Does diet affect the anal glands?

[Julie and Maggie]

If the answer is no then forget the rest of this. I need to ask it in another forum. 

I don't know much about how anal glands work. I do know how bad they smell when she lets it out though. About two weeks ago it happened while I was getting ready to brush her. Maggie loves her brushing and was really excited which may have set it off. I took her to the groomer a couple days ago and they said that her glands were full, they expressed them, but nothing seemed wrong or infected. 

And around Thanksgiving/Christmas time we were going through a rather bad bout of smells. I did not know that's what it was at the time. I thought she was just passing gas or burping. She had been throwing up her food a lot. When I brought her to the vet her doctor suggested we simplify her food first before messing with anything else. At the time she was on Fromm Adult Gold Large Breed, and I was mixing in a variety of the Four-Star lines. Looking back I believe I was doing too much too fast, despite the fact that the shop owner who sells it says we can switch around all we like. Well, once we settled her down into one food choice it all eventually stopped... the vomit and the rear-end smell. She is still only eating the AGLB.

Is there something I can or should do with her diet to make her poops more effective in expressing the glands? Or is what I have pretty much the way it is? Her poops have always looked normal. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Firm poop is needed in order for the anal glands to express normally when the dog defecates, so food plays a role in that sense. But there is no particular food brand or formula that plays a role in this. If a dog's poop is firm and she is still having trouble with anal gland issues, there may be a couple of things going on.

One is that some dogs just have recurrent anal gland issues, probably inherited, and sometimes even have to have the glands removed surgically. We do have at least one DK member who has had to have this done. The problem seems to be that the secretions are too copious and/or too thick, and they become impacted.

Another problem can be manually expressing the anal glands incorrectly, and this often happens when it's done externally by the groomer. The anal glands should ideally be expressed from the inside, not by putting pressure on them externally. This can sometimes cause them to become impacted. If your dog has recurring anal gland issues, I suggest that you not permit anyone to express them other than your vet or vet tech. I also would not depend on the groomer to decide if there is an infection or anything else wrong.

Anal gland problems can be related to other health issues such as allergies, but the connection is not understood.

The fact that your dog had a problem with vomiting prior to the food change may mean that something else is going on here.

No matter how much your dog likes being brushed, it is not normal for her anal glands to express just from being brushed, or just from being excited.

If her stools are very firm and regular (i.e., she goes every day around the same time of day), I would talk to the vet about it; just don't let him sell you any Rx food or probiotics.

 

 

[Julie and Maggie]

Thanks Karen,
Yes her poops seem normal and regular. They always have. Since she just had her glands expressed (I don't know if internally or externally, didn't know there was a difference) I will take her in to the vet in a couple weeks so she can be examined and talk with her vet.

The vomitting phase I believe was caused by her food changes. She would eat and then burp a whole lot. Then those burps would turn into a throw up. The vet had me put her on a Pepcid AC once a day in addition to getting on one single food. All that clearly helped back then. Time for a follow up now.

I'll heed your advice too on the Rx warning. Thanks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I hope you're right about the vomiting, but people change their dog's food all the time without any burping or vomiting; loose stool would be a more common response to a food change.

Please let us know what the vet says at the follow up appointment.