[Lori Y]

hi. I have an 8 year old cockapoo who has started having some digestion trouble and now has soft stools- not liquid but definitely soft. Last week we had to get his anal glands expressed for the first time (outside of groomings), and I believe it’s because of this. We fed him Blue Buffalo Basics Lamb and Rice (I now see on this site that BB isn’t highly rated- a total surprise to me!) and switched to the BB grain-free formula which hasn’t helped. He doesn’t do well with chicken products either. I would really appreciate any suggestions for what to try next. Thanks so much!

[anonymously]

Nutrisca Salmon and Chickpea has no chicken, no grains, no potato.
It is the best food for my small breed that has a sensitive stomach, we always return to it. I use it as a base with a variety of toppers.
She has no anal gland issues, but she did (briefly) years ago before she received treatment by a dermatologist for environmental allergies.
See the reviews: https://www.chewy.com/dogswell-nutrisca-grain-free-salmon/dp/35033

My youngest dog is doing well on Orijen 6 Fish, I have noticed his stools are firmer.
However, keep in mind this food is richer and higher in calories, so you need to use less. Orijen didn’t agree with my sensitive stomach dog.

[anonymously]

The best thing that you can do for a dog that has a tendency to have impacted anal glands is to learn how to express them yourself. Check YouTube for how to videos.
Have your vet tech/vet go over how often this needs to be done for your dog (once a week?)
With the right diet, exercise and routine care, you may find the condition will clear up quite a bit and you may not have to express the anal glands as often…if at all after a while.
Make sure he is drinking adequate water, maybe add a splash to his meals.

Find a food that will give him firm stools, rather than mushy (less likely to get clogged in the anal glands).
Also, some dogs have better stools on canned food, others do better on kibble. Buy small amounts of the recommended foods and see what works, sometimes it takes a week or two to see a difference.
Plus, feed only once or twice a day, don’t leave food down.

http://www.vetmedclinic.com/?p=290 excerpt below
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.

[Susan]

Hi Lori, I have a dog with IBD stomach & skin allergies, have you seen a vet about the soft stools yet? when Patch was doing soft sloppy yellow poos he needed his anal sacs expressed… then once his poos started firming up his anal glands emptied by themselves, if his poo is yellow & smells bad he will need Metronidazole tablets, Metronidazole is an antibiotic for the bowel…
When Patch was eating Wellness Simple kibble for 2-3months it started to make Patches poos go yellow, sloppy & smelly again, so I had to put him back on Metronidazole for 10days & I changed his kibble to Taste Of The Wild Roasted Lamb & so far he’s doing really well..
First try another brand of kibble, have a look at “Taste Of The Wild” Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon or TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb, a few dogs with EPI & IBD do really well on Taste Of The Wild Kibbles, Patch does the best poos when he eats TOTW I don’t know WHY?? stay away from kibbles with chicken if your dog isn’t OK with chicken……
Also have a look at “California Natural” Lamb & Rice it has just 4 ingredients, no peas, Just Rice & Lamb, dogs with IBD & IBS do really well on California Natural Kibbles…. http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products
If after trying a limited ingredient kibble like California Natural or TOTW & poos are same Yuk, then see a vet & ask for a course of Metronidazole you get 21 tablets in packet, that’s a 3 week course, if vet gives you a script you can get from chemist (Cheaper) & try the California Natural again, The Blue Buffalo could of made his bacteria in the bowel too much bad bacteria & not enough good bacteria google S.I.B.O or Dysbiosis (leaky Gut)

[Lori Y]

Thanks so much for all the information!! Susan, that’s my theory… if we can firm things up, I believe his anal glands will express on their own again. Unfortunately, we have a lot of anal gland knowledge since our other dog had to get hers expressed every three weeks until we made the very tough decision to get them removed. (The surgery went great, and she has been absolutely fine ever since!) Our vet is recommending Purina Pro Plan Gastrointestinal because we’ve had him on that a few times in the past when he had diarrhea, but that doesn’t seem to have very good reviews. I checked out Nutrisca and that looks like a great option!

[harp31]

Hi, I can relate to your loose stool issues.
I have 2 Bostons, one is 11 lbs and one is 28 lbs. Both are 3 yrs old and female. I have been trying to find a low fat limited ingredient food for them. The larger one has had bouts of diarrhea (some was bloody) and some vomiting on and off for the past month. My vet had her on metronidazole for 2-3 weeks but she started to break out in hives from it so we had to discontinue the med. They had been eating Annamaet Option 24% dry food for the past year or more with some boiled chicken or ground turkey as a mix in to entice them to eat it. For some reason they don’t want to eat it anymore and are having loose stools, etc. They have been on a bland diet on and off for the last month (boiled chicken and rice or pasta) with no loose stools or vomiting but obviously are not getting the nutrition they need. Every time I start to re-introduce the dry food, the loose stools start up again. I am working with my vet to try to find a suitable food for them. They were eating Acana Ranchlands Regional previous to the Annamaet kibble. They had the same issues after eating that food for over a year also (not wanting to eat it, loose stools, etc). Anyone else experience this with their dogs? It’s so frustrating to find a food they like that they can tolerate. My vet mentioned Royal Canin Gastro. and Hill’s Prescription ID (which they sell in the office) but I am not a fan of those 2 choices. I’m also skeptical of TOTW because of Diamond manufacturing and California Natural due to previous recalls. The DFA has several low fat suggestions here, I just hate buying a whole 5 lb bag of something if they won’t eat it. I guess I will go into town and see what I can find at Petsmart or Soldan’s that is a decent food. May be that I have to find some nutritional add-ins and cook for them, they are picky.
I also had my dog’s anal glands expressed at the vet about a month ago and she does sit and spin on her butt at times, maybe she needs them done again.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by harp31.

[crazy4cats]

Hi harp31-
I know the ingredients do not look very enticing in the prescription food and is more expensive than it should be. But, have you considered feeding it for a while to heal your puppies tummies? I have fed it to one of my cats and both dogs after they suffered health conditions. They are now all transitioned to non-Rx food and doing great. My dogs with tummy issues do well on kibble that is a little higher in fiber and mid range protein. They did great on Pure Vita Turkey and do fine on the Whole Earth Farms, Nutrisource, Victor and 4Health grain free brands. I also want to try the Fromm weight management kibble.

So, anyway, I don’t think you have to be afraid of the Rx food to help your dog’s heal. I believe that it can serve a useful purpose in certain conditions. Best of luck to you. I dealt with yucky poop for a long time and I know it gets stressful!

[harp31]

Thank you for the response. You are probably right about using the Rx food short term to help with healing, the ingredient list is hard for me to get past though. I was actually looking at Pure Vita today at a pet supply store (but they only had 20 lb bags and I need to start w/ 5 lbs or so in case they don’t like it) and they also recommended Dr. Gary’s Best Breed Grain Free Dry food. I may try the Pure Vita Turkey. I really appreciate the suggestions.

[Author]

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