Food and Poop - Anal Sacs / glands problem!

Apr 29 2011 - Updates : Orijen Fish + Wellness Simple Food Solutions Lamb Rice.

Jan 8 2011 - Food and Poop - Anal Sacs / glands problem! Pt II.

2012 - Please note we have since change Toto's kibble to ADULT kibbles, read 'Kibbles and Treats' for more updates.

2013 AUGUST 08 - We decide to CONVERT TOto to RAW DIET, and as of now for about 3 months, we hasn't had any ANAL GLAND leaking issue (touchwood).

For the past 2 months, Toto keep having this anal sacs problem and his anal area smell BAD; combination of poopy + fishy smell! And he keep licking his anal area which made his tongue smelly too! And so we know when your dog chases his tail or licking his ass, it is NOT a good sign or remotely FUNNY, it meant he has a problem! And the next stage would be the dog scooting his butt on the ground DRAGGING it across the floor, and the next thing you know he would have a IMPACT anal gland, and that is a SERIOUS problem!

Wikipedia

In dogs, these glands are occasionally referred to as "scent glands", because they enable the animals to mark their territory and identify other dogs. The glands can spontaneously empty, especially under times of stress, and create a very sudden unpleasant change in the odor of the dog. Dog feces are normally firm, and the anal glands usually empty when the dog defecates, lubricating the anal opening in the process. When the dog's stools are soft they may not exert enough pressure on the glands, which then may fail to empty. This may cause discomfort as the full anal gland pushes on the anus. The glands can be emptied by the dog's keeper, or more typically by a groomer or veterinarian, by squeezing the gland so the contents are released through the small openings on either side of the anus. Discomfort is evidenced by the dog dragging its posterior on the ground, licking or biting at the anus, sitting uncomfortably, having difficulty sitting or standing, or chasing its tail.

We research online and everywhere online mention that there are only 2 way to solve this problem; manually using our hand to help express the anal sac OR change his diet so that his POOP is harder and firmer.

But the problem with helping Toto release the anal sacs will not solve the underlying issue and in the long run, he will just DEPEND on us to help with it and that isn't easy; hahaha and disgusting. Hubby tried it once and regretted, hahahaha ...

The Second way is to find ways to harden his POOP! Alot information online have mentioned to increase his fibre intake. But how?

At that point of time, Toto's apetite has DECLINE and we were worried, so we bought Flaxseed meal to increase his fibre intake and it also help to increase his appetite to 2 cups per day (1 in the morning, 1 in the evening). His poop is still soft and slimy and he POOP alot, like 5-6x a day!

We were so lost!

We almost want to change his brand of kibbles as advised online!!

And finally hubby found the answer, we have been OVERFEEDING Toto!! After his neutering Operation, by right we should have convert him to adult food or if not decrease his food intake to 'ADULT' portion! Actually,Toto did it automatically but being 'ignorant' and 'kiasee'(scare to die) adult, we still buy flaxseed to indulge him to eat MORE!

Overfeeding means undigested food = soft poop = impacted anal gland!

And our ignorance caused TOto to have a smelly, FAT butt!

Hahaha he grew so fast, we were so worried because we were aiming for him to be at 16-17lb @ adult weight! And at 7mths he already is at 17lbs!!! We were so WORRIED hahaha, not forgetting his small potbelly which make him look so clumsy cute! And when in dog park he RAN lesser and so much slower too!

But then after the 'Chewed wall episode', the 'fasting' make everything back in order again. He is now at about 16lbs, and feeding so much lesser so we can give him more treats!

We are feeding Toto with One cup of Hundchen Flocken Puppy (lamb) and hopefully will be converting him to adult soon! We also added like a 1/8 cup Pinnacle Holistic Trout & Sweet Potato Dry Formula into his kibbles, we wanted some fish in him, hahaha! We got that Packet free from Pet Supplies Plus when Toto is a 4mth old puppy, he is so cute, the friendly staff gave him a 'FREE' packet!! Hahahaha ~ After he has done with that we be adding his 'fish' supplies from Orijen 6 fish from dog!

Toto eat twice a day, half cup each + 2 teasp of Flaxseed!

When we overfeed Toto, he is so disinterested in his meal, NOW he cannot wait for feeding time! If I am late in the morning, he will sit by his feeding area to WHINE!

One online forummer even 'Fast' her dogs for 24hrs once a month so that her dog has SUPER hard poop! Well whatever you do, I guess this isn't a one solution problem, because there are 1001 solutions online, choose one that is based on you dog's need, and we are lucky that we found that solution!

Please NOTE everything written here is based on personal experience!