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2 yr old female GSD – constipated – Dry dog food recommendation

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  • April 13, 2022 at 8:49 am #182928 Report Abuse
    Mike D
    Participant

    Hi folks,
    I have a 2 yr old female German Shepherd (about 65 lbs) who I’ve had a very difficult time finding a dry dog food that she will eat. About 3-4 weeks ago I switched to Victor Hi-Pro and she loves it (finally!) However, a side-affect has been terrible constipation. I mean her poops are super hard and I can see she’s having a hard time. I started adding a lot of warm water to her food to try to make sure she’s getting enough water (she’s not a big water drinker, even though we change her water throughout the day and make sure it’s always available). But that wasn’t working, so I read about adding canned pumpkin to help. I started this 2 days ago, gradually increasing it to about a half a can. I can tell it’s helping, as even though her stools are still hard, they are slightly softer than they were. Also, she keeps biting at her tail/bum area, and it looks a bit red down there, which I imagine is due to the irritation in the anal area due to constipation, but I’m no vet.

    Anyway, all that is background info to ask if anyone else has had a similar experience and if so, did you switch to another Victor formula that remedied this?

    I’m hoping for a simple solution, like just switching to a different Victor formula (and not having to do the, “get these really hard to find ingredients and blend them up a special way, preparing a week ahead of time…”-type stuff).

    Would love to hear from anyone who’s had a similar experience and found a solution.

    Thanks!

    April 13, 2022 at 9:24 am #182929 Report Abuse
    Patricia A
    Participant

    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

    April 20, 2022 at 7:32 pm #182967 Report Abuse
    MARCIA H
    Participant

    Patricia might be right, and a vet visit is a good idea in any case. The only Victor food I’ve ever studied and recommended is the Victor Ultra Pro 42. It’s the only Victor food that’s grain-free. The rest contain quite a bit of grains, which are just cheap fillers that dogs don’t need and don’t benefit from. Too much fiber from all these grains could be causing the constipation. You’re doing a great job with the extra water, etc.

    I hope this helps and that your dog gets back to normal very soon!

    April 21, 2022 at 10:11 am #182982 Report Abuse
    Patricia A
    Participant

    Hope she’s better. There are MANY grain free foods. Many are rated 5* by the DFA. I use Stella Chewy’s chicken Grain free with freeze dried Primal and freeze Dried Stellas. My dogs have all done very well regarding formed stools and excellent blood work on this diet. If you switch foods, just go VERY, VERY, VERY slowly.
    Hope this helps.

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