost $2k), or they could give him a shot of anti nausea medicine to get him through the night for me to get him into my normal vet the next day. I had already spent $1,500 since November at this point and my savings was almost gone, so I had to go with just the anti-nausea shot. After he had that, he did much better throughout the night, and acted fairly normal the next day. He slowly started to get back to normal but just couldn’t last very long without eating still (feeding routine was 8am, 1pm, 6pm, 11pm).

When he’s gotten the blood tests at the emergency vet, they had noticed some levels that pointed towards the possibility of Addison’s Disease. This in my mind would be awful, but also I knew it was manageable in most dogs and it would finally explain all his problems, especially after he’d acted so much peppier with a shot of cortisone the day before his test. Well, one expensive test later with my vet and unfortunately it came back negative.

My vet then referred me to a digestive specialist because that was really next steps, we’d exhausted a lot of things. The specialist was wonderful, but the options were a vitamin blood test and ultrasound, which was going to be almost $1k. At this point I’d spent my entire savings. And trust me, I’d go into debt if I knew I’d be finding a the answer, but I was so scared another test would go by and still nothing, with what I knew would have to be an endoscopy next, that there’s no way I could afford. The specialist was great and completely understood, and said really the top 2 things she thought it could be (which I agree still to this day) were a food allergy or IBD. We decided to treat it like a food allergy and she gave me Hills Z/D.

Well, great news, I started transitioning Walden to Z/D over the course of 2 weeks (after the HGE incident I wasn’t taking any chances of switching him over too quickly). He started acting better as soon as he started getting that Z/D in his food (even though it was still mixed with his old). I then started checking out the ingredients more in I/D and I presumed that the #1 ingredient of rice and the main protein of chicken were what was the issue more than likely, because I just had a feeling he was very allergic to rice and I’ve always thought he has a slight sensitivity to chicken. A couple days ago he was fully transitioned to Z/D and ever since then he’s been acting much better. No more getting sick throughout the nights, he’s able to lay on his back and not choke on acid reflux coming up, and not to mention he WANTS to eat his food for the first time in at least 2.5 years.

The only problem now is, I started noticing yesterday morning that his poop had a darkish mucus in it. I was worried it may be blood but chaulked it up to my overreacting. Well his second poop that day definitely had a presence of some sort of red mucus in it that looked like blood. It wasn’t much, normal pet parents probably wouldn’t of seen it, but I inspect Walden’s poops very carefully because of his past issues (I’m sure my neighbors are disgusted watching me carefully dig through 2-3 times a day). When I moved it around though, it definitely had more of just a mucus look than redness, just like a normal stomach irritation. He had only a little bit in his last night poop, but the same thing again in his morning poop today.

I plan on talking to my vet again tomorrow about next steps, but I wanted some advice as well. Could this be his anal glands still being infected and causing small bits of blood (and I mean they’re very small, almost unoticeable… And his poops aren’t overly soft to where I would think this was another HGE yet)? Or could this be just because of the transition to his new food and it will more than likely go away? He’s acting completely normal and eating/drinking great or I’d be rushing him off to the emergency vet obviously (I even called them yesterday and they agreed to just keep an eye out for any worsening symptoms for now).

[Birdie30]

Octopus B –
You mentioned that your dog already gets chicken necks? If you happen to only give her one, can you increase that to 2 (given that she’s over 35lbs)? Or one every day?

I ask because I always found that anal gland issues involve the dog not being able to express them naturally because the stool is usually too soft. My dog had to get her glands expressed once a month, and if I’d know to give her foods that would produce firmer stools, I wouldn’t have wasted so much money getting them expressed at the vet’s!

Since I’ve switched my dog over to raw this past year, her poop is way firmer, and I know this is gonna sound so gross, but I can actually SEE the gland fluid dripping as she goes…not always, but occasionally. It’s a few drops, and then her actual poop. Also, no more butt scoots as well.

You can try other foods first or try what your vet recommended, but really, I think it’s a matter of firming up the stool so that the glands express naturally. Pumpkin, owelo carrots, and raw meaty bones help firm up poop.

And lastly, giving the chicken necks works as a natural toothbrush for dogs – if you give necks often, you may not need to give her the CET treats, which have ingredients that look a little ugh, IMO.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by Birdie30.

[Therese M]

My rescue dog had that issue when I first got her. Per a friend of mine who works at a vet office, I took chicken out of her diet. Apples and pumpkin have helped. Be careful on the pumpkin. Too much pumpkin can be constipating but couple tablespoons every other day is good. I now give her ProPlan High Protein Dry Dog Food, Sport Performance 30/20 Salmon & Rice Formula. It has been a while since I have had the anal leakage or had to have her glands expressed and her poop is better formed.

[anonymous]

It may not be all about the diet

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners/digestive-disorders-of-dogs/disorders-of-the-rectum-and-anus-in-dogs

Your veterinarian can often squeeze out impacted anal sacs by hand. If the material in the sacs is too hard or dry, the veterinarian may inject a softening agent into the sac. If infection is present, antibiotics might be prescribed. Your veterinarian might recommend applying hot compresses if an abscess (infection) is present. Supplemental fiber may be recommended to increase fecal bulk, which facilitates anal sac compression and emptying. If treatment is ineffective, the condition keeps coming back, or a tumor is present, the anal sac can be surgically removed. A common complication from this surgery is fecal incontinence.

Anal sacs may become clogged (impacted), infected, abscessed, or cancerous. There are several common causes of clogged anal sacs, including failure of the sacs to be squeezed out during defecation, poor muscle tone in obese dogs, and excessive secretion of the gland. When the clogged gland contents are not periodically squeezed out, this can make the glands susceptible to bacterial overgrowth, infection, and inflammation.

[anonymous]

“Most dogs never have problems with their anal glands, but some unlucky dogs have to have their anal glands emptied several times a year. In these cases, your veterinarian may recommend removing your dog’s anal glands. This is a simple procedure that will prevent future problems with these glands”.

https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/anal-sac-disease-dogs

f your dog repeatedly has impactions, you vet may suggest adding more fiber to his diet. This increases the size of his poop, which puts more pressure on the sacs to empty naturally.
If your dog doesn’t have a problem, there is no need for you to empty his sacs.
Left untreated, the impaction will turn into an infection. Look for yellow or bloody pus oozing from his sacs. This painful condition can cause your dog to act fearful or angry. Your vet will wash out the sacs and give your dog antibiotics.

An untreated infection will develop into an abscess (a swollen, tender mass of puss) and could break open. Your vet will open and drain the abscess and usually prescribe antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. Daily warm compresses can help, too.
If your dog keeps having problems, your vet may want to remove his anal sacs with surgery. It’s a simple procedure, but can result in complications like fecal incontinence (when his poop leaks uncontrollably).
Prevention
Put your dog on a healthy diet and make sure he gets plenty of exercise. Small, obese dogs are at the highest risk of anal sac disease. Also, if you dog has problems with his anal sacs, have your vet check them at every checkup.

