# high fibre foods



## ctarry (Sep 10, 2010)

we have a 3 year old old english sheepdog

she always has her anal glands done every visit to the vets...

...she keeps dragging her bottom on the floor because of it. the vet did say that it could be down to the diet and the amount of fibre

we only feed her dried food.

can anyone recommend some dried food that is high in fibre, if possible not the brands that cost £50> for 15kg. the foods we have found usually contain 3% fibre. she is usually fed wagg or bakers brand

any help would be appreciated

thanks


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

ctarry said:


> we have a 3 year old old english sheepdog
> 
> she always has her anal glands done every visit to the vets...
> 
> ...


Sorry to say but wagg and bakers are as bad as it gets food wise. I has the same nutritional value as you eating macdonalds for every meal.

I'd recommend a food change anyway, since anything will be better than wagg/bakers/pedigree etc. Skinners duck and rice is a good food, and is a billion times better than wegg/pedigree/bakers etc, and it's £19 a bag.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-food-ski...-and-trial-duck-and-rice-dog-food-15kg-p-2434

As for fiber, why not just go to holland and barret and but a bag of bran, add that to her diet every day. A giant bag is about £3 and lasts months. I've added it to the diet of my two since I got them.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Vet UK sell a product called Pro Fibre that is really good for anal gland problems. It's like a pellet and you add a scoopful to their food and mix it in. My Bichon gets anal gland problems too but the Pro fibre seems to help.


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## ctarry (Sep 10, 2010)

thanks 

in the past we have used iams and also trophy pet foods. she is bored with the food at the moment. with wagg in her bowl, it can be there for a day or 2 before she will eat it and then ask for more straight away. bakers is getting eaten more or less straight away. she is more of a 'grazer'.

it just depends on when we go to pets at home when we get her something different, as our local supermarket only has pedigree, bakers and wagg...what a choice


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

ctarry said:


> thanks
> 
> in the past we have used iams and also trophy pet foods. she is bored with the food at the moment. with wagg in her bowl, it can be there for a day or 2 before she will eat it and then ask for more straight away. bakers is getting eaten more or less straight away. she is more of a 'grazer'.
> 
> it just depends on when we go to pets at home when we get her something different, as our local supermarket only has pedigree, bakers and wagg...what a choice


Iams is no better than pedigree/bakers/wagg. Ordering online is the best option if you can. Especially if that's the only choice.

A lot of dogs go through phases of not eating, and the more you change, the more you're encouraging them to be fussy. But some dogs just don't like dry food.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Raw chicken wings are good too. Clean teeth on the way in and anal glands on the way out?

Depends on the size of your dog. My little terrier has wings but I believe bigger dogs need bigger pieces up to whole chickens to munch on.


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## ctarry (Sep 10, 2010)

hhmmmm

just been looking up skinners on the forum and sounds good.

the Skinners Field and Trial Duck and Rice Dog Food keeps popping up, along with the salmon.

is the duck the best, or maybe Field & Trial Superior? been looking on the web and out of all the types available, it seems these 2 have the highest protein %

thanks


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

ctarry said:


> hhmmmm
> 
> just been looking up skinners on the forum and sounds good.
> 
> ...


The salmon and duck are as good as each other. Call skinners for salmples and see which one your dog prefers.


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## ctarry (Sep 10, 2010)

well i have ordered some skinners duck and rice. see how that goes down

do the 15kg bags last a while? does anyone know the feeding amounts per day? she is 25kg

thanks for the help


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## Staffybull (Jul 23, 2010)

ctarry said:


> well i have ordered some skinners duck and rice. see how that goes down
> 
> do the 15kg bags last a while? does anyone know the feeding amounts per day? she is 25kg
> 
> thanks for the help


I am not over excited about dry food,but this is far better than crapy wagg or bakers,they are the worst of the worst

You could when u get skinners,add some real meat to the menu,some cooked chicken,fish or a little offal,this will greatly benefit your dogs health,i personally would feed a wet tinned diet,far more easier on the digestion of your dognaturediet is what i feed.

If u must feed dry,then i would suggest that u soak the dry with water until softish,this way your dog can digest the food easier

As for the amount you feed,then u may have to look at the recommended amount stated by the manufacturer,although this is not always the case,i would take the rough estimate and stick roughly with it,give or take a little or add,u should go by sight on how your dog looks,i think a dog should always have a waist when looking down as he is standing

Good luck with the new food,and dont forget to add some real meat


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

ctarry said:


> well i have ordered some skinners duck and rice. see how that goes down
> 
> do the 15kg bags last a while? does anyone know the feeding amounts per day? she is 25kg
> 
> thanks for the help


Skinners is usually 100g per 8kg of dog.

Have you tried the 15 minute food thing? Putting the food down for 15mins, if it's not eaten take it away and don't give anything till next meal time, no treats, no scraps, nothing at all. Then do the same. It's much healthier for the dog two be having a regular feeding routine.

I agree with staffybull too, try mixing in some wet, or some meat, my two wont touch dry on it's own. But if you do this, pick something and stick to it, swapping and changing teaches the dog that by leaving the food, they'll get something else/better.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Good luck with the skinners - mine has the salmon and loves it.
Just in case yours doesnt like the duck, dont write them off - mine wouldnt touch it.
Hopefully that wont happen but it would be worth contacting skinners for a sample of salmon if it does.

