Analg Glandes Problems

falabo

Hi all

My cocker spaniel seems to have "fishies" every now and again there would be a fowl smell coming from her behind, like rotten fish. After doing some research, I thought it could be the anal glands. I took her to the vet and she emptied them. she is only 8 months old. Now this was 2 weeks ago and now it's back again.

I feed her PEDIGREE, which I heard is not great. has anyone experienced this problem before? is there anything I could do for this "fishies" to stop?

Thanks all,

Whispered

My boy suffers the same problem. It's really horrible isn't it!!

It can be caused if the waste is not bulky enough. I got a fiber powder from the vet. I would also recommend changing the food. We see a huge change when we feed high quality stuff. It also works out at roughly the same price.

mymo

Change the food for a better brand, one that is high in fibre would be good. Once the poop is firmer the problem should ease, it may never go away but will be better with a good diet.
Burns do a high fibre food, not sure what it is though. Sorry.

tk123

mymo wrote: »

Burns do a high fibre food, not sure what it is though. Sorry.

High Oats is their high fibre one - we tried it with our guy but he was pooping for ireland so switched him back! :pac: Our guys anal gland probs stopped when we switched him to (normal) burns - it firmed up the poos and solved the problem.

tulipi

Firstly you should definitely change to a better brand of food.

Another thing that I've read for helping anal glands is to give pumpkin or sweet potato (like a teaspoon or so) once a day with their food. I've read it on a lot of american sites and it seems that you can get tins of the stuff over there which doesn't really suit us here. BUT one thing you could do is buy some fresh sweet potato and roast it. Then mash it up and freeze it maybe in an ice tray since that's about the right amount for each serving and then take out what you need the day before?

It's supposed to really work. Might be a good idea to try at least and see if it saves you so many vet visits

pitbull_fanatic

i had that problem. well not me my dog did!! burns is very good. its 50 euro for a 15 kg bag but lasts a long time. and the end result is very good. waste wise and coat wise

lorebringer

Anal glands are the bane of my life - with so many dogs, there is lot of gland to deal with!

Food is the best solution - take her off the pedigree and put her on a bulkier, higher quality, dry food. I feed either James Wellbeloved or Burns, and sometimes Royal Canin, specifically to help with the glands. Glands naturally drain when the dog goes to the toilet, if their poo is too soft it will not put enough pressure on their glands to drain and the fluid builds up (this is what give the fishy smell). Their poo should be solid and bulky to drain their glands - not sloppy or gooey. Adding a little high fibre food to her bowl will also help - Shredded Wheat works very well - but if you change her to a better quality food you may not need to do this.

Because of her age, I assuming you still have her on a puppy food. Personally, I would switch her to an adult food. She is old enough to switch and the adult foods tend to contain more fibre, which will help with the glands. If you are changing food, be sure to do it gradually so as to prevent a dodgy belly.

Whispered

pitbull_fanatic wrote: »

i had that problem. well not me my dog did!!

:D

tk123

I don't feed BARF so maybe somebody with more experience will be able to confirm but I think raw chicken wings meant to help with gland problems too?

Wisco

Improving the diet should help, but be aware that it is a recurrent problem in some dogs. If it keeps happening a lot, it may be worth asking your vet to show you how to empty the glands yourself (yes, I know it's gross, but it could save you a lot of money if it happens a lot).

falabo

thanks all for your advice. after doing some reserach, I decided to give it a go n change her food. I still have a big back of that pedigree muck (15 kgs) so I wont waste it ... for the time being, I bought a packet of "wheat germ" (for humans!) very cheap.

would that be ok to add one or 2 spoons to her food? is this suitable for dogs ?? it seeems to be very high in fibre. cheers

lorebringer

falabo wrote: »

thanks all for your advice. after doing some reserach, I decided to give it a go n change her food. I still have a big back of that pedigree muck (15 kgs) so I wont waste it ... for the time being, I bought a packet of "wheat germ" (for humans!) very cheap.

would that be ok to add one or 2 spoons to her food? is this suitable for dogs ?? it seeems to be very high in fibre. cheers

Wheat germ is fine to add to her food. A small word of warning though - some dogs are allergic to wheat and if she has a reaction there could be spouting from either, or both, ends! A rule of thumb when introducing anything new to a dog is do is gradually over a long period of time. So, for example, when you change her food do ti over about 10 days gradually decreasing the old and increasing the new until she is eating only the new food. On the wheat germ from, give her a teaspoon for a few days/a week and then increase it to two teaspoons and so on. You don't want to overload her on fibre either so take it slowly and see how she gets on.