StoolRite | Quickly relieve anal gland issues in dogs, naturally.

Gastrointestinal issues have resulted in your dogs’ anal glands becoming blocked and sore so they butt scoot to relieve it. Stoolrite is a unique, nutritious, natural solution that unlike other fibre supplements has a dual effect. First, it is an anti-inflammatory of the gut. Then its high soluble fibre content promotes better gut function and stool formation in your dogs.

What is StoolRite?

StoolRite is a unique, all-natural solution to anal gland issues in dogs. It is made of an incredible type of sea plant (which exact one is proprietary, and no, it’s not kelp!) that not only acts as an anti-inflammatory in the gut but as it also rich in soluble and insoluble dietary fibres, helps improve gut function and ultimately stool quality. It is this dual function that makes StoolRite the greatest anal-gland reliever on the market (in our opinion…and that of all the people that review the product, in fairness!).

Why has my dog got anal gland problems?

Anal glands are like little zits that sit at 4 and 8 o’clock just inside your dog’s anus. They contain a sticky (and very smelly) greenish-yellow liquid that dogs use to communicate with each other. As a firm stool passes out the anus, it squishes the glands, emitting some of the pheromones.

Blocked anal glands most often result from a dog with gut issues – too much gastrointestinal inflammation (usually from the wrong diet, something we at Dogs First can help you with) coupled with too many soft stools means the glands do not express properly. Instead, they build up. This can soon become uncomfortable and even painful for the dog, which they try to relieve by bottom-scooting across your carpet.

How does Stoolrite help?

As well as being highly nutritious, Seaweed is choc-full of anti-inflammatory compounds, many of them unique to plants under the waves (such as fucoidans), which help to cool off some of the inflammation in the gut. Then the high fibre content of the sea plant used in StoolRite absorbs spare water in the gut, firming up the stools that in turn permit greater expression of the glands. Furthermore, the complex carbohydrates and dietary saccharides in StoolRite are thought to act as a natural prebiotic, helping to restore microbiota balance, boosting gut health and thus nutrient absorption in dogs.

How do I give StoolRite?

StoolRite is a finely ground, green powder. There is a 2g scoop included. Your dog needs around 2g per 10kg of dog. You sprinkle it on their food (and yes, the vast majority like the taste. In fact, because it works so well, don’t underestimate your dogs’ ability to know what’s good for them. Still, you might build to the required dose slowly over a few meals and mix it well into their food!).

How long will StoolRite take to work?

As the reviews corroborate, we expect StoolRite to relieve your dogs’ anal gland issues in anything from 2-14 days.

Ingredients

A single, high fibre, sustainably harvested green seaweed (proprietary)

Please note…

NOT TO BE USED IN DOGS WITH HYPERTHYROID ISSUES

DO NOT USE WITH OTHER SEAWEED-BASED PRODUCTS

Anal Glands in Dogs – Too Many Soft Poos Is The Cause Of Anal Gland Issues In Dogs…

Dr Conor Brady

Anal gland issues are almost entirely a dry-fed dog phenomenon. They are greatly alleviated with its removal. Below I will show you the cause and solution to your dogs issues. 

What are the anal glands and why do they impact?

The anal glands, situated at 4 and 8 o’clock around the dog’s anus, are like two tiny nipples. Their function is to release pheromones on to the stool, to enable communication between dogs. Therefore, dog’s sniff each other’s butts. As faeces passes over the anal glands they are expressed, this causes the pheromones to be released.

However, if the faeces are too soft, these will not be expressed. Over time, this results in a build-up of the anal glands, which can then become impacted. This is very sore for a dog and materialises by them dragging their bum along the ground in an effort to express them.

When this does not work, they require manual expression by the dog’s owner or a vet (see below, pretty graphic, best leave it to a groomer or vet as the stuff absolutely stinks). If left unattended they will build up and impact, causing severe pain, even rupturing, so they need to be attended to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ4RS4i_RUQ

Soft faeces is the cause of a dog’s anal glands issues. It is most likely the dog is dry fed (as he has anal gland issues) as pelleted dry food increases the water content of stools (Stroucken et al. 1996). The question is why? There are two reasons – the first is the presence of too much indigestible plant fibre in the dry food and the second is food sensitivity.

