Recently two people have asked me about their dogs anal glands. Aside from feeding raw and pumpkin (also seems popular),  has anyone found anything else that works?
TIA

With my dog it's more a case of what I don't feed her rather than what I do feed her.
She gets fed a mixture of home cooked and kibble which keeps everything as it should be.
It's when I feed her cheap chews that she has problems so I only buy good quality ones.

We had an issue with our oldest dogs glands since he was a puppy. A vet told us to give him a desert spoonful of oatbran in his meal daily and since doing so, we have never had to have them emptied again...nearly four years! I buy plain oatbran rather than allbran as it has no added sugar or salt etc, its just oatbran, available from supermarkets and health shops. We use it on our youngest one now too,..and again, no problems.

On my boy who gets them repeatedly I use Epsom salts and it works a treat To minimise it if I suspect one is brewing. Several people who I have recommended it to swear by it too.

How much do you use Boody?  Raine is forever needing hers done, interestingly less since she was treated for a UTI (vet had seen no evidence of infection in the glands though) and it's such a stressful thing for her to have done that I'm always on the hunt for something that might help.

> A vet told us to give him a desert spoonful of oatbran in his meal daily

I have a bitch that has awful problems.  And as she is all white and constantly licking her bum, she is discoloured badly round her back end.  A lady vet recommended exactly the same and I had my bitch on oat bran for a couple of weeks and the poor thing got much worse.  My own vet suggested that my bitch had an allergy to it and he was right! 

i use a table spoon in a cupful of water and soak some kitchen roll in it and then apply as a compress. It also speeds up healing time and helps draw out all the nasty when they do get one. For the price it costs (around £3) i would not be without it.

Oh no poor girl. I hope you found something that helped. Allergies can happen to anything and anyone anytime sadly as I know with one of my boys although thankfully not to oatbran, but generally, it's an easy and cheap remedy.

Well you might be right about allergies. I've just found out one of the dogs is fed on Wagg (ugh)