[Dailydrool] Anal Glands and Fiber

[Diane Surman]

My younger Basset Daisy has had some problems with anal glands recently. 
She's pretty much eaten pumpkin her whole life, but for her, it just wasn't 
enough. Recently she had a very bad infection in her anals. She was at the 
vet 3 times in 3 weeks. After the second time at the vets, he packed them 
with antibiotics and steroids and sent her home with oral antibiotics for 2 
weeks.  After the 2 weeks, I took her back and she still had a small amount 
of infection remaining, so he packed them again.  What I found works 
fantastic is flaxseed.  I bought a big bag of totally grown and milled in 
the USA flax at Sam's Club for under $10. The dosage is 1 teaspoon for every 
40 pounds of dog. So, I give her 1 1/2 teaspoons in the morning and repeat 
the dosage at night. I just mix it in with her food and it has done a world 
of good.  She now has nice firm poop and her anals seem to be emptying.  The 
flax does need to be carefully measured out though becasue if you were to 
give a lot and the dog doesn't then consume enough water, it could block the 
intestines causing bigger problems.

Diane