[Sarah Y]

I have a beagle that I rescued a year ago. He was in really poor shape and since being with us his coat and body look great. He is soft and shiny :-). However, we are having problems with his anal glands being full. He does not scoot, but he has leaked and even when having him checked by the vet, they always say his glands are full, especially on the left side. (I mention that because the last two times they tell me, “his glands are full on the left and not the right”)

It seemed his poops have been formed, but not solid. I assume this is why he doesn’t express his glands well?

We talked to the vet about trying a higher fiber diet and if that doesn’t work, trying limited ingredient diets. He has been on the original wellness core since being with us. I tried switching him a couple of weeks ago to the Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Healthy weight food and we are having the same issues. In fact, perhaps not quite as formed as he was on the CORE. We gradually changed him over to NV over a week and he’s been on the full NV diet for about 8 days now.

We also tried him on Glandex the fiber supplement for about 4 months and there really wasn’t any change. We are sort of wondering if it’s ingredient related.

I’m thinking maybe trying another high fiber, different protein diet to see if that helps and I wondered if there were some suggestions. I will admit, I’m afraid of TOTW, Earthborn, and some of the other foods on the DCM food list. NV is on the list, but I didn’t realize it until I bought it. I know nothing is proven, but Acana, TOTW, Earthborn are pretty high on that list too. I wouldn’t mind trying another wellness food since it’s not on the list if one is recommended for anal gland problems.

Any suggestions for another protein that may work for anal gland problems that’s higher in fiber? Or should we go straight to limited ingredients?

Thanks in advance!

Edited to add: it seems Wellness Core Lamb and Wellness Core Wild Game (6% fiber), Wellness core ocean (7% fiber). Are any of these better for digestion? for anal glands?

• This topic was modified 6 years ago by Sarah Y. Reason: added wellness core foods
• This topic was modified 6 years ago by Sarah Y.

[Patricia A]

Alice. I use kibble as a base also and top it with Stella’s freeze dried or Primal. I have Chihuahuas and they never had hard poops using these freeze dried brands. Maybe you can try these for your Poms and see if these agree with them . However, it seems there is a plus to harder stools as article below:

Clean anal sacs – Diets that have natural sources of bone make the poops firmer which requires your pet to strain a bit harder to defecate. This is normal and even beneficial, as the harder stools help the dog express its anal glands, keeping it clean and reducing the likelihood of infection. If you notice your pet straining for too long, or they appear constipated, you may have to rethink the ratios of your raw ingredients. Furchild takes out all the guesswork because we have done the necessary research and all of our Meals for Dogs and Cats have been formulated by raw pet food experts.
Less Gas

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.

[Sue H]

Do speak with your vet about the breathing and other side effects. My Crystal was able to decrease the dose to 1/2 tablet (60 to 30 mg, and continued to do well walking.

The scooting may be related to full anal glands, so ask your vet about this, too.

Hope this helps and your dog will feel better!

[D]

To me, it sounds like the raw food diet was a total disaster for your dogs and I don’t blame you for not wanting to going back. However, my results have been the complete opposite. Anal glands did not need to be expressed, no more need for allergy medication for the itching and no more topical sprays for his hot spots after transitioning to raw food.

Some breeds may have a better time handling the diet than others.

Anyway, I think we can both agree we won’t be changing either of our minds. Our journey’s just happened to take us on a different path.

[anonymous]

Yeah, tried all that.

The only thing that helped was having the anal glands expressed at least once a week by a vet tech.
You can ask your vet to have the vet tech show you how to do it yourself.

My dog with environmental allergies had anal gland issues, once she started treatment for atopic dermatitis by a veterinary dermatologist all anal gland issues went away.

She does well on a variety of foods. The dog food did not appear to have anything to do with it.

PS: GSDs have specific anal gland problems related to the breed.

[anonymous]

What does the vet that examined her recommend? That’s where I would start.

From a previous post, per the search engine, “anal glands”

https://www.vetsecure.com/veterinarymedicalclinic.com/articles/136 (excerpts below out of context)
Oops! It appears that the link doesn’t work anymore.
Well you get the idea, I hope.
Overview:
Anal sacs are the reservoirs for the secretions of anal glands which are located on either side of a dog’s anus, at approximately four and eight o’clock. These sacs contain liquid secretions from the anal gland, which, in healthy animals, are normally pale yellow-brown to grayish in color. The contents are usually emptied during normal bowel movements, or when a dog is nervous or scared. In most animals, these sacs empty easily. However, some dogs, especially small breed dogs, are not able to empty the sacs properly and become susceptible to anal sac disease.
Transmission or Cause:
The cause of anal sac disease is unknown. Smaller dog breeds, such as Chihuahuas and poodles, are most often affected. Excessive anal gland production, soft feces or diarrhea, poor muscle tone, and obesity also contribute to higher risk of developing anal sac disease. Anal sac abscess tends to occur after an impacted anal gland has become so severely swollen and infected that the anal sac forms an abscess and ruptures.
Prevention:
Expression of the anal sacs every few weeks or months often will help prevent anal gland fluid from accumulating and becoming thickened again. High fiber diets have been shown to help prevent anal sac disease in at-risk dogs, especially those that are obese.

[Therese M]

I adopted a mixed breed puppy about a year ago. She is a mix of German Shorthaired Pointer, Chocolate Lab and I think maybe Pit. Ever since we have had her, we have had issues with her glands. She does not really scoot. But she will be lying down and all of a sudden it squirts out on its own and stinks. I have been adding canned pumpkin, apple and canned green beans to her food. She is on ProPlan Puppy Shredded Chicken. Any suggestions. I have seen suggestions to get her on a probiotic supplement or even add bananas, pears and olive oil to her diet. Then I have seen posts about changing her dog food to something that is not chicken. Lots of information out there. Any suggestions?

[joanne l]

Here is another article to read: Should anal glands be expressed manually?
Dog lovers are often misinformed because they are told they should get their dog’s anal glands emptied. Some veterinarians and groomers believe that expressing them will prevent them from filling up, which is not correct. In reality, the more frequently they are squeezed, the less toned they are. It almost seems that the canine glands get ‘lazy’ by having them squeezed too often.
Ideally, you should let your dog’s anal glands do their job and allow them to empty naturally. Most dogs’ anal glands tend to be semi-full when examined, but that is not a reason to have them expressed.
That is from this website: https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/11014181-holistic-approach-to-anal-gland-problems-in-dogs

There are different opinions on everything, I guess do what works.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by joanne l.

