December 29, 2011
Do you carry any products that you have seen help with anal glands that fill up and need monthly expressing?
Full Question:
Hi Cindy,Do you carry any products that you have seen help with anal glands that fill up and need monthly expressing?
I have a 2 year old F GSD that is really bugged by the quick-to-fill-up glands. The vets say diet could be a factor, but don't know what to include/exclude...just trial and error and no real science. Only thing I've yet to try food-wise is a raw diet and I'm hoping not to have to!
Many thanks,
Gretchen
Cindy's Answer:
What have you tried as far as food (Brands, etc)?
Cindy Rhodes
Cindy Rhodes
User Response:
She's currently on Wellness Core. Have fed Taste of the Wild, Embark, and Merricks too, all grain and gluten-free. Coat, stool, energy, etc are good on all of these. Training treats vary, with Natural Balance roll (usually Turkey) as the mainstay, hotdogs, chicken, cheese as well sometimes.Wonder if the higher protein contents of today's foods has any impact?
She's Malinois in intensity and work, though she's a GSD.
Are there (really mean, have you seen...I know you're not a vet!) drawbacks to using the probiotics or digestive enzymes on an on-going basis? I'm guessing probiotics are fine based on human research, but not up on the enzymes much.
With all the working dogs you see, I was hoping you've run into the anal gland thing before and come up with something to try!!!
Many thanks for your input!
Gretchen
Cindy's Answer:
In all my years as a groomer and a vet tech, I only saw a handful of GSDs that had anal gland issues and those dogs also had other health problems (allergies, autoimmune disease, etc).
My personal feeling is that diet is the best way to address any issue instead of supplementing a diet that isn’t really optimal food for a dog (i.e. kibble). Some dogs live their whole life on kibble and appear to be healthy but a large percentage don’t. I’m always going to recommend a raw diet, but I understand that not everyone is willing or able to do it.
As far as supplements, probiotics and digestive enzymes. I’ve used both of the linked products in the past. I use the enzymes when doing any diet switch and typically keep the dog on it for a month or two but I don’t think it would be detrimental to use long term.
You may also want to try adding some canned 100% pure pumpkin to each meal to see if added fiber makes a difference.
Cindy Rhodes
My personal feeling is that diet is the best way to address any issue instead of supplementing a diet that isn’t really optimal food for a dog (i.e. kibble). Some dogs live their whole life on kibble and appear to be healthy but a large percentage don’t. I’m always going to recommend a raw diet, but I understand that not everyone is willing or able to do it.
As far as supplements, probiotics and digestive enzymes. I’ve used both of the linked products in the past. I use the enzymes when doing any diet switch and typically keep the dog on it for a month or two but I don’t think it would be detrimental to use long term.
You may also want to try adding some canned 100% pure pumpkin to each meal to see if added fiber makes a difference.
Cindy Rhodes
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