Anus/Butt/Poop Problems, help!

[emilyann]

I'm going to try and explain this the best I can

I've been feeding Lilly Natural Balance and she's either lost interest or is just plain depressed because my boyfriend's gone all the time with his job. So in the effort of trying to figure this out, I got a free sample from Breny of the Life's Abundance which she loves but... her butt obviously doesn't . I haven't switched foods with her in a while so I'm not sure if I'm fretting over nothing or if I should stop mixing it with her old food. I mixed the old with the new and I have been for a few days now. She's still not eating as much as she used to but at least she's eating .

Now that I've given the background, here's where the problem comes in. The past few days her poop has been a caramel color... maybe a little lighter. I just figured it'd pass in a day or so after she got adjusted. A few minutes ago she started pooping and it literally just wouldn't stop. She must have thought she was done because she started walking away then started squatting and pooping again. It wasn't runny but it wasn't firm like it usually is either, it was more of like in the middle but when she was FINALLY finishing it was just coming out in little pieces.

Is she just transitioning onto the other food or should I stop?

I also noticed her butt hole looks like it's kind of puffy (not sure if this is normal either), I had her groomed around a month ago and they were supposed to do the anal extraction. Oh and one more thing, after she finished, I got out a baby wipe and proceeded to "TRY" and wipe her butt off and she started barking at me then got the zoomies .

She also drug her butt on her pad after she finished pooping and when I was wiping I noticed a TEENY TINY smidgen of poop and I tried to get it, not sure if I did though.

I think that's it haha, I'm very descriptive.

[Judy in Waco]

You really need to transition slowly to a new food. That's probably what's going on. Did you talk to Breny? She might be more help to you.

I'm sorry it has you so worried. Hugs to both of you.

[emilyann]

Originally Posted by Judy in Waco

You really need to transition slowly to a new food. That's probably what's going on. Did you talk to Breny? She might be more help to you.

I'm sorry it has you so worried. Hugs to both of you.

I have been transitioning slowly, about as slow as I know to go. What do you see as transitioning into it slow? I'm talking like I mixed maybe 10-15 pieces with her old food if even that many. I was going to PM her but she's not on !

Thanks hun!

[Nancy1999]

I'm no expert, but it sounds like the new food is disagreeing with her and giving her slight diarrhea, which is irritating her butt. I would switch back to my normal food, and try bathing her in a warm bath to sooth her butt. Maybe you should add the new food slower, if at all. Why did you want to switch? Sometimes they rub their butts on the ground when their anal glands are too full, but sometimes they do this just because their hinny's hurt. Don't try to empty the glands yourself, you need to have a vet show you how to do this, and don't let a groomer do it either, you can cause more problems if not done correctly, but this sounds like a food problem not an anal glands problem.

[emilyann]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I'm no expert, but it sounds like the new food is disagreeing with her and giving her slight diarrhea, which is irritating her butt. I would switch back to my normal food, and try bathing her in a warm bath to sooth her butt. Maybe you should add the new food slower, if at all. Why did you want to switch? Sometimes they rub their butts on the ground when their anal glands are too full, but sometimes they do this just because their hinny's hurt. Don't try to empty the glands yourself, you need to have a vet show you how to do this, and don't let a groomer do it either, you can cause more problems if not done correctly, but this sounds like a food problem not an anal glands problem.

"I've been feeding Lilly Natural Balance and she's either lost interest or is just plain depressed because my boyfriend's gone all the time with his job."

She isn't eating the other food by itself AT ALL really... maybe like 3 or 4 pieces a day. I'm going to stop feeding it and see if her poop gets better as I can't STAND to see her booty bothering her like it did a few minutes ago. I'll NEVER try to empty the anal glands myself, I research a lot before I do ANYTHING with her or to her health wise. I've had the vet show me how to do it and I still WON'T do it, I leave that up to the big dogs. So, groomers aren't supposed to empty them? I thought they were, learn something new everyday!

Thanks for your reply, it's greatly appreciated!

[Judy in Waco]

The LA is a higher quality food than the Natural Balance, so I understand why you might switch. When we changed Gizmo to LA, we added a few pieces more each day and he still had some softer stools and it changed color some too.

It really doesn't sound like she's having that hard of a transition. I think you expect some changes in color and texture no matter what food you change to.

You might also contact Linda (FuFuFashions) since she knows a lot about the LA food also.

[Judy in Waco]

I honestly know nothing about the anal glands or the booty issues though, sorry!