[anonymous]

From a previous post of mine per:
Excerpts (out of context) from article below: https://www.vetsecure.com/veterinarymedicalclinic.com/articles/136
Overview:
“Anal sacs are the reservoirs for the secretions of anal glands which are located on either side of a dog’s anus, at approximately four and eight o’clock. These sacs contain liquid secretions from the anal gland, which, in healthy animals, are normally pale yellow-brown to grayish in color. The contents are usually emptied during normal bowel movements, or when a dog is nervous or scared. In most animals, these sacs empty easily. However, some dogs, especially small breed dogs, are not able to empty the sacs properly and become susceptible to anal sac disease”.
Transmission or Cause:
“The cause of anal sac disease is unknown. Smaller dog breeds, such as Chihuahuas and poodles, are most often affected. Excessive anal gland production, soft feces or diarrhea, poor muscle tone, and obesity also contribute to higher risk of developing anal sac disease. Anal sac abscess tends to occur after an impacted anal gland has become so severely swollen and infected that the anal sac forms an abscess and ruptures”.
Prevention:
“Expression of the anal sacs every few weeks or months often will help prevent anal gland fluid from accumulating and becoming thickened again. High fiber diets have been shown to help prevent anal sac disease in at-risk dogs, especially those that are obese”.

[joanne l]

I did and my vet said to me abut my dog, “give him food that will frim his stools and they will express naturally” So I would appreciate if you don’t quote me like that. And it is true that if they are expressed unnaturally too often will weaken their anal glands. You can read about it your self.

[anonymous]

“Well anyway, getting them expressed will fix it but the down side of that is it will come back and you will need to do it often, which is not good for the dog. It will weaken his anal glands”

INCORRECT.
Please discuss your dog’s condition with a veterinarian that has examined him.

[joanne l]

Hi I am sorry to hear about your dog I have a GSD too. He has anal gland issues as well. My vet did not know what was causes it. He said “could be diet or just a condition” Well anyway, getting them expressed will fix it but the down side of that is it will come back and you will need to do it often, which is not good for the dog. It will weaken his anal glands. Anyway he was eating pro plan so I switched to Holistic Select and he seems better. Still he will lick at his bum but not often like on Pro plan. So the next step is to change the protein in his diet. I know it is not the grains that is causing it for my dog, it may be the protein. So I would try the hypoallergenic dog food and see what happens. Or try to find a LID of another brand. Best of Luck.

[Jo R]

No laughter here. Put my dog with constant digestive issues on Purina Pro Plan sensitive stomach salmon and rice and in less than a month, problems gone. One issue was leaking anal glands while asleep. I had tried adding fiber but just got larger, softer poops. Now with no added fiber, anal glands expressing normally, firm, small once a day poop and no gas. The transition needs to be slow as grain free vs grain inclusive changes the gut flora. The most important point is until the grain free / heart problem correlation is discovered and rectified, I can feel safe with my food choice.
What I don’t understand about people that shout that Purina and other grain inclusive foods are bad because they have so called “fillers” is why they think field peas and other mass farmed legumes are so great. They are also sprayed with the same chemicals, are gmo and are stored in the same type of silos. Also agree, Taurinedcm.org is a great source of information.

[Sabrina H]

His stool is fine on the foods I can find that have 5-6% fiber. It’s kept anal gland issues away for a few years now. Including large breed food would give us more options.

Vet opinions vary. One vet insisted he come in every 2 weeks for the rest of his life to have his glands expressed even though higher fiber in his food fixed the problem. Other vets in the same office acknowledged that higher fiber fixed the problem and didn’t think he should come in unless he’s scooting, chewing, or smells fishy. The vets in the area we live in now think anything that’s not Science Diet or Royal Canin is horrible and toxic, so their solution to just about everything is to put the pet on Science Diet. They don’t even like to discuss options that don’t involve Science Diet.

[Christie B]

I’m pretty good with making sure that my dogs see the vet annually for general checks and to make sure their up to date with necessary vaccinations. I was due to go back towards the end of 2018, but it completely slipped my mind.

My 9.5 year old American Bulldog mix has 1 front bowed leg. He’s always had it and he walks and runs fine (he looks gimpy when walking, but it’s how he’s always been and it causes no discomfort). He’s also had issues with food and the environment around him, although we’ve never been able to pinpoint his exact sensitivities. I’m sure you can go back and see my many posts and responses related to his “excessive drooling” and allergies posts.

So I noticed the other day when he was laying on his side (with the bowed leg up) that there appeared to be a large lump behind the leg. I never noticed it or just attributed it to the structure of his frame with the odd leg. So I went back to some old pictures I had, and I didn’t see the lump.

Concerned, I contacted the vet’s office on Saturday to make an appointment to look at the leg, as well as have his annual exam. The receptionist asked what doctor I deal with there. I told her the name of the practice’s owner (Dr. B), who also was the one who I discussed his allergies with (which was something I wanted to ask him about while I was there since the drooling episodes persist at irregular intervals). The earliest appointment was Monday 5:30. I rushed out of work that afternoon, let my dogs out, put the one in the car (I left the other home alone for like the 2nd time ever in the 4 years that I’ve had her)

When I arrived at the vet, I could see other dogs in the lobby. My big guy is loud and disruptive when he sees other dogs that he wants to meet. So I called and told them I was outside to call me when the room was ready. Nearly 30 minutes pass (we walked laps around the building) before we’re ushered into the hottest room ever. The vet tech asks me why we’re here. I explain about the lump and that I want to have his annual exam, etc.

So then we wait even longer and my poor dog, recognizing where he is is now panting and barking and crying. So the door opens and this women walks in. Never met her before, but she certainly wasn’t the vet I booked the appointment with. One of her arms wasn’t through the armhole of her cardigan and instead stuck out of the bottom. So something was up with her. She introduced herself, asked what I was here for.

Now, I understand my dog can be intimidating at first glance. He’s 119 pounds and has a giant pit head. But I never interacted with a vet who wouldn’t approach my dog. Even after telling her he’s 1000% friendly (and mind you I was holding him next to me), she made sure to keep the metal exam table between her and us.

So a vet tech comes in to ‘hold the dog’. The doctor looks at the lump and tells me, without touching it, that it’s a lipoma. I say “are you sure”, then she hesitantly approaches and feels the lump for about 10 seconds and says yes. Then says it’s obviously hampering his movements. I tell her he’s always had the bowed leg and cued up a video on my phone from him running, jumping and playing with my other dog the day before. So she then says it’s not hampering him, but it should be removed. And unfortunately it’s so big that they probably shouldn’t do the surgery and should have a specialist come in to do it. Then she did said that he’s young enough to warrant doing it (like I was automatically going to say no because of the expense). I she knew me like the other vet did, then she would know the well being of my dog is my priority. I ask her to get me an estimate.

