Best potato, chicken, grain-free dog food for anal gland problems?

There is no proof that grain free diets help with anal sac issues, so I would switch Bauer off a grain free diet, especially in light of the issues with those diet and dilated cardiomyopathy. I'd put him on a diet like Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, and Iams. I'd also put him on Glandex, a supplement which can help with his anal sac issues.

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 would try hills z/d ultra or royal canin anallergenic (an even more restricted version). Ensure also she is not receiving any additional treats, flavored tablets, bones, table scraps or raiding any garbage bins. She may also require prescription medication to resolve the current flare up. A home prepared diet may be an option but would have to be formulated with the help of an expert nutritionalist and can only comprise of novel ingredients (foods she has never eaten before such as kangaroo/venison/sweet potato etc - these are very difficult to supplement sufficiently and are very expensive to maintain in the long term)

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!

Most cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) require hypoallergenic diets composed of hydrolyzed proteins (proteins broken down to the point where they will not stimulate the immune system). These diets are prescription based and include Royal Canin Ultimano, Royal Canin HP, Science Diet Z/D and Purina HA. In some cases of IBD, a dog can tolerate a novel protein diet (one protein source and one carbohydrate source) after a period of time on a hypoallergenic diet. Some novel protein diets are prescription based (such as Science Diet D/D), but others are available over the counter (such as Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet). Most cases of IBD also require some form of corticosteroids for management in addition to the diet change. Before making any changes in Peaches' diet, be sure to consult her vet to make sure this is appropriate for her case. I hope this helps!

Without a full diet history it is impossible to prescribe a diet. Hills z/d is a hydrolyzed formula where all the proteins have been broken down (akin to being pre-digested) into small pieces so the immune system should not react to them and so should resolve the food intolerance symptoms, it is easily digested and highly absorbable by even the most sensitive bowel. A similar, hydrolyzed option is royal canin hypoallergenic or anallergenic and many pets find these extremely palatable. Some cases can do well on a 'novel protein diet' of home prepared food based on a protein source which she has never eaten before. This should be formulated only by a specialist nutritionist - tufts university clinical nutrition team are available by phone or appointment to help with this but it can be extremely expensive and time consuming to feed such a specific and strict diet and commercial brands are often more successful in resolving symptoms in the long term

I am happy you were able to figure out what was causing Zoeys issues. Typically with food allergies we recommend a hypoallergenic diet that is a prescription food. I am not sure the RC diet she is currently taking is over the counter or prescription. Most of the time dogs are allergic to the protein source like beef or chicken. If the RC food is prescription I would recommend talking to your vet about possible Hills or Purina which also has prescription foods. If your RC diet is over the counter you can try and switch foods but I would watch close for the protein source and realize it is possible the new food might cause problems if it was contaminated when made. I hope that helps