My vet told me.....

[Geordietyke]

Another trip to the vet to check Archie's anal glands after nearly 2 months on Synulox.  They were more or less empty at last but he has still be scooting (is regularly wormed btw) but I think it's because he doesn't like having "clinkers"  hanging off his fur when he goes   

I've had him on a grain free food for nearly 7 months now (2 different foods) and tbh his condition over the past few months hasn't been good.  I can see and feel his backbone and hipbones and his poos are massive - I mean Labrador/rottie sized and soft.  No wonder he has anal gland problems....

Anyway, I asked my vet about raw and especially feeding one meal raw/one meal kibble and she said there was nothing wrong with mixing the two, she said it was rubbish that they digested at different rates inside 

She went on to say that "maybe I've been looking at his diet a little too indepth"    Cheeky mare!!  All I want is for Archie to be fed the best food which suits him and that doesn't mean he's pooing it all out and losing weight.

Of course she went on to recommend Hills or Eukanuba and disputed that they were not great food when I pointed out the first 3 ingredients in Hills were maize/rice and egg!

I'm now trying Archie on Symply Lamb and Rice as recommended by my local pet store to see if that both firms him up and increases his weight.

[Patp]

There is alot about raw food on here and all very informative.

Why not try Archie on a chicken wing for breakfast (I used to hit them with a rolling pin when I first gave them to Jinley to make sure the bones were crushed), to see how he goes then his kibble for tea.  I think many say that they shouldnt have raw and kibble as one meal, but not sure if digestion at different rates is a problem, we humans have different things on our plates which digest at different rates.

If he is providing you with carrier bags full of poo, he cant be getting much goodness out of the food??  Personally I am not a favourite of any think with grain in it (just my opinion).

Touch wood, Miss J, now 3, has never needed to have her anal glands emptied and just get 2 very small firm poos a day.

[woodlander]

Have you thought about Lily's kitchen.  Grain and meal free and organic.  Their web site is www.Lilyskitchen.co.uk
Very good for pooches with sensitive tummy's

[Murphys Law]

After mistakes our vet made with our old cavalier, then recommending Science Plan as the best dog food ever (they happened to sell it) and then telling me that the new rubbish that they were selling was the greatest food in the world, I now pretty much discard anything they say about dog food.

[8 Hairy Feet]

If he's ok with chicken I would give him a go...
I know you said about feeding raw and your girls
but he could have a wing outside and that shouldn't
be a problem...honestly Lesley the difference in Ellies
output is astonishing , really small solid poo and no
trouble with the "Anals"

[Geordietyke]

Thanks for replies.  I too, take what the vet says about food with a very large pinch of salt, especially as what they recommend they just happen to stock 

Re. Lilys Kitchen - I looked at that but it's an arm and a leg    TBH even though I don't mind him having wet food, it is costing so much more than kibble.

It's just the thought of him having eaten raw and then licking us and playing with his toys etc in the house.  I'm still not sure how much of a risk of germs this poses....

[Mudmagnets]

If you find Lily's Kitchen a tad dear, how about Naturediet -  @ £13.96 for 18 trays - 398grms each tray, this seems a good alternative.

At present Minstrel gets 700grms a day and weighed in at 12.4kg on September 9th.(vet says he will need less once he is castrated and has stopped growing) It most likely sounds a lot, but remember this is wet food - so obviously liquid  added.

As you know he had a bad start, with colitis - but all in all seems to do well on this food. When his poos were a little too loose for my liking the vet suggested edible bonemeal for dogs and that firmed him up.

[its.sme]

Bea is fed Raw, she has a car ride every day and this can result in very watery output

I feed her sweet potato around 4 times a week and an occasional chicken wing (still getting used to it)
I do need to keep an eye on her glands but this always helps.

Vets are always happy to recommend what is on there shelves, but that's not always best for our  dogs.

[julie1]

I bet your vet sells Hills &  Eukanube  !!!!
Remember with raw they eat much less so it is not necessarily more expensive.

[Helen]

Synulox gave Jarvis diarrhoea which in turn gave him anal gland issues.... Diarrhoea is a listed possible adverse reaction as well as vomiting. Maybe Archie isn't tolerating it?  Your vet should know this can be a side effect.

Can you not change vets?

[Geordietyke]

It's not the runs as such Helen (his 1st of the day is always nice and formed), just quite soft and so much of the darn stuff!!  Apart from the brief time when he was on Wainwrights wet food, he's always been on the soft side and lots of it, despite trying a good quality/high protein food and grain free kibble.  He was on Synulox because his glands were infected but it can't be good for him being on them for a long time so I told her as the infection had all but gone, I didn't want anymore.

I don't have much choice when it comes to vets in the area, they all seem to think in similar ways....

[Helen]

As long as Jarv's are solid and firm for his first poo then I'm happy.  If he goes on a massive walk they will progressively soften and loosen and his final one, if he's exercising hard, is really squitty.

He is fed raw in the evening and then kibble in the morning - the last time he had an anal gland problem was when he was around 18 months old, and his style of pooing has always been as above.

I would feed him raw in the evening - you could just get in natures menu minces or chicken wings.  In the morning Jarv gets nature diet and some kibble.  I'd be more worried about him eating cats poo and licking a child than a chicken wing

He does sound like he carries his stress in his tummy and that could well affect his digestion and output. 

[Redked]

Bonnie has a chicken wing every alternate day for breakfast and then kibble and wet grain free at dinner time. She also poo's just like Helen has described above; hard at first (the perfect poo  ) but then gets progessively runnier when she is in the woods and active. However, the raw wing and grain free diet has helped her anal gland problems not to mention the fact she goes totally bonkers when she knows she is getting one, so she must love them.

I think the chicken wing would really help Archie if you can do it. It's also good for cleaning their teeth as well as the glands. You could always give it him after the kids are at school. That way, there would be no issue with germs around the children.

[Geordietyke]

Yes, I suppose I could try and brave a chicken wing for him.  He done a lovely, small and firm poo this morning (I've stopped the rabbit flavour kibble which I think was far too rich for him).  I'm lucky that he doesn't eat poo of any kind.

I am toying with the idea of the Natures Menu nuggets (for one meal) as I'm icky about raw, these can be contained and scoffed immediately by Archie 

[Helen]

Also, Jarv had a very dicky digestive system until he was around 2 1/2 and now he can handle most foods. 

If you want to keep on with kibble I would look at Fish and potato versions, they seem to work best with dogs with sensitive tums and I know skinners Duck and Rice works really well for Nicola's Tilly who has IBD and can't tolerate many foods at all