I then ask if we can do a needle aspiration to make sure it’s not cancer. Why would I put my dog through a surgery, only to find out it may be cancerous and then make him go through treatments? If it’s cancer, he might still have to have surgery, but maybe they could try other methods to shrink it or kill it first. She says we can “for peace of mind”. And then tells me 30 seconds later that needle aspirations on lumps are highly inaccurate. The sample they take might not have cancer, but it can still be there.

Peace of mind, indeed.

Then she tries to dissuade me from the procedure by saying it will be expensive (but specialized surgery isn’t?)

I tell her to go ahead and do it.

While they try to formulate the price, she sells me on their “wellness package” which includes standard blood labs, urine and stool labs and heartworm test. Other than her 10 seconds spent feeling the lump and listening to his heart with a stethoscope, she didn’t touch my dog. The vet tech felt my dog’s body for lumps. Found a hard one in his chest. Doctor edges closes and feels for 1 second…”not concerned”. I tell them he has a lot of little lumps on his belly along with a bunch of skin tags of various size and color. She wasn’t interested in seeing them.

I’ve had wellness exams every year. The vet normally checks my dog’s ears, mouth, teeth, runs his hands over the dog to looks for lumps or abnormalities, checks over his legs and makes sure his joints are ok, listens to his heart, listen to his lungs/respiration, asks me what he eats, asks about his energy level, talks about any sort of supplements he takes, sometimes takes his temperature and checks the anal glands.

But this lady had her tech do the most cursory exam feeling for lumps on his back and sides and that’s it.

So she leaves the room to get started with prepping for the needle aspiration. Time passes (so much time) and she pops her head in and says that Dr. B (the practice owner) has to be the one who does it because she just had shoulder surgery (thanks for finally telling me) and unfortunately he still has two other patients to see, so can I come back another time? I turn around and tell her that I work every day and I switched my schedule around to be there that day and not for nothing but my appointment was supposed to be with Dr. B in the first place. So she says that she hopes that I wasn’t disappointed in having her treat my dog (I should have said something, but I didn’t). But I made the point that had I had Dr. B like originally scheduled, I wouldn’t have had to wait for him to finish with other people in order to do this test because he would have done the exam and the test and finish with me before seeing anyone else.

I wound up waiting. My poor dog, already traumatized by the blood test puncture was panting and crying and barking. At first, I kept shushing him. But then I just let him bark it out, because maybe they’d be so sick of hearing him that they’d hurry up. Dr. B finally came in, did the needle aspiration and left. In and out in less than 5 minutes.

I had hoped that he was going to come in alone so I could give him a tell him how disappointed I was with the exam and the doctor. But she had come in with him and with the vet techs in the room holding the dog down, I didn’t want to speak in front of them.

It’s been 3 days and I’m still annoyed. I didn’t get to discuss the drooling episodes (she was not interested at all in discussing it since it happens so randomly and the Benedryl and Pepcid help manage it). Who knows if the other lumps are lipomas or something else? I wanted to discuss senior nutrition (but not with her at this point).

I didn’t want to say anything until all the lab tests were in. Everything was good (Cholesterol and Total Protein levels a bit high, but she wasn’t concerned) and the biopsy came back likely to be fatty deposit lipoma.

Anyone else have inadequate vet exams?

And yes, I could have made a separate appointment to do the wellness exam and focus this one on the lump. But my vet knows these visits aren’t cheap and always makes a point of asking if there’s anything else I want to address while I’m there so I don’t have to pay for another visit. This new vet couldn’t be bothered…how do you expect to go to work to thoroughly examine a pet when you only have the use of 1 arm?

[anonymous]

Quote “Is there any harm in feeding a 40 lb dog large breed food?”

I’m not sure. You could end up with loose stools when you increase the amount of fiber. What does the vet recommend?

From a previous post of mine per:
Excerpts (out of context) from article below: https://www.vetsecure.com/veterinarymedicalclinic.com/articles/136
Overview:
“Anal sacs are the reservoirs for the secretions of anal glands which are located on either side of a dog’s anus, at approximately four and eight o’clock. These sacs contain liquid secretions from the anal gland, which, in healthy animals, are normally pale yellow-brown to grayish in color. The contents are usually emptied during normal bowel movements, or when a dog is nervous or scared. In most animals, these sacs empty easily. However, some dogs, especially small breed dogs, are not able to empty the sacs properly and become susceptible to anal sac disease”.
Transmission or Cause:
“The cause of anal sac disease is unknown. Smaller dog breeds, such as Chihuahuas and poodles, are most often affected. Excessive anal gland production, soft feces or diarrhea, poor muscle tone, and obesity also contribute to higher risk of developing anal sac disease. Anal sac abscess tends to occur after an impacted anal gland has become so severely swollen and infected that the anal sac forms an abscess and ruptures”.
Prevention:
“Expression of the anal sacs every few weeks or months often will help prevent anal gland fluid from accumulating and becoming thickened again. High fiber diets have been shown to help prevent anal sac disease in at-risk dogs, especially those that are obese”.

[George D]

I have been feeding my two working cocker spaniel for the last 7 years on a UK brand of Holistic muesli style dog food which you add hot water. It was recommended by a Crufts best in beard winner and could not ignore. My female cocker was only 3 years old at the time and suffered from bad breath and painful anal glands problems. Within days of changing to the recommended dog food, the bad breath disappeared and she has never suffered from anal glands issue she is now 10 years old. My other male cocker has the shiniest coat and pure white teeth beside being 12 years old now some people pass him off as a puppy LOL but its true.
Just a few months back the small dog food manufacturer was placed on the market for sale and could not resist making an inquiry which lead to my purchasing the business just a few weeks back.
I am now looking to grow the business and establish worldwide distributors in Europe, America, and Canada we have distributors in place in Japan and Ireland. If you are interested please contact me or find more information online at https://landofholisticpets.co.uk/

• This topic was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by George D.
• This topic was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by George D.

[joanne l]

Susan I agree some batches can vary because of certain ingredients. From what I have seen over the years when this happens he will get diarrhea and when I get the right batch the diarrhea goes away. If his anal glands are impact it could be from a certain ingredient that is making this happen. He is 4 1/2 and I never seen this before. But I can tell you color change in kibble, for me, is bad news. That is from true experience no matter what the company says. Thanks to everyone for advice I really appreciate it. I have a vet that comes to my home and I will get him examined.
I did hear about firmer stools to empty glands so I made him some white rice, sweet potatoe and meat for dinner. Anon thanks for that info. He is a GSD and I never had this problem before that is the only reason I suspect the food. He had been on the food for about 3 months so I might also change the diet after talking to the vet. What confuses me is that sometimes they need more fiber and sometimes they need less. So I guess it is trial and error. How does anyone know really if they need more or less? Because sometimes fiber can provoke soft stools and sometimes it firms it up. The one time a year ago when he had loose stools the vet said give him pumpkin, so I did what a BIG mistake so then I did white rice and it fixed his problem.

