Adding fibre to dog's food - what /how/how much?

gettingready

Zara had to have her anal glands expressed yesterday - she was "riding on her bum" for few days and knowing she is regularly wormed I suspected anal glands issue as she had this problem twice before.

Booked her to my regular vets where they wanted to charge nearly £70.00 for a vet visit including consultation that I did not need or just under £30.00 to see a nurse. But a friend was going to Your Vets Dagenham yesterday and we got a ride with her - total cost £10.00 and she was seen to by a vet.

Thanks Dr_Cuckoo3 for pointing us to those vets when I was looking for boosters

Anyway - money aside (but great saving and staff at Your Vets Dagenham are great), what kind of fibre added to her food would prevent future problems?

She is on dry food, Autarky, salmon and rice.

What type of fibre, where to get it, how much to give her daily? She is 39.6 kg at the moment....

Would oat bran be any good?

Thanks a lot

dontone

Hiya

We give our Monty just normal All Bran (or MSE supermarket equivalent ) We just put a sprinkling in his dish and mix it in with his wet food. He has stuff like Nature's Diet, Applpaws and Nature's Menu, which all help him digest and pass easier.
The vet recommended All bran it as she reckoned that buying that was just as good as the really dear stuff you get in health shops IYSWIM. and a little goes a long way.
The thing is, with our pooch, is that he has suffered so much with his glands, he had to have an op the other day to flush them because his kept getting badly infected (Good job he's insured)
With anal glands it's just a case of keeping an eye out for the signs, isn't it?. Our Monty does the "scooting" bit, but also gets very yappy (and he's a hound so you can imagine the noise) and he tries to bite his bum, but he can't reach. It must be really uncomfortable, the poor things.
Hope this helps and hope your pooch is feeling better

elsien

Mutt used to have a handful of porridge oats sprinkled on her food once a day. The vet said it was better for her than bran because of the colitis. Got a bit messy when she sneezed when eating though....I just bought the cheap value stuff.

gettingready

Thanks - as Zara is on dry food, may be a bit tricky..

But I also give her a oil supplment that I got from Poland - Omegan.

May mix it with that and pour over her dry food..

How much though?

Thanks again

Caroline_a

I once rescued a dog who had been starved (a Great Dane!), and the vet recommended I feed him on green tripe and bran - the bran he suggested was the stuff you give to horses that you can get really cheaply from feed merchants. Maybe add a little weak watery gravy to the food and mix in the bran?

Alternatively could you get her raw chicken carcasses?

elsien

Mutt was on dry food as well. She loved the taste of the oats so getting her to eat it wasn't a problem. I used to literally grab a small handful. a big spoonful would probably do the trick.

krlyr

Another way to bulk out poos is with bone. The odd chicken wing here and there can often help with anal gland issues

gettingready

Thanks a lot - the moody cow not keen on chicken at all - Fred and Macius are the chicken mad ones...

Zara likes any other meat but not chicken - will get her a pig leg or some ribs then.

She is on her second bowl of her normal food mixed with a table spoon of porridge oats that I mixed with the oil I give her and poured over - she gobbled all down so that is good