The Most Dog Friendly Community Online
Join and Discover the Best Things to do with your Dog

Behaviour moods/changes

.

Violet,
"anal discomfort" - i-e, one or both anal-glands NOT expressing, but they aren't impacted, abscessed, or swollen --- does NOT "require a grain-free diet". // Even if the dog's anal-glands were impacted, abscessed, or swollen, the dog STILL wouldn't "require a grain-free diet". :D . They're entirely-separate issues - in fact, a dog who ate only meat & bone would be IME more-likely to have anal-gland issues than one who ate a diet of grains plus meat, or meat plus grains --- b/c meat contains almost no fiber, & bone is also 'fiber-free'; such a diet produces very-dense, low-moisture stools, that are very-likely to cause constipation, & for the same reasons, also likely to cause anal-gland complications.

Dogs with chronic or recurring anal-gland issues require more dietary fiber than dogs whose anal-glands just percolate along, doing their thing without any need of assistance.

Most dogs who have a problem with grain have an intolerance for ONE grain - it might be corn / maize, it might be wheat, it might be oats. But they can eat OTHER grains with no problem; only the one they're intolerant of, can't properly digest or absorb, or are actually allergic to, is the ONE grain they cannot eat. Dogs who cannot eat wheat can eat barley, rice, oats, millet, etc.

Dogs who have anal-gland problems can still eat normal dog-foods, unless there are additional separate issues along WITH the anal-gland problems.
Even dogs with diabetes can eat carbs! - in the form of grains, or potatoes, or what-have-U; they just can't eat loads & loads of them, nor should they eat high-glycemic foods, just like human diabetics; they should eat low-glycemic foods that don't spike their blood-sugar.

grain-free foods for dogs are not automatically balanced nutrition, better nutrition, or "hypoallergenic". Quite a few are overpriced, & merely take advantage of the current fad for "grain-free". :( Just like the breeders of "Labradoodles" in 2008, they're turning out products to suit a market demand, not because they are "better" products, but b/c they will sell, & for the moment, they can also sell them at a premium price.
So they're making hay while the sun shines, & coining money. :rolleyes: ' Twas ever thus.

- terry

.
 
If it's anal glands different things work for different dogs. Our last cocker was only free of the problem once he went onto a raw food diet. It's natural anyway - so long as you get reasonable quality- and the theory is chewed up bones do the emptying bit at the end! If you get my meaning.
 
Can you give me the website address that you sourced this information from? I know what I'm talking about I did canine nutrition
 
Didn't get it from the web. BF is a lovely small animal vet with decades of experience- and it was from him. All I know is it worked for our last dog so is worth a try. I don't know if it's a breed thing but I've had two spaniels with 'end problems'. One show and one working, so go figure.
 
.

I think it's possible we have a misunderstanding about what kind of squash - I know U don't live in the UK, & I'm in the USA. // Pumpkin, like several other squashes, are a native species here - they were grown by native ppls long B4 the arrival of European explorers / invaders.

Below are various varieties of PIE-pumpkin [there are other varieties used only for seed production, too - roasted pumpkin seeds are a popular snack; plus, there are kinds that used only for carving at Hallowe'en, that are so tough they're inedible].

View attachment 111975539

Since they are all in the same family & CAN cross-breed to make fertile seed, pie-pumpkin, seed-pumpkins, & carving or crafts pumpkins are also lumped-in with other squashes, such as butternut, acorn, etc.

Even if the "pumpkin" that U refer to is the same pie-type pumpkin as i'm speaking of, HOMEMADE boiled pumpkin is not the equivalent of commercially-canned pumpkin puree - the commercial canners have the equipment to boil off an incredible amount of water, & concentrate the resulting pulp, for a very high-fiber product.
I'll look for a nutritional analysis of home-boiled pumpkin, & post it to contrast with the commercially-canned puree. :)

Boiled pumpkin, no added salt:
View attachment 111975540


SOURCE:
Pumpkin, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Nutrition Facts & Calories



Commercially-canned pumpkin puree, no salt added:
View attachment 111975541

SOURCE:
Pumpkin, canned, without salt Nutrition Facts & Calories

As U can see, there are significant differences. // 7.1 grams of fiber per cup in the commercially-canned puree', vs 2.8 in the home-cooked version.
There really is no substitute. :( Sorry about that - folks in the UK constantly ask if they can't use butternut or another squash, but no - they lack the large amounts of soluble & insoluble fiber found in pumpkin PUREE.

- terry

.


We dont have canned pumpkin in portugal, only in stores that sell american products, and there are only 1 or 2 in the country, very far from here...
 
We don't have canned pumpkin in Portugal, only in stores that sell American products, and there are only 1 or 2 in the country, very far from here.
.

oh, bummer. :( That's a shame.
I know it's readily available in the UK, & was hoping that U might be able to get some by ordering on-line.

Maybe U could persuade a food-manufacturer in Portugal to can it as a dietary supplement / high-fiber ingredient?
Obviously it grows there as a veg, & pumpkins are very prolific - from a small patch U can get quite a harvest, if the bees are around to do their thing. :) Perhaps a pet-food manufacturer would adopt this orphan, just for dogs' digestion [& then ppl can buy it to try, inexpensively...]

There's also this alternative, altho i'd also clear it with my vet:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Protexin-Pro-Fibre-Dogs-500-g/dp/B00BEXP5MA/

According to several posters, Amazon can ship to Portugal in as short as 48-hrs, but 3 to 5 days is typical.

Screen Shot 2018-04-08 at 12.29.41 PM.png


HTH,
- terry

.
 
Back
Top