Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 10 year-old Lab has been plagued with allergies all her life, with bouts of foot licking and more-often-than-not has smelly, yucky ears. In an effort to put an end to her discomfort I have been trying different foods over the years (she has always been on kibble) to see if it’s food related. After trying quite a few non-grain kibbles I tried Evo, but she became quite constipated despite the addition of pumpkin and yogurt. She started licking her rear end and a visit to the vet revealed impacted anal glands. She’s now eating a sweet potato and venison kibble and seems to be doing somewhat better — no foot licking, but still has smaller stools and some trouble passing them. I’m worried about the anal glands becoming impacted again. This year she also suffered from a UTI and has some crystals in her urine. I’ve been reading up on feeding raw and at this point am seriously considering it. Do you think it would be a positive alternative for her considering her age and recent troubles?

I feel that raw food is a better way to go, and it should not cause anal gland problems. However, I suggest that you have her thyroid checked the next time you bring her to a vet.

I switched this dog (10 yr-old, 62# lab) over to a raw food diet following Billinghurst’s “Give Your Dog a Bone” two weeks ago. Her stools are fine and she is urinating normally. Over the last couple of days, however, she has become very stiff and sore looking. She has never had any arthritis in the past, but is now slow/stiff when getting up and down, and after lying down for a while walks gingerly and is somewhat hunched over until she limbers up. No thyroid test done because the constipation/UTI resolved, but could do that now if it still seems called for. Thanks in advance for any further insight you can offer.