My vet recommended Taste of the Wild for Maltese anal gland issues. Is it right?

I like hydrolyzed protein diets for the hypoallergenic diet trial. Hills z/d and Purina HA are my 2 favorites. They make the protein sources so small that the immune system can not recognize it as an allergen. Diet trials should be continued for 12 weeks to know if they are helping. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

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!

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.

I think Blue Buffalo is a decent brand of dog food but I see many dogs who end up with diarrhea issues on it. Nutro is a good one that can offer some more holistic dog food. Natural Balance is another one that most dogs seem to do very well on. Take a look at either one of these brands. Lastly, by-products are not bad. By-products are the parts of the carcass that humans don’t generally eat like the internal organs. The internal organs tend to contain most of the vitamins and minerals within the body so in the wild, these are sought out by predators. That’s why I never get too excited about by-products in a meal. I do like to see though that two out of the top three ingredients within a diet are meat-based. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions!

No food is perfect for every pet but my patients on Taste of the Wild are doing well. If it is labeled for “growth and reproduction” or “all life stages” and if Sixx has normal stool, a shiny coat, and is gaining weight - it’s a good diet for him! Best of luck to you and Sixx!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Even though Addison's stool was negative for parasites I would still deworm her. Sometimes the adult worms do not shed eggs in the stool. Intestinal parasites and giardia are common causes of diarrhea in puppies. Otherwise I do not think it is wrong to change her diet. Chicken is the main allergic protein. Whether you want to go grain free, that is up to you. The meat protein is more important. I think Taste of the Wild is fine, I feed my dog one of their foods. I hope this helps and I wish Addison the best!

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.