Anal glands impacted twice now in a 6 month old puppy

 So, his anal glands aren't impacted, they are full, right? He's not having fevers and antibiotics, and serious issues?

 

I'd look for something with a similar fat, protein, and fiber content to what you're feeding now, with better ingredients, and switch SLOWLY.

I would have someone teach you how to express the glands.......a lot of dogs have to get them expressed so if you can do it yourself, you save $$.    As long as they are not infected or anything... its really not a big deal.      My Gibson is two years old and he just leaked his glands on me tonight. He does this once in a while and then you don't see ( smell ) anything out of him for months.     My Bubblegum was the same....she ate Eagle Pack and her stools were very firm so it wasn't the food that made a difference.   Some dogs just have that problem. 

Sorry so it is just called full then if not infected?  Didn't realize thought that is what they called it.  So no he is fine and happy and not scooting just fishy.  No illness. 

 Anal glands can become impacted, and rupture to the inside or to the outside. If they rupture to the inside, you have a serious problem. Either way, it's extremely painful, and requires medical intervention. Needing to be expressed is not so bad, and it's fairly common. It's something that some dogs just GET. My Chinese Crested, Bean, came to me at 4 1/2 months with full anal glands, and has needed them expressed regularly, ever since. It's not a big deal. I just do it in the tub. Does he go to a groomer? They can do it, before his bath.

Here is a rather good link about anal glands. http://everything2.com/title/Anal+glands

My sons Chi just had hers impacted last week and had to spend the day at the vet because it needed to be lanced. They now say they will take her once a month or so to get them expressed.

They can be done two ways,,,externally or internally and the groomers do them externally. That said, I worked at a vet that had a groomer in the same building and several people over the years had to bring their dogs to get them done by our vet ( internally ) because doing them at the groomer did not get them done good enough.  I suppose though that if the dog doesn't have real problems, that would be good enough.

 Yep, some dogs just get full anal glands. It is normal for there to be stuff IN the sacs..it normally empties when they go to the bathroom. I'd wonder if he's just getting soft stool during the transition stage of going to a new food and thus not emptying them as well.  Perhaps if you give him some time on a new food, when you find one that agrees with you both, the issue will clear up once his stool becomes regulated again.

But, some dogs have anal gland issues no matter the diet. My late Basset had to have hers expressed often..she would leak, not empty them fully and even had an abscess back there.

None of my others have needed theirs done, thankfully. Grimm did once leak a bit in his sleep, which was gross, but then never repeated itself, thank heavens.

I check my dogs every time I bathe them. Sometimes they need to be emptied, sometimes not. Not a huge deal, and as long as they are not infected, completely normal!

 I check Tootsie once a month and only one time in her whole 5 1/2 years were they full.

I have to keep an eye on Lex's. For some reason he has never emptied them on his own.

First of Eukanuba food is poor quality food, you should listen to your dog he does not like it. Mind you this is just my opinion , leave out the byproducts please we are not sure what they are.) leave out the corn also because of allergies . rice or oats are preferable less likely to be a problem plus it is better fiber. This is just one of the many out there, this was picked randomly just to show what to look for (Blue buffalo ) I cook for my dogs and dont buy kibble This has enough grain to help you dog express his own glands plus the nutrition to give him a long and healthy life . This is also minus fish which is good because they preserve fish meal with something that is toxic. Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Natural Chicken Flavor, Chicken Fat (naturally preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Whole Potatoes, Peas, Flaxseed(natural source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Garlic, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Dried Chicory Root, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium .

I totally agree with you on it being bad food.  I have never used it prior to this pup and I don't feel he is thriving on it by any means.  I bought a bag of Acana today for him to try out.  I took an all life stages variety even though I read it does come in a large breed puppy but that isn't carried anywhere around here because the stores that sell it only do grain free foods.  It is less protein than Orijen but made by them.  I pray he transitions okay slowly and doesn't have loose stools because that mean filled anals again!

the acana food does not look like a bad food but I would rather see the meat be the first ingredient. the order of the ingredients is important with chicken being 3rd on the list that means there is very little of it in the food. If you find you need more roughage you can always add 1/2 cup extra cooked brown rice to the meal. It wont hurt and might help with the glands good luck

I am trying the prairie formula It is totally meat first?  Isn't meal chicken without the water? 

Chicken meal, russet potato, deboned chicken, deboned walleye, whitefish meal, peas, chicken fat (naturally preserved with vitamin E), sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver, deboned Lake Whitefish, whole eggs, salmon oil, sweet potato, pumpkin, spinach, turnip greens, tomatoes, carrots, apples, organic kelp, cranberries, blueberries, juniper berries, black currants, chicory root, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, lavender flowers, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, citamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, zinc proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, iron proteinate, vitamin B6, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, selenium, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.
 

 I thought this is meat first, and I thought that dog food analysis said it should be meal not meat first because of the water content blah blah!

Well I will see how this works out for us. 

 Yeah, that *is* meat first. Meat meal, carbs, meat, meat, is a meaty food I hope it works well, for the little guy. It's hard, having tummy troubles!