I have had my dogs on James wellbeloved since i got them but on taking Milo to the vet I was told his anal glands were really full probably because his poop isn't firm enough I spoke to a nutritionalist at James Wellbeloved who said to try the dogs on lamb and rice or Ocean fish as they were originally on duck and rice but they won't eat either lamb or fish and it was mixed in for a week they actually separated it which i think was very clever but that is not the issue the lady said those where the best as they contain barley and that will help Milo.  Now I am back to finding a new dog food and I haven't a clue when I got Milo originally he was on Butchers but his poop was awful any ideas I want one that has a high fat content so they can both put on a little weight that was why they were on the duck and rice.  A friend gave me a little Arden Grange puppy and they love that but is that because it is puppy not adult?

If you want a high fat content add a spoonful of vegetable oil every few days - not too much or they'll get the squits!

I found JWB did not have enough fibre for my dogs.  They settled well on Beta, via Chappie tins which were too smelly for me to persevere with :) but I understand the dry stuff is good too.

Arden grange is probably a step up from JWB.If anal glands are your dogs only problem on JWB then IMO there are less drastic ways then changing foods to help this,if it was a terrible food then i would probably say "change it",but as it is one of the premium foods you can only change 'down' :( !.Adding rmb's such as raw chicken wings or necks often solve anal gland probs or you could add a tsp or so(depending how large or small your dog is) of bran to one of his meals per day or you could change to AG and see if that helps.
If you decide to add oil,be careful as this could soften his poops even more and make his AG problems even worse no matter what food you try. Raw green tripe,fatty cuts of meat added to one meal per day or every second day are healthier,more nutritious ways of upping the fat content of the diet.

I like the idea of feeding raw chicken wings but do worry wether my dogs would be able to eat them as they are so small they are ckcs but my bitch is smaller than my cat I was intending to feed my dogs a raw diet after my last one passed away, he couldn't eat it as he had lost a lot of teeth but I bottled out.

>I like the idea of feeding raw chicken wings but do worry wether my dogs would be able to eat them as they are so small<

You could start off with chicken wing "tips" and necks(any dog can get through a chicken neck),and then progress to smashed wings,bashed a few times with a mallet,until eventually they're eating whole wings.
Cavs are not to small to eat bones,no dog is ;)

Some dogs have anal gland problems no matter what you feed them.  I have one that does and she's been on various diets.  Best thing I found for her was Naturediet with some added wheat bran (a level tablespoon).   I'm off Naturediet now because of all the supply and quality problems.

I tried JWB duck as well, but shortly after I started it she had a bad attack of diarhea that necessitated two trips to the vet.  So I dropped the JWB, even though I'm not convinced it was the cause.  It may well have been something she scavenged or the last pack of Naturediet was bad. 

I switched her to Arden Grange, the regular variety.  In any event, I've noticed she's back to having more "issues" with her rear end even though I've been adding extra bran or a whole bran cereal. 

My other dog is fed exactly the same thing as my bitch - and his poo is always hard and never has had anal gland problems. Like I say, it's not necessarily the food, some dog's simply have different metabolisms.   True some foods will work better than others - but don't expect a complete fix to the problem by diet.

I always add extra oil to my dog's food during the Winter, it stops any dry skin problems caused by heat in the house.  I just add a capsule of Evening Primrose oil, which does the trick.  It's extra calories as well ... not that mine need them!

I agree with Ktee & Cairnmania, if it's the only problem with an otherwise fine diet, I would leave them as they are.

I had a mongrel some years ago who had anal gland trouble whatever food she was on.  I made a point of checking them every month and she never had any real problems, I just kept on top of it.  Emptying them is not a pleasant experience, I must admit. :)

The FC's I have now are on JWB Turkey and I don't recall ever having to do their glands.

I feed Arden Grange to 3 different breeds of dogs of all shapes and sizes - they all have different poo and thankfully I have never had any problems with their Anal Glands.

What I can say is if you wanted to persevere or get specialist information Ness the nutritionist at Arden Grange is very helpful indeed, I have rung her many times to enquire about different food and feeding regimes for my lot and they are only happy to help.

Good luck

Thanks Chi-Chi as you say I have 2 dogs on same food different foods wierd

I hope it resolves for your pooch Cindyloos Mum :)