jabbawok Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Amber - my parents kelpie X - has had anal gland problems since she was a few years old. They're abscessed and she often "boot scoots". I did a search here but couldn't find much info. So does anybody have some tips on what sort of food to feed her? She's been living for several years on a predominate tinned food diet and it's time things changed. She is a little overweight and with her current leg injury she needs to lose a few kilos. So what would be a good thing to feed her that's nutritious, filling and kind to her digestive system/anal glands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Amber - my parents kelpie X - has had anal gland problems since she was a few years old. They're abscessed and she often "boot scoots". I did a search here but couldn't find much info. So does anybody have some tips on what sort of food to feed her? She's been living for several years on a predominate tinned food diet and it's time things changed. She is a little overweight and with her current leg injury she needs to lose a few kilos. So what would be a good thing to feed her that's nutritious, filling and kind to her digestive system/anal glands? BARF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabbawok Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 I thought that's what you'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 (edited) Yes Bones and Raw Food. 2% or less of her ideal body weight. Edited May 31, 2009 by puggy_puggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabbawok Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 (edited) But can you tell me what changes should be made for the fact she has anal gland problems? What I mean is BARF is designed around the idea that's their "natural diet". But a dog eating it's natural diet shouldn't get anal gland problems. So now she has anal gland problems which are permanent, is there anything that should be changed? Edit: Oh, and when she was being fed raw bones it seemed to make her bum worse. That's why I'm asking. Edited May 31, 2009 by jabbawok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 If a dog is getting bones and fiber then that should help the anal glands naturally express themselves when the dog goes to the toilet because the faeces is harder and bulkier. When I used to feed dry food years ago my two pugs would always have leaking anal glands. I would get the vet to empty them at least twice a year. Since I have been feeding a BARF diet no leaks and no need for manual emtying. What sort of bones was the dog eating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabbawok Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 The vet said years ago to give her raw chicken wings etc when her anal glands were real bad. They abscessed fairly quickly though. This isn't my dog so I don't have the full info. Just trying to do the right thing for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 It's a bit hard when it's not your own dog. I would be feeding chicken necks/carcusses, lambs bones and pulped veggies/fruit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabbawok Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 It's a bit hard when it's not your own dog.I would be feeding chicken necks/carcusses, lambs bones and pulped veggies/fruit. Bit hard to explain this whole complex situation. Sure, it's not my dog, technically. But every command she knows I've taught her. And now I feed her. Hmmm, doesn't that make her mine? So, so frustrating this little adventure into the world of savior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 (edited) My first dog had Anal gland problems. She was on the BARF diet and it made them much much worse. She had them cleaned out every 2 weeks and were infected each time. After a few diet changes and no improvement we had a choice to have them removed. So after alot of thought on pros and cons we had them removed back in 2006. It was a complex operation but well worth it. She was so much happier. We ended up never giving her BARF food again as not long before the op she was diagnosed with a pancreatic enzyme deficiency and diabetes. She always had problems tolerating certain foods and we found it easier on her to just feed dry. We had to wait for her to be strong enough for the op as she had lost nearly 10kg in bodyweight in 3 weeks so had to wait til she was up to a healthy weight and not going downhill. Hope you find what may help the dog. It's an awful thing to deal with. My girl was a very unwell unhealthy dog most her life so being able to have the op and get through it was a miracle. She lived 2 more yrs with other health problems mostly due to bad breeding (was from a puppy farm) before we made the decision to have her pts to Lymphoma in November 2008. Edited May 31, 2009 by LucyCharzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabbawok Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 ....Hmmm, doesn't that make her mine? That was a half-hearted attempt at some dry humor. Of course that doesn't make her mine. Yeah Lucy, this is what I was wondering. I heard of other dogs with anal gland problems not being able to handle a BARF diet. The vet did explain years ago about the complications that can occur with the operation - incontinence, partial paralysis etc. Which is why my parents decided not to have it done. Unfortunately their previous dog died when she went to the vet to have an ear infection looked at and the vet gave her the wrong anaesthetic. So they always think the worst when operations are mentioned. Amber also seems to handle dry food better than all the other stuff she's been brought up on. She also gets some metamucil sprinkled on her food when she's having trouble pooping, as advised by the vet, which does seem to help. But I'm trying to create a more nutritious diet that will incorporate these things, as well as being low calorie so she'll lose some weight to help with her injured leg. I guess just feeding things separately will allow the amount of fibre etc to be adjusted whenever necessary. But it needs to be a no-brainer at feeding time so my parents can understand the requirements too. Although the main aim is to get her as far away from that awful tinned food as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 From my experience, dry food does actually bulk the faeces up more than other diets. My advice is to throw the tinned food, which is mainly water and will not assist her anal sacs one itota, find a good quality kibble, a few fresh raw meaty bones and lots of fresh water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 (edited) You need to supply food which will 'make' faeces which are larger and a bit firmer..these 'squeeze' the glands as the dog poos. So- if pooing is quick & easy.. changes need to be made so that there is some effort required. NOT straining and puffing just not a quick , small poo. Edited May 31, 2009 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdpower Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I found with Elke, who was getting constantly blocked anal glands, that by adding a dessertspoon of unprocessed bran to her meal, once a day, she has not had any further problems. The extra fibre seems to have fixed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I found with Elke, who was getting constantly blocked anal glands, that by adding a dessertspoon of unprocessed bran to her meal, once a day, she has not had any further problems. The extra fibre seems to have fixed it. That's a good suggestion. I tried that with Lucy but it didnt make alot of difference, though i have heard alot of people have had success like you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doglova Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Hi, Years ago one of my dogs used to get an anal gland absess she had 3 operated on until a new vet told me to put bran on her tea so she had 2 table spoons everyday on her tea. never had any problems again Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJ Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Our pugs are prone to their anal glands being quite a problem...we now feed them royal canin which has helped heaps with this problem. Of course they also get chicken wings at least once a week and egg/yoghurt/veggies on top of their kibble. I am too worried about doing their full diet and ensuring I meet all their daily nutritional needs. They no longer need their anal glands expressed whereas it used to be at least a fortnightly expedition, and they had leakage a lot which wasn't very nice! Good luck with it - it sounds as though your/may as well be yours might be a bit harder to control with diet considering they have abscessed etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poochmad Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Henschke has anal gland problems so he gets unprocessed bran (1 TBSPN), mixed vegies and a mix of Advance/Pro Plan kibble. He also has his anal glands squeezed once a week. Mmm-mmm. Fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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