To Understand Anal Glands in Dogs First You Need To Understand What Poo Is!…

Faeces (or stool) is the undigested leftover bits from food that has passed through the digestive system. A meal that is high in indigestible food will lead to larger waste material (i.e faeces).

If you eat a very digestible meal (like pasta) or chicken breast, it will produce very little waste as the body will digest and assimilate almost everything that went in. On the other hand, if you eat a meal full of less digestible material (like plant fibre) then more will make it out the other end.

This effect is magnified for carnivores. Plant fibre requires a long, slow digestive system with special gut micro-flora that is adapted to breaking it down, such as that of a cow. We omnivores with our shorter and relatively faster digestive systems, are a little worse at it. We have systems that need to accommodate a bit of meat and less fibrous additions.

Dogs and cats are carnivores. Left to their own devices they consume a diet of 97% animal protein. They have short, fast guts with stomach acids like battery acid, around pH1.5. They are designed to digest meat which by its nature is a very digestible foodstuff, void of all the indigestible fibre you get with plant material. Due to this, a dog generally has significantly smaller stools than an omnivore who in turn have smaller poos than a herbivore!

What Does the Ideal dog Stool Look Like?

A good dog stool is reasonably small logs or nuggets, though they will vary in size between breeds. As they do not contain much fibre, they are firmer and not as moist as human faeces. They should be relatively firm and easy to pick up, leaving a slight residue.

The Role of Insoluble Fibre in Soft Poos…

Fibre moderates the speed that food passes through the digestive system. Indigestible plant fibre acts like a sponge in the stool, absorbing water from the surroundings. This has a bulking effect, making the stool wetter and softer, lubricating the stool and speeding up it’s arrival out the other end.

While the dog’s system is ideal for digesting meat it is really poor at digesting plant material. It doesn’t hold on to it long enough for digestion to occur. Even if it did they don’t house the necessary microbes to get the job done. And they don’t have the enzymes. And their teeth don’t grind down the rough plant material at point of entry.

The only fibre your dog really needs is that he sources from the hair or feathers on his prey, maybe some nails, maybe some leaves that stuck to his meal, maybe a bit of grass that they sometimes like to eat. They don’t need plant material. Lots of people (me included) use some plant additions (such as greens) in their dog’s diet to aid the flow of digesta through the gut as in general few of us are feeding whole animals with hair and feathers. The bif of plant fibre here is an attempt to replace that.

With this in mind, the addition of plant fibre to your dog’s diet will make his poos softer. If you are feeding a dry food that is high in crude fibre it may play a role in making his stool too soft. S

The Role of Food Intolerance in Soft Dog Poos…

The second cause of dog’s anal gland issues is food intolerance, most likely to wheat (gluten) and cooked protein. As highlighted in our popular Allergy in Dogs article, the majority of dogs are suspected to be intolerant to wheat gluten. This means they cannot digest it and their immune system around their guts becomes affected. This causes inflammation of the gut and the body trying to get rid of the problem as quickly as possible through the back door. This digesta is not well formed and is often soft to the point of being diarrhoea. However, wheat is not the only cost and I urge you, if your dog has recurring soft poos, you really need to address his diet. There are many reasons dry, ultra-processed food can produce bad stools in dogs, and they’re all addressed in our allergy article.

The Cure to Anal Gland Issues In Dogs

The cure to anal gland issues in dogs is two-fold. Firstly, the dog should not be fed any stool-loosening foods (indigestible plant fibre, wheat gluten, cooked protein, in other words, dry-food and pet store treats like dental sticks). Remove all these and feed a biologically appropriate fresh dog food. There is nothing like real, species-appropriate, raw dog food to create great stools in dogs.

Once the bad stuff is removed and the good stuff is put in the dog’s stools will dry up a bit, becoming firmer and the dog should be able to express the anal glands normally.

In the meantime, and certainly for those staying on dry food, the tried and tested way of firming up a soft poo is by adding in some fibre (inulin). Some vets recommend a handful of muesli (raisin free, of course) for that bit of fibre. However, muesli is rarely gluten-free (most contain wheat or barley) so it’s not recommended.

Co-formulated by Dr Conor Brady, StoolRite is cheap, effective, natural solution to anal gland issues in dogs. It will both increase stool quality in your dog and work to relieve inflammation that causes anal gland issues.