| Well, I wouldn't totally count out diet as part of the problem. A good friend of mine has a Bichon that had impacted anal glands, the dog was constipated, constantly on antibiotics and had to go to the vet's once a month to get them expresssed. As well as that, my friend was really worried because the little dog is getting quite old, is a really picky eater and ate very little of the different kibble she was offered. I talked her into giving the dog a home-made, cooked diet, more to encourage her appetite than anything (no bones, the little dog doesn't have a whole bunch of teeth). The little dog, of course, loves eating "people food" and her owner is thrilled. She told me that she just had her dog into the vet's the other day for some small problem and he asked her if she'd been doing the anal glands herself because he hadn't seen her for eight months!! She'd noticed that the dog was no longer constipated, but she hadn't really kept track of when the dog's glands had last been done. She hasn't had one problem since she switched diets.
Dogs with allergies are very prone to skin and ear infections, so who's to say it maybe couldn't have played a part in your dog's problem. Allergies cause inflammation which in turn sets up a breeding ground for bacterial infections to get a hold. Maybe the switch back to the original kibble will help.  |