I had the pleasure of meeting this gorgeous boy called Moopy – what a darling dog he is! His owner lives in Aberdeen but is from Melton Mowbray where we live as a family (read about our Gamechangers connection!).

I had already met him and his owner in a teleconsult, but as she was visiting friends and wanted to discuss his long standing anal gland problem, she arranged to meet me at my unit for a proper consultation – I was delighted to meet him properly!

Moopy is an 8 year old rescue who (like most rescues) has not a single nasty bone in his body and he was such a good boy when I gently squeezed his glands that his owner says ‘leak’ regularly and leave smelly stains on the carpet that bother him (and his yoga instructor owner!).

Anal gland problems are very common and can be very distressing if not treated correctly. Smaller dogs seem to suffer more than the larger breeds and although not painful to have their glands expressed, many dogs do find it very distressing (especially the more sensitive breeds such as Greyhounds and Terriers).

Anal glands are positioned just at the exit of the anus and express a small amount of strong smelling liquid everytime they are squeezed by faeces moving past them of just the right consistency. Their role is scent marking on every mound of faeces that they produce. If your dog suffers from softer than normal faeces or from a bout of diarrhoea, the glands are not squeezed as they should and they can get blocked and then leak or are painful to your dog.

What can help blocked anal glands?

As the cause is usually soft poos or diarrhoea, it is important to find a diet that really suits your dog. Dry foods tend to harden poos more than wholefood homemade cooked food, so if it is a chronic problem with your dog, consider switching over to one of the top dry foods we recommend that does not contain soya as this can often be a cause of soft poos.

If your dog does not suffer from soft poos, then it is important to bulk out their faeces as they pass the anal glands and the ideal diet is wholefood plant-based with natural fibres. Psyllium husks can help as well as nutritional yeast to bulk out smaller poos. Fleetful make delicious ginger treat packs that contain both these ingredients that may help not only ‘treat’ your dog, but sort out any concerns that you may have with blocked anal glands – and they are very therapeutic to make!

Another option is to add a spoonful of bran to your dog’s food daily – this seems to work well in most cases too. If your dog is not keen on bran, then nutritional yeast added to their food daily can also provide the fibre needed (and extra nutrients too!)

And what about Moopy?

“I just wanted to let you know that Moopy is loving his new food from Hownd and Solo Vegetal that you recommended. He has always been a fussy eater but since we’ve been feeding him these tins and the Solo Vegetal dry, he gobbles everything up and then comes looking for us to get his post-dinner biscuits! I’m so pleased, it’s such a relief to know that he’s enjoying his food! Stools are good too so no more unwanted bun leakages either! Win win win!!”

Yoga by Charlie

#yogabycharlie, Moopy's owner

So sorry, but while we’re on the topic of poo (!), we now sell strong biodegradable tie handle poo bags that celebrate the fact that you are feeding plant-based as the writing on them is –

NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS (poo emoji)!

Remember that plant-based dog poo although a little bit more in quantity from all those healthy fibres; has far less of a scent with hardly a whiff compared to meat-based fed dogs – so well done to all of us!!