Sorry, being a bit of a wet blanket here. Positive thinking-the duck will be fine :thumbup:


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## ctarry (Sep 10, 2010)

Lyceum said:


> Skinners is usually 100g per 8kg of dog.
> 
> Have you tried the 15 minute food thing?


tried it when she was a puppy. she has always been a grazer (but always been the perfect weight), which seems to be fairly typical with OES after previous family experience and friends keeping them.

see how we get on with this


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Mine was a grazer on kibble too. I used to put down the RDA in the morning and it would be gone by evening. Initially she used to graze it over 3 meals varying quantity each meal and then adjusted herself to 2 as she got older.


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## PinkEars (Jun 4, 2010)

Lola has the same issue, she has to have her anual glands emptied regularly, she also has to have a high protein and high fibre diet so she is on pro plan and we sprinkle brand over her dinner.

I have to say the scooting doesn't seem to stop any more, i am not sure if it is habit or she is really irritated. Even after the vets have emptied and even had a course of anti inflammatory she is still scooting quite alot. The vets have recommended having an allergy check. Its cost something like £280 which is alot to tell you it is not an allergy. If it shows something up however than its all worth it. 

Has anyone else ever had an allergy check or continued scooting when anal glands are empty?

Thanks

Hannah


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## paddyjulie (May 9, 2009)

PinkEars said:


> Lola has the same issue, she has to have her anual glands emptied regularly, she also has to have a high protein and high fibre diet so she is on pro plan and we sprinkle brand over her dinner.
> 
> I have to say the scooting doesn't seem to stop any more, i am not sure if it is habit or she is really irritated. Even after the vets have emptied and even had a course of anti inflammatory she is still scooting quite alot. The vets have recommended having an allergy check. Its cost something like £280 which is alot to tell you it is not an allergy. If it shows something up however than its all worth it.
> 
> ...


Mavis does it all the time...and we have put it down to her having an itchy bum:lol: because of her allergies...when she was younger she even got them flushed out and filled with antibiotic to see if it would help..it didnt..she can actually make hers bleed if i dont stop her..

Back on track...Bran from holland and Barret as said earlier...it works wonders..bulks the stool so the glands are emptied when the dog cleans itself..it is only a couple of pound and will last you months..

juliex


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## PinkEars (Jun 4, 2010)

paddyjulie said:


> Mavis does it all the time...and we have put it down to her having an itchy bum:lol: because of her allergies...when she was younger she even got them flushed out and filled with antibiotic to see if it would help..it didnt..she can actually make hers bleed if i dont stop her..
> 
> Back on track...Bran from holland and Barret as said earlier...it works wonders..bulks the stool so the glands are emptied when the dog cleans itself..it is only a couple of pound and will last you months..
> 
> juliex


Did you ever find out what Allergies she actually had?

I do the bran thing and it definitely helps, she seems fine in all other departments, eating and then pooing lol but the scooting is a bit upsetting wiping her bum all over the carpet and looks really uncomfortable for her. Sometimes she gets spooked by it and jumps up and looks at her bum im wondering if she gets a stabbing pain or something!


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## paddyjulie (May 9, 2009)

PinkEars said:


> Did you ever find out what Allergies she actually had?
> 
> I do the bran thing and it definitely helps, she seems fine in all other departments, eating and then pooing lol but the scooting is a bit upsetting wiping her bum all over the carpet and looks really uncomfortable for her. Sometimes she gets spooked by it and jumps up and looks at her bum im wondering if she gets a stabbing pain or something!


Yes mavis has an allergy to house mites and storage mites

juliex


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

I agree with the advice about a food change, good luck with the skinners.


For fibre you could add a couple of chicken wings (raw of course) to the diet, but remember that raw food digests at a different rate to dry, so best to give as an entirely seperate entity.

If you want an alternative to bran (e.g. grain intollerances).. then a good one to try is some psyllium. Yes its a seed however its unlikely to cause a problem as it passes through undigested... it is simply a bulker. Not as cheap as bran but definatly a viable alternative.


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## dodger99 (Aug 20, 2012)

I picked up on a couple of posts on this thread raising the question of *dog food quality*. I feel very strongly about this subject and hate to see well meaning dog owner being ripped off by large dog food manufacturers such as Purina (makers of bakers, winalot, gourmet, beta, bonio), Eukanuba, Hills Science Diet etc etc

*Check the quality of your dog food here, you will be surprised !!*

Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost


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## dodger99 (Aug 20, 2012)

Pros:	None
Cons:	Inadequate meat content for feeding a canine, use of carcinogenic chemical preservatives, artificial colourants

This food receives a 1-star rating simply because there is nothing lower.

Read full review..

*Dog Food Reviews - Bakers Complete Beef & Country Vegetables - Powered by ReviewPost*


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## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

Some dogs have a problem with anal glands no matter what you are feeding. It depends on the "gap". Changing diet can help a lot although it's not just a simple matter of fibre but the quality of the food in general.

When changing food it's often best if you change over slowly, decreasing the amount of old while increasing the new over the course of a couple of weeks. 

One other thing which can loosen stool is overfeeding and you need to be aware of this possibility as well.


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