[Nancy1999]

I'm sure there are some groomers that have been trained to do this correctly, and this use to be thought a required part of the grooming process, but they have learned that not all dogs need this, and many can empty their glands on their own. If not done correctly, you can push the contents further up, and cause a serious infection. Joey couldn't empty has on his own for the first 8 months, but finally out grow the problem, the vet said some dogs just don't push hard enough. Some people also think if done when not needed it can cause a build-up, and necessitate the further need of emptying them.


I can't help you with the food situation, I know usually they say adding ¼ new to ¾ old the first day is good, but any problems at all you should cut back on the new. The soft poop wouldn't bother me as much as the fact that the area look swollen, but this could be from the anal glands, or irritation from the food. So I'll let the experts take over.

[Breny]

Hi When changing any food is best to go slow and I think you did that I've completely switched mine over and to be honest...I didn't do it slowly...I just did a in with the new - out with the old...and they did just fine. Their poo did change. It was a caremel color and now it is alot darker.

All dogs will react different, just as us humans. One of my girls had a softer poo but after a few days on the food it was back to hard...and less of it! Not as stinky either When did you start swithcing her food? It just sounds like she is going through the transistion.

As far as the butt scooting... could be that she had a piece of poo still on her butt. Mine do that all the time if they can feel a peice of poo on their butt. so that could be it when you said you went to wipe it.

My girl who's poo got a little soft when I switched her to the LA...I didn't back off...I just let her system adjust on its own and she did just fine.

The LA food is a richer food and very high quality. I think I would just see what her next few bowl movements bring and keep doing what your doing.

If its her anal glands....there I can't help...sorry Food..there I can

Originally Posted by emilyann

I'm going to try and explain this the best I can

I've been feeding Lilly Natural Balance and she's either lost interest or is just plain depressed because my boyfriend's gone all the time with his job. So in the effort of trying to figure this out, I got a free sample from Breny of the Life's Abundance which she loves but... her butt obviously doesn't . I haven't switched foods with her in a while so I'm not sure if I'm fretting over nothing or if I should stop mixing it with her old food. I mixed the old with the new and I have been for a few days now. She's still not eating as much as she used to but at least she's eating .

Now that I've given the background, here's where the problem comes in. The past few days her poop has been a caramel color... maybe a little lighter. I just figured it'd pass in a day or so after she got adjusted. A few minutes ago she started pooping and it literally just wouldn't stop. She must have thought she was done because she started walking away then started squatting and pooping again. It wasn't runny but it wasn't firm like it usually is either, it was more of like in the middle but when she was FINALLY finishing it was just coming out in little pieces.

Is she just transitioning onto the other food or should I stop?

I also noticed her butt hole looks like it's kind of puffy (not sure if this is normal either), I had her groomed around a month ago and they were supposed to do the anal extraction. Oh and one more thing, after she finished, I got out a baby wipe and proceeded to "TRY" and wipe her butt off and she started barking at me then got the zoomies .

She also drug her butt on her pad after she finished pooping and when I was wiping I noticed a TEENY TINY smidgen of poop and I tried to get it, not sure if I did though.

I think that's it haha, I'm very descriptive.

[emilyann]

Originally Posted by Breny

Hi When changing any food is best to go slow and I think you did that I've completely switched mine over and to be honest...I didn't do it slowly...I just did a in with the new - out with the old...and they did just fine. Their poo did change. It was a caremel color and now it is alot darker.

All dogs will react different, just as us humans. One of my girls had a softer poo but after a few days on the food it was back to hard...and less of it! Not as stinky either When did you start swithcing her food? It just sounds like she is going through the transistion.

As far as the butt scooting... could be that she had a piece of poo still on her butt. Mine do that all the time if they can feel a peice of poo on their butt. so that could be it when you said you went to wipe it.

My girl who's poo got a little soft when I switched her to the LA...I didn't back off...I just let her system adjust on its own and she did just fine.

The LA food is a richer food and very high quality. I think I would just see what her next few bowl movements bring and keep doing what your doing.

If its her anal glands....there I can't help...sorry Food..there I can

Thanks so much Breny, you put me at ease somewhat! I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and see what the next few days bring. Her anus started bothering her just the past few days with the new food but I may just be overreacting. I know it isn't specifically her anal glands on their own, we've never in like months had problems with her booty. I think it's just her system adjusting and mommy's being a little worry wart.

Thanks again girl!

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi Emily - Personally, I don't think Lifes Abundance is a good food to be feeding Lilly and this may be why you're seeing problems.

You might want to read a review here: Dog Food Reviews - Lifes Abundance Premium Health Food for Puppies & Adult Dogs - Powered by ReviewPost

[Judy in Waco]

Thank you, I hadn't seen that review.