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 7 years ago by joanne l.

[Susan]

Hi Joanne,
it’s probably his food the batches can varying, there might be more of a certain grain maybe more oats then the barley or more barley then oats & he does better when there’s more of the grain that agrees with him?? then sometimes there’s less of that grain & more of another grain??..
The same thing happened with Patch years ago, when he was eating “Earthborn Holistic” Ocean, when I bought the first small bag Ocean Fusion to try the kibbles were darker he did really well so I get another small bag with the same batch & use by dates he did well again, then I tried looking for the same batch nb & use by date in bigger bag cause Earthborn Holistic in small bags is expensive at $44 for 2kgs.
I couldn’t fined the same batch nb & use by date so I ended up buying the bigger size bag 12kg with a different batch nb & Use by date, the kibbles were lighter in colour I knew straight away he’ll have problems with this batch, within 2 days his poos were soft & sloppy then diarrhea by day 3-4,
I’d say there was more grounded barley, now I’ve discovered he cant eat barley..

Have you looked at the “Pure Being” sold in Adli’s America, the ingredients look pretty good in the Pure Being, there’s the grain formula’s or grain free formulas, we have just gotten the new Adli’s wet dry & treats called “Natural Elements” but we only have the Grainfree Salmon or Chicken formula’s & the fat is 18%, it’s too high for Patch, the US “Pure Being” has better ingredients & lower in fat, so I just bought Patch the Natural Elements Kangaroo treats they had good ingredients, I’m getting a few things together for Xmas he loves opening presents, ripping the paper apart & getting a squeaky toy….

Look at Batch nbs & use by dates when you get the darker kibbles that agree with him or try another brand see how he does, or look at the EarthBorn Holistic Ocean Fusion formula he might do good on this formula, it has no Oatmeal, no peas & has barley & Sweet potatoes, Rye Flour then Potatoes for the carbs.. these ingredients might firm up his poos more, you can try & see, firmer poos will empty anal glands better but I think he might be reacting to an ingredient Patch has to have kibbles rotated or sometimes he starts reacting after 3months.
My vet feeds Earthborn Holistic the grain free Coastal Catch formula for her sensitive girl.
https://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/dog-food-formulas/holistic/ocean-fusion

[anonymous]

I would rule out impacted anal glands first.

Excerpts (out of context) from article below: https://www.vetsecure.com/veterinarymedicalclinic.com/articles/136
Overview:
Anal sacs are the reservoirs for the secretions of anal glands which are located on either side of a dog’s anus, at approximately four and eight o’clock. These sacs contain liquid secretions from the anal gland, which, in healthy animals, are normally pale yellow-brown to grayish in color. The contents are usually emptied during normal bowel movements, or when a dog is nervous or scared. In most animals, these sacs empty easily. However, some dogs, especially small breed dogs, are not able to empty the sacs properly and become susceptible to anal sac disease.
Transmission or Cause:
The cause of anal sac disease is unknown. Smaller dog breeds, such as Chihuahuas and poodles, are most often affected. Excessive anal gland production, soft feces or diarrhea, poor muscle tone, and obesity also contribute to higher risk of developing anal sac disease. Anal sac abscess tends to occur after an impacted anal gland has become so severely swollen and infected that the anal sac forms an abscess and ruptures.
Prevention:
Expression of the anal sacs every few weeks or months often will help prevent anal gland fluid from accumulating and becoming thickened again. High fiber diets have been shown to help prevent anal sac disease in at-risk dogs, especially those that are obese.

[anonymous]

Quote: “I called my vet and over the phone he suspects a food allergy. He didn’t have any appointments today, but I will ask him to exam him. thank you”.
“Did anyone hear of a food allergy causing this”?

Good idea!
I would not apply anything to the area you could make the situation worse!
Food allergies tend to present as gastrointestinal distress, in example: diarrhea and vomiting.

Is there a vet tech at your clinic that could fit him in today? I would give them a call.
I am sure they could determine if his anal glands need expressing and it only takes a minute.
Plus it costs less for a 15 minute vet tech appointment.

Good luck!

[Susan]

Hi Joanne,

Patch was licking bum cause of food sensitivities & his poos weren’t firm enough to empty the anal gland naturally & he was rubbing bum on floor, grass, carpet, concrete, it was awful…

Are his poos firm?? Have you changed his diet recently or giving him new treats etc?
If his poos are firm it’s not anal glands they’d be emptying naturally themselves, also he’s a big dog, its normally the smaller dogs who end up with anal gland problems cause owners start emptying their anal glands themselves or when they go to the dog groomers they empty the small dogs anal glands, my vet said this isnt necessary to do on a healthy dog..
Patches 2nd vet was emptying Patches anal glands everytime we went for our monthly vets, then Patches 3rd good vet said NO, there’s no need to keep emptying his anal glands, he’ll empty his anal glands himself, then she took him off the grain vet diet & said look for a Fish or Lamb & Sweet Potato grain free kibble, a protein you know he does well on, she said stay away from chicken cause the Eukanuba Intestinal vet diet was Chicken & his skin was smelly of yeast, itchy & rubbing his bum all day, the Sudocrem did soothe it for him thats stopped the rubbing bum on ground a little but as soon as he started the TOTW Sierra Mountain Lamb formula he started to empty his own anal glands & now I can see after he does a poos sometimes a clear liquid is running down his black bum & I get a baby wipe & wipe his bum after a poo…

I’d buy a baby cream, I use either “Sudocrem” or look for “Bepanthen” soothing cream, this will stop the itch & any redness..
Look at diet change there’s some OK grain free dry foods, there’s probably an ingredient he may be sensitive too..
Also has he been wormed? maybe worm him aswell especially if you go on walks, he may have worms..
Then if after doing these things & he’s the same I’d see a good vet that gets to the bottom of the problem not just emptys his anal glands & sends you home you can do that yourself, I couldn’t do it to Patch, it smells awful when the anal glands do empty this is why I wipe Patches bum with a baby wipes after he does his poos..

