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

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.

For anal gland infections or glands that fill up on a regular basis that need to be expressed regularly, I recommend the below products. Both products can be found online and I find that Glandex works the best. I hope this helps Buddy! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further! 1. Glandex 2. NaturVet No Scoot

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.

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!

Yes, you need either a high fibre diet such as "fibre response" from royal canin or a fibre supplement such as Pro Fibre from Protexin, this should help solidify the faeces and should solve the anal gland issue.

I recommend a product called Glandex that seems to work well. You give it to them every day. It comes in a powered form and a chewy treat form. A word of caution about grain free diets. I often see dogs who have anal gland issues or constipation issues on these diets. I think it must be related to the fiber. There can be other concerns as well but the majority of dogs on these diets do just fine. However, most dogs do not have food allergies (less than 10% of ALL allergies are to food). Additionally, most of these food allergy dogs are allergic to protein, not grains. I do recommend a high quality food such as Royal Canin or Purina Pro Plan. Lastly, it doesn’t make a difference if the food is canned or kibble. It’s all about the fiber amount and quality. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I am so sorry Bella is having issues with her anal glands. You can always add some canned pumpkin to Bella's food to see if that helps bulk up her stool a little bit so she can express her anal glands easier. Some dogs do need frequent expressions every 1-2 weeks. I would discuss doing an anal gland infusion with antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory to help with some inflammation in her anal glands. She may or may not need to be sedated for the infusion. Some dogs can tolerate it very well while others (typically when there is an infection) cannot tolerate it well and will need to be sedated. I hope her anal gland issues resolve soon and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!