About a month or two ago, I noticed that Abby smelled a bit fishy so I took her to the vet to have her anal glands expressed, and I took that opportunity to ask questions about what to do in order to prevent this from happening again.  What was the answer?  This, “Nothing.  Just bringer over whenever she needs to get her anal glands expressed.”  Well, that was the last time I took Abby to Banfield.  When I work with pet parents and their dogs, I give them not only the tools and knowledge they need to get a balanced dog, but more important I give them a long list of the things they need to do and avoid in order to prevent unwanted behavior before it happens.

Fiber, for a dog like Abby, is very important and so with that in mind this is what she had for breakfast:

• 1/2 cup of kibble.  This is the only amount of kibble she eats for the entire day
• 2 1/2 tablespoon of oatmeal
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon of oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of egg shell.  I washed and dried egg shells and then used a blender to make it into powder.  Excellent source of calcium
• 8 blueberries
• 1/2 cup of apple.  You can substitute this with 1/3 of a small banana

Since I started to feed Abby more human food than kibble: her cute butt doesn’t smell anymore; her #2 is firm and she does it either once or twice a day; she no longer licks her butt; and she has lost weight.  But when Abby had to eat more kibble than human food her fishy smell and butt licking returns.

I started to give Abby human food in very small portions over the last couple of months and I like the changes I see in her.  By the way, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind: the recipe in this post is for a dog of 35 to 40lbs; provide plenty of water for your dog; and make sure to exercise your furry kid.  Enjoy your weekend.