[jcris]

Sorry about the title 😉
My spoo Belle licks her behind a lot and I’m wondering what I can do to help her out. It’s clearly around her anal sacs Her poop and look normal and she drinks water well. So I’m curious what I can do?
Hope you’re 4th was quiet

 

[jcris]

Also there looks like scabs over the sacs. And staining. I keep up on her grooming.
current supplements are glucosamine/chondroitin and fish oil

 

[lily cd re]

Take her to the vet!

 

[Dechi]

Definitely take her to the vet before doing anything. Scabs on the rectum is not normal (if you see scabs, they can’t be on the anal glands since those are internal).

Beckie is also a butt licker and after 3 years of searching, I think I’ve found a probable cause. It’s too early to know for sure but I believe her discomfort/pain was caused by food allergies. Right now I am feeding her pre-made raw food, one protein/one ingredient at a time. Turkey is definitely fine, chicken has tested positive for allergies and beef is the next protein in line for testing.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

chicken has tested positive for allergies and beef is the next protein in line for testing.

Can I ask how you're testing? This is something I'd like to do for Peggy's allergies/anal glands.

And yes, if a dog is licking so much they're causing sores, I'd say it's time to see the vet to make sure the glands aren't impacted. Is it possible she's also scooting? Gracie used to scoot down the rough concrete of our driveway and I was always shocked when she didn't injure herself

 

[fjm]

Sophy had an abscessed anal gland - no signs of pain or discomfort, and the first I knew was her licking at it repeatedly. It came shortly after she had a long bout of diarrhoea and soft stools, and I think the glands became impacted as a result. All cleared up with a short course of ABs.

 

[lily cd re]

As regards testing for food sensitivities I would do NutriScan. It was well worth it for our dogs and if you have insurance it should be covered.

 

[Dechi]

Can I ask how you're testing? This is something I'd like to do for Peggy's allergies/anal glands

I’m buying pre-made raw food containing one single protein, no vegetables, nothing else (except green beef tripe in some recipes). She’s having no carbs, no fillers, no supplements, or anything else. Green tripe makes the meal complete and she loves it !

Select Turkey - Bold by Nature

Shop Bold by Nature Select Turkey convenient patties. Every patty is full of ground turkey meat, ground bone, organ meats and green beef tripe.

boldraw.com

The only treats she’s having are dried turkey and dried duck (which hasn’t been tested per say yet but she was having it before and I took a chance and it’s fine).

So if she has a reaction, there is only one possible cause and it’s easy to spot. When I test a protein, I feed it for 14 days, unless she has a reaction then I stop. When I started the chicken, she had discomfort and started licking her butt after the first meal. I gave her two more meals and she kept having symptoms so I stopped. It took 5 days before she stopped licking her butt from the 3 chicken meals !

After I’ve tested a few more proteins (beef, pork, duck), I will start trying formulas which include more than meat. Then if she has a reaction, since I won’t know which of the many ingredients in the formula she doesn’t tolerate, the whole formula will be banned. When feeding raw, you’re supposed to rotate at least three proteins and if she tolerates those three, plus turkey, then we’ll be good to buy bigger boxes, to save a little money.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

It took 5 days before she stopped licking her butt from the 3 chicken meals !

Wow! If you were to start a thread on Beckie's elimination diet journey, I'd be excited to follow along. It's such a commitment, but clearly worth it.

 

[Dechi]

Wow! If you were to start a thread on Beckie's elimination diet journey, I'd be excited to follow along. It's such a commitment, but clearly worth it.

I was going to wait a little more but I can start now if it helps.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I was going to wait a little more but I can start now if it helps.

I think it would help a lot of us, and definitely me!

 

[kontiki]

I’m buying pre-made raw food containing one single protein, no vegetables, nothing else (except green beef tripe in some recipes). She’s having no carbs, no fillers, no supplements, or anything else. Green tripe makes the meal complete and she loves it ! ..............

So if she has a reaction, there is only one possible cause and it’s easy to spot. When I test a protein, I feed it for 14 days, unless she has a reaction then I stop. When I started the chicken, she had discomfort and started licking her butt after the first meal. I gave her two more meals and she kept having symptoms so I stopped. It took 5 days before she stopped licking her butt from the 3 chicken meals !

I am so curious about the chicken, Was it 'organically fed free range chicken'?, ... Or was it chicken from the mass feeders that end up on our grocery shelf? Even so call 'free range chicken' may be fed GMO corn/non organic feed to supplement that.

I have found a huge difference. For example, my Spoo will gobble down organic grass fed beed liver from a local farm, but won't go near CAFO beef liver from the store, or even commercial organic liver. I have tried many times.

 

[Dechi]

I am so curious about the chicken, Was it 'organically fed free range chicken'?, ... Or was it chicken from the mass feeders that end up on our grocery shelf? Even so call 'free range chicken' may be fed GMO corn/non organic feed to supplement that.

It was top of the line raw chicken made for dogs, not from the grocery. It might have been free range, I don’t remember.

I stopped all raw food a few months after starting, as any protein was giving Beckie strong reactions. She is now exclusively on an anallergenic food.

 

[kontiki]

Interesting.... "made for dogs" no matter how 'top of the line', sadly does not mean anything if it was not 'organic free range'. I am so sorry your dog is having these problems for sure!

I am having the opposite reaction with my Spoo. I had quit feeding my dog 100% raw during Covid as I didn't have access to my normal farmers and less was available. So I went to top of the line kibble for one of the two meals a day for about 9 months. He got really sick, and I have now spent over $3,000 on vet bills, tests of all sorts, specialists and traveling to different states to see them, etc. I was beginning to wonder if he was going to die.

So a week and a half ago I decided to go back to all raw, with fruits, and totally organic organs included a few times a week. I was amazed today, instead of refusing to get up and walk, he was pulling me faster than I could walk, starting to act like his old self again, etc. I am so crossing my fingers. Now what do I do with this $60 bag of dog food?