[Susan]

Hi Joanne,

Patch was licking bum cause of food sensitivities & his poos weren’t firm enough to empty the anal gland naturally & he was rubbing bum on floor, grass, carpet, concrete, it was awful…

Are his poos firm?? Have you changed his diet recently or giving him new treats etc?
If his poos are firm it’s not anal glands they’d be emptying naturally themselves, also he’s a big dog, its normally the smaller dogs who end up with anal gland problems cause owners start emptying their anal glands themselves or when they go to the dog groomers they empty the small dogs anal glands, my vet said this isnt necessary to do on a healthy dog..
Patches 2nd vet was emptying Patches anal glands everytime we went for our monthly vets, then Patches 3rd good vet said NO, there’s no need to keep emptying his anal glands, he’ll empty his anal glands himself, then she took him off the grain vet diet & said look for a Fish or Lamb & Sweet Potato grain free kibble, a protein you know he does well on, she said stay away from chicken cause the Eukanuba Intestinal vet diet was Chicken & his skin was smelly of yeast, itchy & rubbing his bum all day, the Sudocrem did soothe it for him thats stopped the rubbing bum on ground a little but as soon as he started the TOTW Sierra Mountain Lamb formula he started to empty his own anal glands & now I can see after he does a poos sometimes a clear liquid is running down his black bum & I get a baby wipe & wipe his bum after a poo…

I’d buy a baby cream, I use either “Sudocrem” or look for “Bepanthen” soothing cream, this will stop the itch & any redness..
Look at diet change there’s probably an ingredient he may be sensitive too..
Also has he been wormed? maybe worm him aswell especially if you go on walks, he may have worms..
Then if after doing these things & he’s the same I’d see a good vet that gets to the bottom of the problem not just emptys his anal glands & sends you home you can do that yourself, I couldn’t do it to Patch, it smells awful when the anal glands do empty this is why I wipe Patches bum with a baby wipes after he does his poos..

[anonymous]

Anal gland issues? Take him to the vet. It will only get worse.

Example: /forums/search/anal+glands/

Pruritus in the anal area could be caused by any number of things, only a veterinarian that has examined the dog can diagnose and advise you accordingly. Obviously the condition is causing him discomfort.

[Atlas T]

Hi everyone,
The good news is that my dog finally found a dog food he can tolerate: Natural Balance LID (both fish & sweet potato and duck & potato, haven’t tried any others). He’s been on this for more than six months now and his poop is a great consistency. However, in an ideal world, I’d like to move him over to another food for two main reasons: 1. Price! (yes, it’s not the most expensive, but it is more than I want to spend) and 2. Rating (only 3 stars on dog food advisor).

Here’s the challenge: every time I transition him to a new food, his stool goes soft. I do it EXTREMELY slowly, and yet every time I hit about half a cup per day, I have to stop because of his stool. That all leads to another problem, which is that he starts obsessively licking his butt, which I think means that his anal glands aren’t being expressed with the soft stools. So then I go back to Natural Balance for a few weeks and starts again with a new food. I was hoping to have him be on either the Costco Natural Domain or there regular dog food, but no such luck. I’ve tried lots and lots of different brands with no luck. The only one he seemed to do somewhat alright on was the American Journey LID salmon and sweet potato.

I’m hoping someone here can help me with a strategy for how to find the right food. I’ve tried shopping by protein (since he seems to be fine with at least fish and duck, thought probably with most others as well), by grain free, by things without legumes. Maybe I need to focus on fiber content? Or fat content? Or something I’m not thinking of altogether?

I was also wondering if I should just buy some psyllium husks to add into his food to make his poop harder?

And while I have lots of respect for folks who feed raw, that’s not a path we’ll be pursuing, so please give me other suggestions. Thanks so much!

[Susan]

Hi,

“I am thinking of changing his food, but I don’t want to upset his stomach”,

his intestinal tract is already upset, if he was doing really well on this Purina Pro Plan Sensitive stomach formula, his poos would be nice & firm, he wouldn’t be drinking & drinking water & he wouldnt be licking his bum…

DRINKING heaps of water- if his poos are soft/sloppy & not firm then he might be dehydrated, something in this formula might be dehydrating him like too many soluble fibers…your dog mighten have problems digesting his foods, your dog might be OK & can digest foods, he might digest his food too quickly like Patch does, so he doesnt need these type of ingredients that are high in soluble fibers that digest in teh small bowel, this could be the reason for drinking excess water??

Licking bum area or rubbing bum on ground/grass could be food sensitivities, something in this Pro Plan formula he’s sensitive too….
or his anal glands are full & need emptying, his poos mighten be firm enough & his anal glands are not naturally emptying now, this happens with Patch when he eats a grain kibble that’s higher in soluble fibers, maize/corn gluten meal, barley, oats, rice, & his poos aren’t firm enough to empty his anal glands…

Have you seen the Purina Poo chart??
https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PPPVD-Fecal-Scoring-Chart-EN-FINAL.pdf

I really think alot of his Intestinal problems is to do with FIBER, Soluble fiber & Insoluble fiber & he cant handle too much soluble fiber ingredients as they digest too quickly in the small bowel & he might be like Patch & digests his food quickly anyway, so when they eat foods that are higher in soluble fibers this is when their poos are sloppy & are not firm.
He needs a dry food that has more insoluble fiber & less soluble fiber & alot of grain free formulas have more insoluble fiber ingredients & less soluble fiber ingredients..

Potatoes- Fiber from potatoes comes in both forms, soluble and insoluble, the “insoluble content is higher”. This is probably why dogs with IBS or IBD do really well when they eat a kibble that has potato in it…

He’d probably do better on a Large Breed grain free kibble that has potato?? or a grain kibble that has potato in it…

Make sure the next kibble you try has at least 2-3 meat protein meals as 1st & 2nd ingredients, so there’s less fiber in his diet & more meat but not too much meat 25%-34%, the Purina Pro plan Lamb & Oatmeal Sensitive Stomach doesnt have much meat protein in it, it has more plant proteins which = higher soluble fiber ingredients….

Have a look at Victor, a few people say their dogs are doing really well eating Victor dog food..
Look at the Victor Select formula’s, Victor uses the Montmorillonite clay.
Chicken Meal & Brown Rice with Lamb meal.
https://victorpetfood.com/products/chicken-meal-brown-rice-formula

or look at “Whole Earth Farms” Adult, it’s made by Purina if you like Purina but I really would look at a different brand for now.
https://www.feedgoodness.com/products/recipe?title=Adult-Recipe&id=6
or
“Whole Earth Farm” Grain Free Recipe with Pork, Beef & Lamb (Poultry-Free)
For All Breeds & Life Stages
https://www.feedgoodness.com/products/recipe?title=Whole-Earth-Farms-Grain-Free-Recipe-with-Pork%2C-Beef-&-Lamb-(Poultry-Free)&id=8

[Sabrina H]

There is no form of specialist at all anywhere near my area (we would have to travel well over 200 miles to get to one and my car might not make it), and having just spent a small fortune and most of my savings on my senior cat money is tight. Both pets needed to have issues at the same time apparently. I recently moved and I’m having a hard time finding a decent vet up here. Some think all food except Royal Canin and Science Diet are terrible, others don’t seem to care about the pet and only want the money, and a couple of them seem like they slept through vet school.

With Taste of the Wild, his skin was best on High Praire, his anal glands were in the best shape (until recently) on Southwest Canyon. Pine Forest caused him to be incredibly gassy and his feces were never well-formed. Pacific Stream really had no redeeming qualities.
He was eating Southwest Canyon but the last bag I bought was High Praire to see if getting rid of the boar would help any. It’s only been a couple weeks but it does seem like his neck is itching less, though he’s still itching the base of his tail.

