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Why does my dog keep having anal gland problems? Is it her food?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 2 years and 4 months old | 50 lbs

My GS mix 2+yrs old has issues expressing her glands. We feed Taste of the Wild. Fed twice/day. When she was a puppy we added pumpkin to firm up her poo and it helped, about a Tbsp give or take. In last 6 months she has been having issues w/anal glands & we have taken her twice for expression at vet & I think she is needing it again. We give baby carrots, 2-3 daily as treats. I want to resolve this vs buying something to add to her food, any suggestions? Is she getting too much fiber?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 29th, 2019

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Anal glands are sometimes difficult to determine what causes them to fill up quickly and why they don't empty on their own. What we typically recommend is switching the diet completely to a different brand / formula and adding in supplementation for the anal glands such as Glandex (which can be purchased online). I've known Glandex to reduce the time between anal gland expressions by months and sometimes the diet switch alone makes a big difference. Try this for a few months and if the problem persists after, I would speak with your veterinarian about other options. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on February 8th, 2018
Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend using a supplement called Glandex to see if this lessens the anal gland issue. I have had great success using this supplement and it can be found quite easily online. If you are doing a food trial, I would give it at least 4-6 weeks to see if it will improve the problem. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Elizabeth
Veterinarian
Published on March 5th, 2019
If you have not tried a diet trial with a hydrolyzed protein diet, I recommend to try this for 12 weeks. During this time, you cannot allow Coley to eat any other food or treats. This will let you know if food allergy is present.
You can also look for a product for anal gland health such as Glandex. Give it at least 3 weeks to take full effect.
I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Smart Picks for Smart Questions

Related Questions

Health & Wellness

My dog's anal glands need frequent draining. How can I help her?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. There is a supplement called Glandex and one called No Scoot that many of my clients love for anal gland problems. In some cases it can decrease how often they need to be expressed. I would discuss with her veterinarian if either of these may be compatible with her diet.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Food & Nutrition

Why do my dog's anal glands fill so fast and need weekly expression?

I have seen a few dogs like Bella. Many times there will be an underlying cause such as allergies that cause this but not always. I would recommend a food trial with a prescription diet made by Royal Canin called Ultamino. You will feed her ONLY this diet for 2 months. She cannot eat ANYTHING else, no treats, bread crusts...absolutely nothing. At the end of the food trial, if her anal glands are not bothering her, then you know its a food allergy. If they are still bothering her, then its not a food allergy. If you haven't tried this yet, its worthwhile. Sometimes a short dose of anti-inflammatory or steroids can also help wth residual inflammation. Her doctor can prescribe these medications if they seem warranted. Best of luck with Bella!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Food & Nutrition

What food or fiber helps my dog's frequent anal gland issues?

I am sorry to hear about your problems with Bell! I have had some owners find the product Glandex to be helpful (though not all) so that is worth a try. Others have found probiotics such as Fortiflora or Prostora, or Omega fatty acid supplements to be helpful.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Training & Behavior

Why does my dog keep getting impacted anal glands and licking?

Every pet is different and some pets may need their glands expressed every few weeks. Most however will be less frequent. This can be a problem in any dog but it is more common in small dogs. There is a supplement called glandex which many pets respond well to. You may also try feeding him a higher fiber diet. Lastly, sometimes frequent anal gland issues can be a sign of allergies. You may talk with your veterinarian about ways to diagnose an allergy and if this seems to be indicated. Surgery is also an option to remove the anal glands. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Training & Behavior

Why does my dog need anal gland expression after switching food?

I can't say I have ever heard of any proven direct correlation between between anxiety and anal gland problems. A dog needing their anal glands manually expressed on a monthly basis is not terribly uncommon. It is definitely on the high side, but not completely unheard of. Dietary changes can certainly contribute to such a problem. I would strongly recommend not continuing to feed Ivy a puppy diet at the age of 1 year unless she is a very large breed dog that is still continuing to grow. It contains far too many calories and too high a level of fat for an adult dog. I am not a fan of the Blue Buffalo diets as I find it is simply too rich for the majority of dogs. I tend to recommend clients stick with Purina or Hill's Science Diet as the main source of food. Hope this makes sense.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Food & Nutrition

Why are my dog's anal glands causing problems? What can I do?

Anal gland issues are not uncommon and I hate to hear that they are bothering Sadie. Not knowing the history, I'm just giving a brief over view of glands in general. Chronic anal gland irritation is often due to food allergies. If you have not tried a food trial yet, I would try it and see if the gland issues go away. There is a specific prescription diet made by Royal Canin called Ultimino. It will diagnose ALL forms of food allergy. Once you figure out thats the problem, then you can start figuring out what food exactly that Sadie is allergic to. If its not food related, then its likely hereditary that she has unhealthy glands. There is a supplement called Glandex that can be purchased at Petsmart and some dogs do well on it. There's also a surgery to remove the glands for dogs that are constantly plagued. I hope I have answered your questions. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Training & Behavior

My dog's anal glands were just expressed. Why is she scooting again?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Aspen. I'm sorry she is potentially having issues again with her anal sacs. Unfortunately, some dogs have continual issues. I'd try giving her a tablespoon of canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) with each meal. This will put more fiber into her diet, solidifying her feces more, and hopefully encouraging the sacs to express when the feces is pushed passed them. I hope this helps!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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