Honest Kitchen and anal gland issues

[lovemyshelties]

Our four of our Shelties are having to get their anals emptied about every other month. I'm wondering if it could be a lack of fiber in the Honest Kitchen dehydrated food. We feed them grain free kibble in the morning and Honest Kitchen for their evening meal.

Any suggestions?

 

[mellie]

Pumpkin, canned, plain can add fiber. Green beans add fiber too. Hope things improve in that area.

 

[Mignarda]

Take care, though: too much fiber can lead to constipation, just as it does in humans.

 

[Internette]

Do you cook the pumpkin and green beans?

 

[Mersea]

Which formula are you feeding? To be honest, my complaint with THK is that it often has TOO MUCH fiber, the dog will poop 4-5 times per day and often not digest the veggies very well. Are the poops solid, firm, or sort of loose/falls apart with large chunks of veggies?

Fiber can firm up the poop, yes, but too much and it just pushes everything through. You end up with a large volume but not firm enough to help express the anal glands.

I had the best luck with THK products when I soaked the food overnight (in the fridge) and added a probiotic/digestive enzyme product. When I did that, my sheltie went from pooping copiously and loosely literally every single time he went outside (6 times a day!) to about 3x/day and much smaller, firmer, poops.

 

[Sheltie4]

I never really thought about food contributing to my dogs' full anal glands . . .

I feed Fresh Pet, and have two dogs that need their glands expressed every other month, but the remaining 4, not so much.

I guess I just thought it was the individual dog's make up.

 

[mellie]

Do you cook the pumpkin and green beans?

Yes, cook them well. You can use the canned pumpkin as it is because it is already cooked and just a tablespoon mixed with food. Green beans cooked well are good for snacks. Most dogs love them and don't have a problem with them but each body is different and some may not tolerate as well as others.