I don’t remember quite all that I tried with 4Health. I know he started on the regular (not grain free) formula and I think I stuck mostly with the chicken option before switching to the salmon and potato in an effort to help his skin, then to the grain free ones. Grain-free does definitely help his condition.

Beneful, unsurprisingly, left him with the worst dandruff and his feces weren’t formed at all, ever. They were just…mush.

I give as few baths as possible. The frequency depends on whether or not he finds something stinky to roll in, like baby opossums passed out in the backyard or duck poop that the neighbor sprays over the fence. If he doesn’t find anything gross to roll in he gets a bath every 2 months with a moisturizing shampoo, usually with aloe/oatmeal in it. I’ve tried bathing less as well as bathing more and it doesn’t have much effect. A lack of baths for longer than 2 months does seem to make him itchier, probably because he’s dirty.

In terms of fish oil, I’ve tried a couple different kinds. One was wild Alaskan salmon oil and the other was just omega-3 and didn’t specify anything other than fish from Norway. He was on each one for a few months and neither did anything. I refuse to give up apparently so I have a third kind to try when I’m done with the omega-3, which is another brand of wild Alaskan salmon oil.

With the experience I’ve had with the vets here thus far, they’ll almost certainly tell me to put him on Science Diet to make all his problems disappear and leave it at that.

[pitlove]

Hi Sabrina-

Despite having normal hard stool, my bully mix will sometimes need to have his anal glands expressed. My boss/his vet explained to me that some dogs just do not have correct anatomy that allow them to express their anal glands on their own. You may simply need to learn how to do it at home, or bring him on occassion to the vet to have them do it. Sounds like you know what fiber % helps and what makes it worse, so find a food that has that fiber % and keep him on it.

Our dog also gets an annual ear infection in his left ear. We treat the symptoms and they go away. It happens at the start of summer time. I have ear meds on hand at all times.

As far as the dander goes, you didn’t mention how often you were bathing him and what you were bathing him with. Too frequent bathing can cause what you are seeing. Also how long did you use the fish oil supplements for and was the source of the fish wild caught? I did not notice a difference in my dog for a little over a month when I did fish oil supplements the first time. After about a month I started to see a difference.

Also it is ok to get a second opinion from another vet. I’ve done it even though I like the vet I see.

[Acroyali]

What formulas of 4-Health and TOTW is/was he on? Each company has several quality formulas and none of them are the same.
When a dog is going after “rears (anal glands) and ears”, it’s usually (not always) a food issue.
It’s silly IMO to assume owning a dog will set you back thousands of dollars. Vet care is expensive, but simply itchy ears/paws shouldn’t set an owner back thousands. It makes it impossible for the average Joe to own a pet.
Keep a log of what they eat (the company, brand, formula, and ingredients list) and what that food contains and how they react. Talk with your vet. If they blow you off, fire them and find another vet that will talk to you.

[Sabrina H]

My dog has a few issues the vet has been overwhelmingly unhelpful in resolving. I’m hoping a food change can resolve some of it. He’s had a constant issue with impacted anal glands, which is mostly solved by keeping him on food that’s 4.5-5% fiber. 5.5% and up is too high, making his feces completely unformed and his anal glad problem worse. 4% and below gives him solid formed feces, but they aren’t large enough to clear the glands. He also has a constant problem with one ear that bothers him intermittently, and there’s no apparent pattern to when or why it happens. The vet can’t see any signs of any kind of issue in the ear at all and no treatment has worked. Finally, he has constant dandruff and has recently acquired an itchy neck. Fish oil supplements don’t help.

Switching him off Beneful and on to 4Health helped his feces consistency a little, but the itchy skin and dandruff were horrid and the ear problems were still bad. Taste of the Wild greatly improved his skin over the last couple years, and certain formulas help keep the anal gland issues at bay. With his newly itchy neck, dandruff, and ear issues showing no improvement, it’s time to try another food. I’m only a very tight budget though with very little wiggle room and I can’t spend much over $2 per pound. $2.30 per pound is beyond pushing it, so I would not even go that high if possible. I’m having issues finding food that fits everything I need. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[hOtRuNNeR L]

Hi all……I found for my dog, Havanese, in order to manage or cure his anal gland issue, since he doesn’t scoot or hasn’t figured out how to do it like my Maltese Terrier did, and since the groomer will NOT express his anal gland every six weeks when groomed, I had no their option. His anal gland has burst on its own twice now. Two months ago our vet could not see him when it happened. So we went to another vet clinic to have it looked after. Total misinformation and hungry for $$$$. It’s as if they want you to have the issue and to keep in coming back to spend $$$. The vet put him on Laxaday, boom, what a mistake. Thank goodness I tried it once to see the effect. Poop explosion 💥. I am going from bad to worse. It didn’t make his stool firm, it did the opposite. I cleaned it up, the. I put a small amount of Polysporin on the exterior skin, burst anal gland, he didn’t lick and wasn’t in any pain like the first time. He was happy that I was getting to know how to self diagnose and treat the issue without running to the vet every time and stress him out. So that’s when I went to the internet for help. We increased his diet by 100% increase in daily finer intake of his dry kibble. Then we (use to use pumpkin purée 100%) but then somehow he threw up from digesting it. Then I went to the highest form of probiotic non fat yogurt @ 1 tbsp per day…. VOILA !!! Probioticnin fat yogurt along with grain free pumpkin Cookies during the day, along with higher fiber dry kibble, seems to keep his anal gland in check. He doesn’t lick 👅 anymore like he use to endlessly during no the day. He is calm, relaxed, stools are firm and their are no bulging anal glands like before. BTW, one vet wanted me to think about removing his AG… NO WAY. Another vet wanted me to express his AG daily myself…NO WAY…(should only be done by a vet or groomer?)

[anonymous]

Please go the the vet. No one here has examined your dog, but what you describe could be impacted anal glands (painful) among other things.

[Susan]

Hi Sarah,
sounds like your dog is in pain & needs a LTD food that has just 1 meat protein & 1 carb only,
sometimes pet food companies do a recall just to be on the safe side & there was nothing wrong with their food…it will normally say they did a “Voluntry recall” …Canidae was one of these companies did voluntary recall, cause their food was being packed at the same plant as another pet food that was havinga recall but there was nothing wrong with the Canidae food they did the recall just to be safe..
I wouldn’t be worrying about recalls, alot of these recalls were done years ago & the pet food companies have never had another recall since…..Its very hard to find a dry kibble that has 1 meat protein & only 1 carb…

I would try “Natural Balance” LTD Sweet Potato & Bison or Sweet Potato & Fish or Potato & Duck formula.. or “Ziwi peak” air dried but Ziwi Peak is expensive or “Canidae Pure” Formula’s, Pure Wild, Pure Sea or Pure Sky but they have about 6-7 ingredients or Canidae’s other brand “Under The Sun” Large Breed formula..is very limited in ingredients.

