Why does my dog need anal gland expression after switching food?

Question

We switched Ivy from Purina Healthy Puppy to Blue Buffalo adult food and followed the recommended transition plan. We had her anal glands relieved about a month ago right after we switched her food completely. Now they seem to need it again. My wife is also pregnant, do you think the dog senses that and the case is maybe anxiety from the pregnancy and not the food switch? We have also decided to switch her back to Purina Adult Formula since it was not an issue when she was on the puppy food. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 1 year and 1 month old | 35 lbs

Jeffrey Milner · Accepted Answer

I can't say I have ever heard of any proven direct correlation between between anxiety and anal gland problems. A dog needing their anal glands manually expressed on a monthly basis is not terribly uncommon. It is definitely on the high side, but not completely unheard of. Dietary changes can certainly contribute to such a problem. I would strongly recommend not continuing to feed Ivy a puppy diet at the age of 1 year unless she is a very large breed dog that is still continuing to grow. It contains far too many calories and too high a level of fat for an adult dog. I am not a fan of the Blue Buffalo diets as I find it is simply too rich for the majority of dogs. I tend to recommend clients stick with Purina or Hill's Science Diet as the main source of food. Hope this makes sense.

Why does my dog need anal gland expression after switching food?

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