What can I give to my 5 month old pup who is raw fed to help her scooting problem?

If the dog has been wormed then my next thought would be that anal glands need expressing. You need to feed a fibrous meal or two to produce a larger poo so that they're expressed. Vegetables, tinned pumpkin are things that could help. Think you can buy wheat bran or something too but I'd look it up first.

Best not to get them expressed by a person at this stage, unless the dog is very uncomfortable, as the more often you get them expressed the more they will need expressing.

There's also a possibility it's behavioural, depending on your reaction to her scooting

We have wormed her and no change. Will try the veg route next. I have fed a raw diet before but with a much larger dog and thinking in those days was to feed veg regularly. Recent change of thinking is that veg is not necessary so had left it out. Could a chicken wing per day be too much bone for a sheltie pup?

Hard to tell, if poo is white/crumbly then it's too much bone, but if not it's fine. The hardness of the poo won't affect anal glands alone, it's the 'volume' that will!

Veg isn't necessary but many raw feeders will incorporate safe fruit and veg into the dog's diet. I started when my holistic vet recommended it as a vitamin boost for my last bitch. Carried on since :) you should blend it if you do feed it as dogs can't break down the cellulose or something, so needs blending to get all the best stuff out of it. Mine have carrot and cabbage sludge at the mo!

Mine are fed raw and have been for years, with and without veg added... not had any scooting, so maybe anal glands, or the raw diet needs tweaking?

I was thinking anal glands but no fishy smell on breath. The poops not white or crumbly. Very skinny firm poops as a rule but a bit softer just now. she has always done it, generally after a poop, just thought she was cleaning her bum but getting more of it now.

Any ideas how to increase the volume without making poops softer.

> Best not to get them expressed by a person at this stage, unless the dog is very uncomfortable, as the more often you get them expressed the more they will need expressing.

I tend to disagree - IF these glands are the problem, and if they are clogged/infected, if left they could rupture.  I do agree to routinely manually drain these glands unless needed (they will refill in any case) can encourage a greater need for this to be done.   Working as they should these scent glands shouldn't need touching.  BUT if the dog is scooting, it suggests clogging and in that case, a vet (not a groomer) should drain them and check what's going on - and treat if needed (may just be one side that's a problem).

The fishy smell comes from the glands, and if it's on the breath, would only be because the dog has managed to get to the area to lick!!

Of course it doesn't hurt to have a vet look at a dog, ever.

But I wouldn't want to have them expressed over a bit of scooting- personally- without seeing the dog of course, which is why I added unless it's uncomfortable. If the dog is doing small skinny poos then it's possible that a diet adjustment will sort it out. However, if it's becoming more frequent, persistent or intense over time then it's always worth a word with a vet.

Canned pumpkin or sweet potato would be good fibrous additions to meals to 'bulk up' poo.

Tried to get some canned Pumpkin yesterday at Morrisons. They don't sell and had never heard of it LOL. Maybe better luck at Asda. Thanks for the help.

I understand it is a bit difficult to get hold of it in this country, Asda may be better as they are owned by an American company, but they will probably only stock to British tastes and pumpkin isn't really one of them.
Last time I looked Amazon had it, as it seems to have anything why am I surprised, but it's at a price.

How about ground up pumpkin seed, no problem getting that?

Again, why not have your vet manually drain these glands THIS TIME just in case there is impaction/infection.   Fact is these glands will rupture if just left and personally I'd never accept scooting (my carpets!!) whether a bit, or not.    Once you know what's going on, THEN you can adjust the diet, if necessary.

Tesco sell it in the foreign food aisle.u can also use cooked butternut squash don't overdo it though.review of poos are correct and adjust accordingly . if you arnt happy get vet to do another assessment I don't favour emptying manually but sometimes needs must
.

I have had scooting dogs and when we have looked no problem with glands at all or worms either. Is the dog itchy elsewhere ,just a thought

Now and then she will have a scratch but nothing over the top. Monitored yesterday, nice firm poop, not white and no scooting. See how today goes and get some butter nut squash to add to diet as won't do any harm and may help.

There are the occasional unfortunate dogs whose glands produce a thickened substance that isn't easily expressed. Feeding raw & bones has certainly helped but even firm substantial motions don't always assist in empting the glands, for whatever unfortunate reason one of ours produces something akin to toothpaste (LOL) & having them cleaned out under anaesthetic & treated with antibiotics has made no difference so have to occasionally have to resort to having them checked & manually expressed.