Potato & Sweet Potato firms up the poo & the firm poo will express the anal glands naturally…
I can see when Patches poo has expressed Patches anal glands, I see clear fluid running down his black bum, then when we get home from our walk I use the Huggie baby wipes, I get the Coconut oil baby wipes & wipe his bum, the wipes are nice & cool on their bums..
I’ve never seen Patch ever lick his bum or his wooohoo….

Patch use to have anal gland problems, he has IBD the vet use to express every time we saw her monthly but since I found out what foods he’s sensitive too he has stopped his bum surfing on my rug…..

[anonymous]

/forums/search/anal+glands/

Consider a grain free, potato free food such as Zignature or Nutrisca as a base.

[Sarah G]

My medium golden mix, Lakita, just started having issues once she turned 3 years old.
– We moved from Virginia to Md (3 hour difference) and had recently changed her diet when it started happening.
– She was originally on Rachel Ray Just Six Lamb and was changed over to Nutro Wholesome Essentials Lamb when our other dog was having sensitive stomach issues.
– Lakita does not scoot, but she will lick and chew the area constantly and she “screams” when she poops. She is a bit of a drama queen, and tends to cry very loudly when she’s unhappy or overly happy (like a stereotypical husky). The vet exclaimed that she isn’t in pain, just discomfort and is loudly letting us know this – but I do think she’s in at least some pain.
– The vet has over one year preformed tests to determine that the issue is definitely her anal glands. They have never been infected, but are constantly full. Even after expressing, Lakita will still cry when she poops.
– Fiber supplements helped a little. I changed her back to her original Rachel Ray food plus the fiber supplement and it finally went away for about 4 – 6 months.
– After the supplement ran out and I was hoping she would normalize, she began having issues again. When I started giving the supplement to her, it didn’t help.
– We’ve had her glands expressed around 4 -5 times throughout the year until she began to feel better. When it came back we did it again, but it doesn’t seem to have an actual affect.
– It would seem to be seasonal since it basically when away on its own, but she never had the issue in Virginia just 3 hours away. And she has stayed in MD here in there with family sometimes for a couple weeks without issues.

I honestly think diet is the biggest factor and I’m thinking of switching to Grain Free food – but I’m a little nervous to do so with all the recalls lately. Does anyone have suggestions? Especially ones without recall history would be most appreciated.

[Eileen W]

I am posting an update on both dogs.
1. Molly
I sought a second opinion from another vet. Molly has been on a prescription diet for about 3 months. Her poops are well formed now and the last two times her anal glands were checked they did not need to be expressed. My next steps are to keep her on for another month and then move her to a novel protein and limited ingredient diet food. I plan to try Zignature Kangaroo. I am hopeful the trend will continue on a food more balanced. The prescription diet did confirm she is able to express on her own and the more solid poops likely helped with that process. I have read about the deficiencies in the prescription diets…it is not a long term plan so please refrain from beating me up about it. I started her on a prebiotic when I changed her food.

2. Sierra
I switched her from Pure Vita to Fromm Four Star Nutritionals (with grain). She is pooping about 1/3 of what she was on PV and they are also firm. She is no longer scratching or chewing on her feet. Her energy level is great and she seems better than on either Acana or PV. She is off her allergy meds completely now. She still needs her anal glands expressed and as I mentioned she has structural issues which have her anal glands in non standard positioning. I started her on a prebiotic when I changed her food. I am happy with her progress.

My summation: after months of reading and many conversations with vet and other dog owners, I have come to believe there is no single food (brand, flavor, etc.) or medication or “recipe” that addresses this. I have to be willing to try something new if current plan is not working and it may take months to find the right balance. This is my opinion only and I am not a vet. Good Luck.

[anonymous]

Zignature, for something a bit more reasonable, Nutrisca
I have found that grain free and avoiding potatoes helps.
From a previous post of mine per:
Excerpts (out of context) from article below: https://www.vetsecure.com/veterinarymedicalclinic.com/articles/136
Overview:
“Anal sacs are the reservoirs for the secretions of anal glands which are located on either side of a dog’s anus, at approximately four and eight o’clock. These sacs contain liquid secretions from the anal gland, which, in healthy animals, are normally pale yellow-brown to grayish in color. The contents are usually emptied during normal bowel movements, or when a dog is nervous or scared. In most animals, these sacs empty easily. However, some dogs, especially small breed dogs, are not able to empty the sacs properly and become susceptible to anal sac disease”.
Transmission or Cause:
“The cause of anal sac disease is unknown. Smaller dog breeds, such as Chihuahuas and poodles, are most often affected. Excessive anal gland production, soft feces or diarrhea, poor muscle tone, and obesity also contribute to higher risk of developing anal sac disease. Anal sac abscess tends to occur after an impacted anal gland has become so severely swollen and infected that the anal sac forms an abscess and ruptures”.
Prevention:
“Expression of the anal sacs every few weeks or months often will help prevent anal gland fluid from accumulating and becoming thickened again. High fiber diets have been shown to help prevent anal sac disease in at-risk dogs, especially those that are obese”.

Regarding allergies, it would be best to make an appointment with a board certified veterinary dermatologist for testing/ diagnosis/treatment, if you don’t have good results with your regular vet within a reasonable amount of time.
In the meantime, has your vet recommended a prescription food/therapeutic diet? That may be a good place to start.
Beware of homeopathic miracle cures, forget about mail-in hair and saliva tests (no good).
For science-based veterinary medicine go here http://skeptvet.com/Blog/
You can use the search engine there to look up topics.
This site has a search engine too, see my posts.
Good luck
PS: Regarding the blood test via vet, food allergies are rare and food sensitivities tend to fluctuate. Intradermal skin testing done by a veterinary dermatologist is the most accurate. My dog has environmental allergies, her anal gland issues cleared up immediately after she started the prescribed treatment by the specialist.

[Ryan K]

I recently started my dog on a prescription diet (Hills ZD) for itching/chewing from allergies. He actually loves the food BUT I am noticing that he’s pooping an almost insane amount and the poop is pretty “soft and mushy” looking. He’s been on this food for a month and I am still noticing this. His anal glands have also been bothering him a lot since starting this. He’s constantly scooting despite getting them expressed. I feel like the food just isn’t really impressing me enough to want to keep paying such a pricey amount for it. My question is this…is there a better dry food that I could get him on that will help his glands release naturally while firming his stool up and that will also alleviate his itching? I had him on California Naturals Kangaroo but it’s really become quite hard to find and it didn’t seem to help that much with his symptoms. Any thoughts?

• This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Ryan K.