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High Fibre Diet For An English Cocker Spaniel


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Jesie was taken to the vets on the 16th August cause her bottom had a coppery smell. My vet expressed her anal glands and oh my lord there was alot that came out. And the stink! :angel: Anyway last night we went back to the vet as she had the smell again and dragged her bottom on the floor the other night. After expressing her glands again the vet said that they weren't as bad as last time but they weren't great either. He suggested a high fibre diet for Jesie and also mentioned that if we haven't seen any improvment then our next step was removal of the anal glands.

I'd like to avoid an operation if I can so I'm after suggestions for a high fibre diet. She's a bit of a fussy eater aswell which makes things just that little bit harder! :heart: When it comes to meat she will eat anything chicken (as long as it isn't a frame) but isn't so keen on red meat unless its cooked! Bloody Princess.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated,

thanks

claire

Edited by claireybell
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Hi there, removal of the glands would be definatley a last resort. WHat is her diet like now, what is her main food source. One of my girls had an anal gland problem a while ago and I took her to the vets a couple of times as soon as I noticed her scooting, her glands were never over full or impacted so we decided to give her more fibre in her diet, at the time her diet was meat (human grade Mince) and vegetables and also bones in the way of chicken necks, wings and lamb bones. So it was easy I went and got phsyillium husks (get them from the health food store) and just added a teaspoon full to her food each night. It really worked with her, she still scooted a little bit but then she was able to express the glands herself due to the extra fibre. A lot of vets recommend metamucil but it has other stuff in it that the dogs don't need the main part is the phys husks. How old is Jesie?

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Jesie will be 3 years in November. I'm reluctant to do the surgery unless its absolutely unavoidable and luckily my vet feels the same. Currently she gets some kibble (maybe a 1/4 cup), chicken necks and bones. We were using vegies aswell cause I have a fat beagle but they both seem to have gone off their vegies.

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poo needs to be both bulky and a bit dry/hard.... your dog should 'work' a bit to relieve herself ...

try adding psyllium husks ((start her on about 1/4 tsp.a day - soak it in warm water for about 10-15 minutes... it will make a gel -mix this with food...... gradually work up to 1/2 teaspoon full of the dry husk , see how she goes. She may not need it every day .

Also add more bone - either minced chicken carcasses -DO NOT COOK- or more chicken wings/lamb flap bony bits... ?

Edited by persephone
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Poor Jesie-Jane!

Raw vegies should be a good source of fibers. What I do is put all the vegies through a blender (typically I have the following: 1 bunch of celery, 2 bunches parsley, 2 bunches spinach/bok choi, 1 kg carrots, a couple of apples). I add to this mix a couple of handful of rolled oats. This should last you for quite a while so you can freeze some. To make sure she eats it, I would mix it thoroughly with a good quality pet mince (i.e. mince that includes minced bones etc).

The oats come out pretty much whole :laugh: , but they had some bulk to the poo and will force Jesie to "work" to relieve herself, therefore giving her anal glands a work out...

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Poor Princess Jesie-Jane wasn't much of a princess last night! Disgusting! We're doing the grovery shopping tonight and i have added the psyllium husks and a blender to the shopping list. Poor dallas (OH) will have heart failure when he finds out we need a blender for the dog! :champagne: Good thing he loves Princess Stinky Pants as much as I do!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! :laugh: You've been a great help. If any of you think of anythin else please let me know.

claire & her stinky princess

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've tried every veggie known to man and she wont eat any of them! She's been getting psyllium husks since the 8th August and last night we smelt that coppery smell again that she gets when she needs to be expressed!

What am I doing wrong?

I've realised that the last time she had stink bum was a day after she had been revolutioned. Same thisng has happened again. She was revolutioned two days a go. Do you think there is a connection?

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I agree with adding some more meaty bones to her diet. It will firm up her stools and she'll have to work to push them out, which helps to express the glands as well.

Fibre is good at adding bulk, but if its not firm enough it may be useless.

If her only problem is them filling up, and no chronic infections, there's no need to think about removing the glands yet. This is a big operation which IMO, most vets prefer NOT to do if they can, so to suggest it after two occasions of simple, full glands, seems a bit hasty to me.

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There is an option far preferable to having glands removed - learn to express them yourself. Its not that difficult. Many groomers routinely express dogs' anal glands when they bath dogs.

Psyllium husks and vigorous exercise can help but as dogs no longer consume the fur and feather they had on caught meals, this is likely to be an ongoing issue. My vet told me that bone in the diet does not have the ability to assist with this issue - its bulk that is needed. Try baked or mashed pumpkin also - my dogs love it.

ETA: Just out of interest, is your Cocker docked?

Edited by poodlefan
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She hates pumpkin! She's such a fussy bugger. No she hasn't been docked poodlefan. She's a very fussy eater though. Not sure she really is a dog sometime's! She gets chicken necks every morning and i have been buying ground up chicken frames aswell. She isn;t a great fan of red meat, she will always pick chicken over red meat.

What else bone wise can anyone suggest?

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Minced chicken frame is a good place to start. It's pretty cheap too. Otherwise things like chicken wings or turkey necks are great too. But just remember they must be raw and best to supervise. Also, if she's not had a lot of raw meat/bone before, start off in small amounts as it might upset her tum.

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:rofl: Thats the problem she wont eat if she doesn't like it! She's a total princess!!!

I tried the minced frames on her and she really liked them so I'm going back to get more of those. She's had red meat before but she just turns her nose up at it. You'd think I was trying to feed her poo!

How did I end up with such a princess for one dog and another dog that will eat anything if I put it in her bowl? Bloody dogs.

I have a sneaking feeling I may need to learn how to express her glands :)

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Just keep offering her bones and raw foods until she eats. Sounds like the princess idea is still sticking in your mind. If she's not hungry then she's not hungry, no food or snacks until she eats whats offered to her. Fibre is fine but raw diet boney poos are the best at anal gland expressing :thumbsup:

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Just keep offering her bones and raw foods until she eats. Sounds like the princess idea is still sticking in your mind. If she's not hungry then she's not hungry, no food or snacks until she eats whats offered to her. Fibre is fine but raw diet boney poos are the best at anal gland expressing

X2

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She doesn't really get any processed foods, I think thats why I'm so confused! She has a small amount of kibble, then its necks and minced frames. The only not so good stuff that she does get is half a shmacko strap every night after I've eaten dinner if she's been a good girl and not jumped up at the table.

She will eat a not so meaty bone's as a treat on a sunday. Should I increase this?

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Just a suggestion - along with the good suggestions already made re bones and psyllium husks. Have a look at the VANs Complete Mix. It is full of good stuff and has some grains aimed at providing roughage for elimination (ie they will appear in the poo).

I raised my dally on the stuff and now that I think about it she's been having a few anal gland problems since I stopped feeding it to her. Might go order some myself :thumbsup:

Info

The website has some useful info and pdfs etc - they are also helpful if you call them.

You an buy it online and at some vets and pet stores. VetnPet Diret sell it and so do GreenPet

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