AG Issue

[voidecho]

Took Lincoln to the vet for the first time today and he did great and checked out great except for one issue. About 30 minutes before we were heading to the vet I took him out to potty (so he wouldn't there and so I could grab a sample). He did his normal #2, then a few minutes ran back over to his spot and did a second #2 (that's a first). This one was the softest one he's had. Not to get too descriptive, but his normal #2's since we brought him home are what I would compare to soft serve ice cream. This one was even softer. After I brought him inside, he started scooting all over the carpet on his butt. It was obviously itching him or bothering him in some other manner.

So I tell the vet about it, and Lincoln actually does some scooting on his butt in the exam room, so they check his Anal Glands, which I'd never even heard of and they said they were full and expressed them. The vet had some concerns that they needed to be expressed at 9 weeks and said this may be a continous problem throughout his life.

So being a first time dog owner, my questions after reading some of the threads on here related to AG issues are...

• Is soft serve ice cream consitency way too soft? I'm slowly switching him off of the breeder's food (some type of Blue Buffalo) to Orijen Six Fish.
• Sounds like it's not really recommended to express them so young, is that true?
• If I can get his stool firmer, do you think the issue would go away?
• Should I hasten the transition from the old food to the new, or maybe the opposite?
• Could some of this just be related to the stress of coming home with us?

I'm thinking about switching completely to the new food. The fact the glands were full makes me think his stool has been soft longer than just the time he's been at our place, meaning the breeder's food may not have ever been agreeing with him. I may ask the breeder if he noticed Lincoln's stools being soft, but with 13 puppies pooping everywhere, I doubt he would know.

 

[Smart_Family]

Yea you want firm, formed stool. When the dog has the perfect poop, the poop expresses the anal glands on it's way out. When you have poop that's too soft it doesn't so they get filled up and need manual expression. How far through the transition are you?

 

[voidecho]

Well, I wouldn't say I have a well thought out transition plan. I probably took 12-15 cups of food from the breeder and I started out giving Lincoln 2/3rds cup of the old stuff and 1/3rd the new stuff each time I fed him. I've bumped it up to around 1/2 to 1/2 at this point. He came home Saturday night and had one cup, and today is only his third full day here.

He's had no treats and has eaten maybe two inches of a large bully stick. No human foods. He's gained over two lbs since we brought him home Saturday night. Looks trim and healthy.

 

[Smart_Family]

I would keep transitioning until the old food is completely gone. Hopefully after about a week or so he will have firmer stool.

 

[CowboyBebop]

Just checking, but his sample came back negative for worms and other infections, yes? Also, has he been dewormed?

 

[ruthcatrin]

yah, soft serve is to soft, and yah, thats likely why his glands were full. In general the soft poo could just be the stress of transition between households but combined with the anal gland issue it does make me think that its been like that for a while.

Keep in mind that transitioning foods to fast can ALSO cause diarrhea issues.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

I had never heard of the anal gland issue until my neighbours old dog. He was 15 when he passed and was a shep/lab cross. She actually did it herself as it had to be done often. To go to the vet and have it done all the time would have been a huge expense. Then they get a corgi and she has the same issue. She scoots all over the place. The vet did the anal gland thing and all is fine. She has normal poops so thats not the issue.

Now our vet had asked if Murphy does the scoot because she thinks he has food allergies. She said ear infections, paw licking and butt scooting are all signs of allergy. I don't know if I could handle a scooting EM, how funny that would look.

Now that Murphy is off chicken/grains his poops are solid. We adopted him 4 weeks ago and he came with loose stools. So we are on our way to NORMAL

 

[voidecho]

I'm waiting for the call on the sample. I'll stick with the slow transition and hope as I get weighted more and more to the "better" stuff his stools will firm up.

 

[voidecho]

He's still scooting some today and he did the double poo again. First one was big and soft, second one was small and very soft. Guess I need to hear back about the stool sample?

 

[ruthcatrin]

Yah, don't adjust his food any further, either way, for a bit either. Just him him go at what he's on and see what happens.

 

[babyjoemurphy]

Poor little poop scooter, But it sure is funny to see!
Hope you hear back soon!

 

[CowboyBebop]

I had problems finding a "good" food for Castle. He is VERY sensitive to excessive protein. The only food that works for him is Iams (unfortunately). I was on a grain free holistic food for a while and it worsened. He can't have any other food or even an egg mixed into his food or he gets soft stools. It might be a food issue.

 

[voidecho]

Lincoln is still scooting quite a bit. His stools are all over the place on firmness. He's only fully been on his new food for a couple of days so I'm going to give it some time before I hit the panic button on this food.

Not sure why he's still scooting so much, unless the soft stools are bothering him. His glands were expressed, he's been wormed, and his tests all came back negative so he shouldn't have any bugs in his tummy.

I will say he just had the funniest scoot yet. He ran up the hill and took an impromtu poo, then dropped down on his butt and slid about four feet down the hill right on his rump with his back legs out in front of him. I wish I was recording.

 

[CowboyBebop]

The glands will keep filling back up. It is also possible that he has a duct issue on his AGs. I hope it straightens out. My advice on the food is to start with cheaper smaller bags (if available). We were buying 30 to 40 pound bags and he only got all the way through the Orijen. Also, it might help to go to something like Iams. It isn't the greatest food but it is well tolerated by a LARGE number of dogs. I just supplement with flax seed oil, a probiotic, and a joint supplement. You can try canned pumpkin. That may help too. Make sure that it is pumpkin and not pie mix if you decide to try that. Also, the pumpkin will only work for as long as you are feeding it to him if it is a food issue.