Help with my dog with Anal Gland issue.

[Lottie]

Hello everyone can anyone help me please?. On Friday I had to take my Shih Tzu to the vet as she looked like she was suffering with full Anal glands. This was confirmed by my vet when she emptied them .
On reading all sorts of advice it seems she needs more fibre in her diet and a single protein. I recently changed her and her sister to Gentle Small Bites Cold Pressed food. There were on raw previously. I have found that Cold Pressed has suited them very well and really would like them to stay on this as it suits them and us.
The one thing I notice is that Gentle is not grain free ( not recommenced for Anal gland problem- which I did not know at the time)  but it is also very low in fibre - only 3.%. Could anyone help me to decide what I should do . I know that Tribal have just brought out a small breed  food but is lower in fibre and not single protein and also Forthglade do cold pressed too. Does anyone have similar issues with their pooches and works for them.? 
I would be very grateful for any advice.
I should mention this is the second time she has had this problem in 8 months and never in her 11years previously.

[Tinyplanets]

I had to have my dogs anal glands expressed when I first got her from the shelter but have had no issues since. She was on a cold pressed food for a couple of years. I think as long as stools are fairly firm, anal glands should express without help. Are you finding the stools to be firm on the Gentle? If so, I would continue on that and see if the problem reoccurs.

In some cases, individual  dogs may just be more likely to need help expressing them.

[Lottie]

Thank you Tinyplanets. Yes her stools are very firm. If I am honest I would rather use up the Gentle as I still have quite a bit left, obviously not at the risk of her being poorly again. She was scooting and air licking a bit this afternoon and the vet did say it may take a couple of days to get right again and if not better to go back again.
I did read somewhere to add a bit of Bran to the food so I may try that as Gentle is lower in Crude Fibre than some other Cold Pressed foods.
Thank you again for the advice Tinyplanets it is much appreciated.

[Dottie]

The search box revealed quite a few posts on the forum about anal gland issues. Might be worth checking them out. I didn’t know that grain wasn’t recommended with anal gland issues - I thought that brown rice would be useful for the fibre content. Cold pressed food containing brown rice seemed to solve one of my dog’s anal gland problems.

The dog needs to have a reasonably wide but firm stool so that it compresses the glands as it is passed. Fibre is good to increase bulk but you don’t want too much that it makes the stool too soft. There’s a helpful article about this here. BTW ‘flea seed’ is psyllium husk and is a source of fibre that can be added to food. 

My vet said that some dogs need regular emptying of anal glands due to their anatomy. I wonder if it becomes more of a problem with age. It might be worth trying a good quality canine specific probiotic.

[Lottie]

Thank you Dottie that was a very useful article . I shall refer back to it when ever there is a problem again - hopefully won't be. I shall continue to use Gentle, it contains Brown rice and if the problem re-occurs then I will look at food again.  I may also have a chat to Gentle as she was very helpful before.
 Thanks again Dottie much appreciated.