Best dogfood for picky eater with anal gland issues and a sensitive stomach

[Stacy Armstrong]

Hi everyone. I have a 2 year old ALD and she is a very picky eater. I've been through almost every food out there except for a few mentioned here on the threads. I've tried EVO, Innova, Solid Gold, CA Natural, TOTW, Science Diet, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Merrick, Canidae, Wellness.....and so on. I am thinking about trying Fromm but no one around here carries it so I would have to order it online.

 

When I try a new food or flavor, she will eat it with gusto for one or two feedings. And, then turns her nose up to it. I've tried putting "yummy stuff" mixed it in and she will put out every piece of kibble, lick off the yummy stuff and leave kibble all over the floor. I've mixed in canned with the dry..same thing....licks off the canned. She will not eat her kibble for days and survives on her "treats." She loves apple slices, watermelon, carrots and cheese.

 

In addition, she has started to have anal gland problems. Recently, one anal gland was infected after she had them expressed. She has recently started having them expressed every 6 weeks and they are very full. It's very obvious that she needs it done b/c she licks constantly and scoots. Could this be b/c she is not eating well, and not having firm stools?

 

She also has a sensitive stomach. She throws up at least once a week.

 

I've owned 6 dogs over the years and never has such problems. I am at my wits end trying to find a quality dogfood that she likes.

 

For those of you that have picky eaters, what food did you finally settle on?

 

Do Grain Free foods produce firmer stools?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you. Stacy

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

There are lots of us dealing with similar issues, and I wish I had an easy answer for you.  I'd suggest that you join the Food Group where you'll find several great discussions related to the best food choices for Doodles with sensitive stomachs.  I eventually had to move to home cooking with both of my guys.....I couldn't find any of the high quality foods that didn't result in runny stools.  This has helped tremendously (but it's a lot of work, and probably a last resort).  So, we've solved the runny stool and picky eater issues, but I still deal with anal gland problems.  Even with the home cooked diet and firm stool, my younger Dood has anal gland issues.  We've been having to take him to the Vet to be expressed every couple of weeks. The Vet has no clear answer as to why this is occurring, except that the fluid in the sacs is very thick, and so it isn't expressing itself naturally.  It could be related to his allergies, but we just aren't sure.  The Vet did tell me that most of the time once the stools are firmed up, the anal gland problems are corrected.  But, as with my Murphy, that isn't always the case.  Anyway, I certainly share your frustration with this, and please check out the Food Group for some very helpful information.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I agree. You should join the Food Group. I will add that our Fudge was a picky eater too, until we switched to Fromm Four Star Line. They also have a grain free food. My daughter also switched her dogs to Fromm. I like that they have different flavors and I switch them up periodically to keep their interest. I add nothing to their food and they gobble it up.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Fromms is also the first food that I found that Quincy will eat without adding something to it. I am presently feeding the grain free Surf and Turf and that seems to be his favorite. We always had an issue with soft poops but they are now much better. Quincy also throws up sometimes in the morning and that hasn't changed.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Grain-free foods do produce firmer stools for many of us. Orijen and Acana (both made in Canada by Champion Foods) has worked very well for Jackdoodle and some of the other Food Group members. The Champion lines also help with picky eaters, since there are several "flavors" (different protein based formulas) that you can feed on a rotation basis. This is true of the Fromm 4-Star line as well. Two of the formulas in the Fromm line are grain-free.

We have a list of all recommended foods, including formulas and the manufacturer's websites (to check availability)  on the main page of the Food Group.

[Becky, Savannah, & Raleigh]

I have both of my doodles on Fromm's grain free beef frittata. they love it. My female GD is finicky with a sensitive stomach and also has anal glad issues. At one point it seemed like we were going every month to have them expressed because she was licking and scooting so much. I too have tried several other top-of-the-line foods, but keep coming back to Fromm. it seems to be the only food that they both really enjoy eating and her poops have definitely been firmer, which does help the gland issues. good luck!

[Leslie J]

I've tried many foods with Cocoa as she is also a picky eater with anal gland issues.  I've now settled on Orijen/ Acana as (after a couple weeks while her system adjusted to the change)  it produced nice, firm stools which really helped.  Cocoa needs to eat two meals a day- if she "grazes" she doesn't eat enough to get the stools she needs to clear her glands. 

Cocoa also doesn't like dog food.  To get her to eat I mix in some "Ziwis Peak"- which is primarily air-dried meat- this seems to trigger her appetite enough to eat a proper meal.  It is the only dog food she likes- it looks like bits of beef jerky.  I also like it because it is dry so if she doesn't finish it I don't have to throw all of her expensive food away.  When we have chicken or fish for dinner I mix it with the kibble with a little bit of warm water so it makes a kind of gravy- she also likes that.  Mashed hard-boiled eggs are also a hit.

My experience is that she needs to eat two meals a day and produce two firm stools to prevent problems.  I tried giving her just the Orijen for a couple of weeks and she wasn't eating enough and her glands acted up again.