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  1. #1
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
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    Recurrent Anal Gland/Fishbutt Issues - Food Recommendations?

    Hello Everyone! This is my first post. I have an almost 2-year-old Black Lab. He has been eating Blue Basics Turkey and Potato Adult Dog Food ever since we got him at 7 weeks and switched him off of the IAMS the breeder had him on. He's had some pretty recurrent anal gland issues. I call it FISHBUTT. It's like someone tossed raw fish all over the room. He has expressed the anal gland juices in our house and we have to wash his butt quite frequently. He's had them expressed once when he got neutered last summer. I've read mixed things on having anal gland issues expressed a ton, so I'm not sure what to do. I've recently started thinking it may be his food and that I need to switch him to a different brand. Has anyone had this issue while feeding the Blue Basics dog food? I'm gathering from other posts that perhaps a high fiber and low calorie food will help. Any suggestions for such a food? His poops are not soft, but they're not really hard like my parents' labs' poops. To give a good description - when I pick them up, I can scoop them up but there are always some soft bits that I can't quite pick up and stay on the grass. I have set up an appointment at the vet for him this weekend, but want really to switch his food, as I also think he may be too overweight. I've been giving him 4 cups a day (plus a fish oil and a Vitamin E for his nails, but that's a different story for a different post...), because that's what the Blue bag says, and now I'm thinking I've been giving him too much! He's 85 lbs. I appreciate any help and advice. Thanks!

  2. #2
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Not a fan of BB. They recently were involved in a lawsuit for lying about their ingredients. But depending on how much activity the dog gets, 3 cups a day may be enough. 85# isn't necessarily overweight, and a vet may tell you your dog is overweight even if they actually look good.

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  4. #3
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    If his glands seem to be leaky (and not full when expressed), there's a good chance he's got a food intolerance making things itchy inside. Baffle's intolerance was to the meat organ flavoring used in chewable tablets (his supplements were chewables but even chewable Rimadyl was a culprit). I had a long trial and error search to determine the problem ingredient but, once any meat flavoring was removed from his diet, he never leaked again.

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    There may be a reason your breeder fed Iams in the first place. Did you ever ask them why they used it?

    My pups do great on Eukanuba LBP (and adult if needed) for instance, but one pup's owner wanted to try Orijen or something like that because it was "better" food, and I said fine. The pup never had solid stools on that food until the owner finally switched back to the Euk LBP at ~9 mos at my urging. Voila, solid poos!!!! So much for the other being a "better" food! Fiber may well have something to do with it. You could always try to add psyllium husks to see if you can bulk him up a bit, or again, ask the breeder (if they've been breeding for any length of time) why they do what they do. Anne
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  8. #5
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Eh, I am not a huge fan of BB either. Alot of the formulas cause excessive gas for my dogs, softer poops depending on the formula, and its just over priced in my opinion.

    Try one of the Proplan foods, they even have some grain free options now as well which might help harden up his poops a bit. I would also stop the fish oil and vitamin E for now until you see better poops. Eliminate any possible reason for the issues until you figure it out. I worked out some anal gland issues I was having a while back with my corgi with Natures Domain sold at Costco, that could be another option

    4 cups of food is alot for a 2 year old lab. I bet he should be eating no more than 2 1/2 to 3 cups a day max.

  9. #6
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    Not a fan of BB. They recently were involved in a lawsuit for lying about their ingredients. But depending on how much activity the dog gets, 3 cups a day may be enough. 85# isn't necessarily overweight, and a vet may tell you your dog is overweight even if they actually look good.

    thanks, I never knew about the lawsuits!! Yeah, I think I need to decrease to 3 cups.

  10. #7
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
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    OK thank you, I never knew about meat flavoring being a culprit.

  11. #8
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by windycanyon View Post
    There may be a reason your breeder fed Iams in the first place. Did you ever ask them why they used it?

    My pups do great on Eukanuba LBP (and adult if needed) for instance, but one pup's owner wanted to try Orijen or something like that because it was "better" food, and I said fine. The pup never had solid stools on that food until the owner finally switched back to the Euk LBP at ~9 mos at my urging. Voila, solid poos!!!! So much for the other being a "better" food! Fiber may well have something to do with it. You could always try to add psyllium husks to see if you can bulk him up a bit, or again, ask the breeder (if they've been breeding for any length of time) why they do what they do. Anne
    I never did ask the breeder, she just said that's what she feeds all her dogs. I did all this research and read horrible things about corn and wheat and fillers and gluten and decided to try Blue Basics after my vet suggested our dog may also have an intolerance to chicken (I tried Wellness puppy for a little while but it gave him really runny stools). So are the "fancier" grain free dog foods NOT good?!

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  13. #9
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ZoeysMommy View Post
    Eh, I am not a huge fan of BB either. Alot of the formulas cause excessive gas for my dogs, softer poops depending on the formula, and its just over priced in my opinion.

    Try one of the Proplan foods, they even have some grain free options now as well which might help harden up his poops a bit. I would also stop the fish oil and vitamin E for now until you see better poops. Eliminate any possible reason for the issues until you figure it out. I worked out some anal gland issues I was having a while back with my corgi with Natures Domain sold at Costco, that could be another option

    4 cups of food is alot for a 2 year old lab. I bet he should be eating no more than 2 1/2 to 3 cups a day max.
    Thanks! Ugh, I feel like a dummy, I was just following the bag suggestions, and clearly they are not right! I wouldn't call him visibly fat, but he looks a little heavy lately, and definitely isn't getting as much exercise as he was before our human baby was born 9 mos ago. I've read a lot of people on this forum use Pro Plan and have good things to say about it.

  14. #10
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LabMum1030 View Post
    Thanks! Ugh, I feel like a dummy, I was just following the bag suggestions, and clearly they are not right! I wouldn't call him visibly fat, but he looks a little heavy lately, and definitely isn't getting as much exercise as he was before our human baby was born 9 mos ago. I've read a lot of people on this forum use Pro Plan and have good things to say about it.
    Proplan works well for most dogs in general. If you do choose Proplan stay away from the kind with the shredds, it contains soy. I also like alot of the Wellness and some of the Natural Balance foods. Mine are eating Natural Balance Synergy right now and ive had great results

    And FWIW, I have no issues feeding corn, wheat. If the dog in particular doesnt have a sensitivity to it then I dont worry about it

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