[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?

[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.

[joanne l]

I would change the diet. I have heard a lot about this and most of the time, not all the time, when a diet was changed it resolved. My GSD have anal gland issues on one of the Pro Plan dry foods, when I changed his diet it went away after a couple of weeks. So I knew for sure it was his diet. I put him on Holistic Select dry food it is very good food. So I would change the diet and do it slowly mixing old and new food over 10 days or so. I have a feeling it will help.
Also which is weird b/c my friend has a golden retriever and she is on Pro Plan shredded chicken and is having the same problem! To weird.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by joanne l.

[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.

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