[emilyann]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Hi Emily - Personally, I don't think Lifes Abundance is a good food to be feeding Lilly and this may be why you're seeing problems.

You might want to read a review here: Dog Food Reviews - Lifes Abundance Premium Health Food for Puppies & Adult Dogs - Powered by ReviewPost

Wow, thanks for the heads up!

[fufufashions]

Hi! Hopefully, i can help out a little here. The transition should take from a week to 10 days. I always tell my customers to offer only 2-3 kibbles the first DAY...kind of like a treat. The next day i would add just a couple more and so on until the complete switch is made. This is true no matter what new food you introduce. Some will adjust better than others so it is an individual transition that only you will be able to determine how quickly your baby can adjust.
I just switched one of my girls over to the the LA and she did just fine without a long transition.
The internet is wonderful and you can probably find good and bad on just about every subject in the world...it is mainly someone's opinion. You can't always believe everything you read on the internet.

I trust the vet, Dr. Jane Bicks with her holistic formulation of her products. I have weekly conference calls with her and she is such a wonderful pet advocate. We love all the LA products but i know there are many that prefer other methods and foods. Everyone has opinion and that's what makes this a great place. We all try to offer our knowledge and expertise to help out everyone with questions and concerns so that they can make up their own minds about what is best for their babies. I would never put down what someone else decides is best for their baby and i don't think other's should do that either.

To the OP, Lilly's system may be reacting to the LA or she could be having a problem with her anal glads. If she hasn't had those emptied in awhile, that can definitely cause them to scoot to try to mash them and thus emptying them. Her poo will change colors with the LA food. It will also get smaller and less often but her system must also get rid of the gunk that has probably built up on the walls of her intestines. The LA has more fiber thus will clean her out quicker and more thoroughly. The poo will eventually become little balls...bloop, bloop, bloop. This is a good thing as it means that she will be absorbing more and more of the nutrients. She will eat less too since she will be getting more and more of what her system needs. Since they eat less food, the food will go a lot farther too. My girls get 1/4 cup per day. That is 1/8th cup in the morning and 1/8th cup in the late afternoon. They are all super healthy.
I hope that you will give it another try but only a few kibbles per day. That sample pack should last for a week or more for a complete transition.
IMO, i think Lilly just got too much too soon so i would recommend backing off and starting over again.
Hope that helps.

[emilyann]

Originally Posted by fufufashions

Hi! Hopefully, i can help out a little here. The transition should take from a week to 10 days. I always tell my customers to offer only 2-3 kibbles the first DAY...kind of like a treat. The next day i would add just a couple more and so on until the complete switch is made. This is true no matter what new food you introduce. Some will adjust better than others so it is an individual transition that only you will be able to determine how quickly your baby can adjust.
I just switched one of my girls over to the the LA and she did just fine without a long transition.
The internet is wonderful and you can probably find good and bad on just about every subject in the world...it is mainly someone's opinion. You can't always believe everything you read on the internet.

I trust the vet, Dr. Jane Bicks with her holistic formulation of her products. I have weekly conference calls with her and she is such a wonderful pet advocate. We love all the LA products but i know there are many that prefer other methods and foods. Everyone has opinion and that's what makes this a great place. We all try to offer our knowledge and expertise to help out everyone with questions and concerns so that they can make up their own minds about what is best for their babies. I would never put down what someone else decides is best for their baby and i don't think other's should do that either.

To the OP, Lilly's system may be reacting to the LA or she could be having a problem with her anal glads. If she hasn't had those emptied in awhile, that can definitely cause them to scoot to try to mash them and thus emptying them. Her poo will change colors with the LA food. It will also get smaller and less often but her system must also get rid of the gunk that has probably built up on the walls of her intestines. The LA has more fiber thus will clean her out quicker and more thoroughly. The poo will eventually become little balls...bloop, bloop, bloop. This is a good thing as it means that she will be absorbing more and more of the nutrients. She will eat less too since she will be getting more and more of what her system needs. Since they eat less food, the food will go a lot farther too. My girls get 1/4 cup per day. That is 1/8th cup in the morning and 1/8th cup in the late afternoon. They are all super healthy.
I hope that you will give it another try but only a few kibbles per day. That sample pack should last for a week or more for a complete transition.
IMO, i think Lilly just got too much too soon so i would recommend backing off and starting over again.
Hope that helps.

Thanks for your advice and opinions Linda! I'm still completely torn on what I'm going to do but I'm taking all of this info in and it's going to help me decide. Thanks everyone!