Though I have to say, the anal gland issue is worse. She dumps her anal glands on your lap… on the bed... on the carpet. Every day. Every time she relaxes. OMG, the smell... and it stains, too.
Oh how I loathe anal glands. So long as Loki's stools are pretty firm, he does well and only needs to be manually expressed once every 3-4 weeks. Thank goodness his is under control as his is worse when it comes to the smell and the staining. Kaia however…I don't know if we'll ever get hers fully under control. She leaks mostly when she's asleep, but will also do it when she's very relaxed. I don't know how she builds so much up; we have to manually express at least 1-2 times per week and you wouldn't believe how much there is! And she never fails to do it within 24 hours of us putting on nice, clean, fresh sheets. Changed the sheets last night and she leaked twice this morning and that was after 2 poops on the morning walk 
Ava is having the exact same problem as Kaia! Nobody wants her on their lap anymore, because once she curls up and relaxes, she leaks. Then she urgently hops up, all alarmed and sniffing and licking back there, like "whoa, what happened?!" I have tried changing foods and adding pumpkin and FortiFlora to every meal, and that's helped some. She's not having to have them expressed as often, but she still leaks. The carpet is starting to smell, and all my sheets are stained. I had no anal gland issues with Spencer, but Ava… I'm hoping she'll grow out of it, but the vet said some dogs never do. It's awful!
Becky, sounds like you're having food issues, too. When I was home-cooking for Spencer, he got so he wouldn't eat anything for more than a day or two. The dog got so picky, he wouldn't even eat leftovers! So I planned my meals around Spencer and cooked for both of us. It was the healthiest I've ever eaten. And I learned to flavor veggies and things with healthy oils– salmon oil, olive oil, etc. And adding a few noodles would perk up his appetite right away. Don't ask me why. Ava isn't all that picky, thank goodness.
And what's up with all the peeing and chewing? Elliot too? The "forgetting" obedience and disregarding commands I get, but the peeing! Though I have to say, the anal gland issue is worse. She dumps her anal glands on your lap... on the bed... on the carpet. Every day. Every time she relaxes. OMG, the smell... and it stains, too.
He ate perfectly and one day he just decided he didn't want the food I was giving him anymore. Cody used to stop eating when it was close to the end of a bag (maybe getting stale?) but always started again with a new bag. I thought Elliot was doing the same but NOPE. He just refuses to eat more than a few bits at a time. I practically have to force feed him!
He only pees in his kennel. It's not even "you left me here too long and I had to go" it's more "HEY..HEY… Why are you leaving! NO! -pees- NOW YOU HAVE TO LET ME OUT AND CLEAN THIS". Thankfully he's stopped this but I'd trade it in for this not eating thing.
I have yet to have anal gland issues with Elliot. Cody's abscessed once and it was awful. He'd need them expressed from time to time but I'm a vet tech and could do them myself. I've had them on my face, down my clothes and in my hair.. YUCK! (not from my own dogs but while at work)
Kaia has done it on my lap once. And she loves to sleep up by our shoulders and heads and prefers to put her bottom right up against your back. So now on the nights my husband is working, I have all these extra pillows on his side so she can't get up there and I use extra throw blankets to tuck under her bum. At least then if she leaks, it's on an extra blanket and I won't have to strip the entire bed. But she likes to move around a lot so there were plenty of nights I went with very little sleep (pre-half a dozen pillows) because I was so paranoid about getting anal gland leakage far too close to my face for comfort! It's getting better now that we're learning how to manage it. I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to buy those doggie diapers to put on her at bedtime.
Yep, anal glands and peeing– my two least favorite things. Funny thing is, Ava had no anal gland issues at all-- never even had them expressed-- until I switched her from puppy food to adult food. Same brand; pretty much the same ingredients, so I don't get it. A lot of the peeing is from her recurring UTIs, so it's hard to get that under control. She's peeing the bed again this week and is back on antibiotics, so those doggie diapers are sounding pretty good!
There has been talk of using oil of oregano to cure/prevent UTIs on my K9 Kidney list. Might be worth looking into or at least googling. I will say the oil itself tastes VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY bad. I think they say to put the oil inside empty capsules in order to dose the dog. I am unsure of the dosing strength. And I think there are capsules available.
Otherwise, you may want to look into cranberry supplements. (got to taste a whole heck of a lot better than the oregano oil.)
PS - did I mention that the oil of oregano taste really horrible? (and I like oregano)
Oil of oregano– that's a new one. Thanks-- I'll check it out! But if it's that bad-- and sounds like it is-- Ava won't get near it. Poor girl has been pilled so much in her short life that she's already learned to run and hide.
I'm using a cranberry supplement now. She doesn't mind it in her food with all the other supplements, but it isn't helping her thus far. I would be willing to give the oregano oil a go, because at this point, I'll try almost anything to get her healthy.
I am trying to adopt from BRAT but I haven't had any luck. The first one I tried on ended up not caring to much for cats. My home was inspected and approved. My application is in. They have one right now named Saphire that I have sent off a few request but no reply. Any tips or pointers that you can give me would be appreciated. thanks
