Why do my dog's anal glands flare up after antibiotics? Is diet a cause?

You may speak with your veterinarian about a diet trial with a hydrolyzed protein diet for 12 weeks. This will tell you if an allergy is present. If you can;t control it with food, you may look into surgery to remove the glands. I hope this helps.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Anal glands are sometimes difficult to determine what causes them to fill up quickly and why they don't empty on their own. What we typically recommend is switching the diet completely to a different brand / formula and adding in supplementation for the anal glands such as Glandex (which can be purchased online). I've known Glandex to reduce the time between anal gland expressions by months and sometimes the diet switch alone makes a big difference. Try this for a few months and if the problem persists after, I would speak with your veterinarian about other options. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am sorry to hear about your problems with Bell! I have had some owners find the product Glandex to be helpful (though not all) so that is worth a try. Others have found probiotics such as Fortiflora or Prostora, or Omega fatty acid supplements to be helpful.

No one knows for certain what causes recurrent anal gland inflammation and irritation - sometimes allergies seem to play a role, and certain dog breeds seem to have more issues than others. There are some supplements that you can try, and sometimes adding fiber to the diet can help as well. If Pixie is not on a regular schedule to have her glands expressed that might help. If the problem is severe with recurrent anal gland infections surgery to remove the anal glands is sometimes recommended.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Trinni may have irritation arpund the anus from soft stook sitting on the skin. I would make sure to clean the butt area well to prevent further irritation. If you notice any swelling under the tale, I would have his glands checked for infection by the vet. For the soft stool, I would recommend a bland diet as outlined below. Glandex is a supplement that can help reduce anal glands problems, so I would recommend starting this product if his glands have problems on a regular basis. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Sorry to hear about Panda. The anal gland inflammation / impaction can definitely cause significant discomfort, and thus, anorexia. I think a course of anti inflammatory medication and/or pain medication would probably help considerably if this is the case. If the new diet also does not appear to be to Panda's liking, you might consider switching back to something he was more successful with and something that resulted in more regular bowel movements. Hope this helps.

Yes, you need either a high fibre diet such as "fibre response" from royal canin or a fibre supplement such as Pro Fibre from Protexin, this should help solidify the faeces and should solve the anal gland issue.