Lurcher scooting and gas — food fix on a budget

Scooting and chronic gas in a rescue Lurcher often point to a food intolerance rather than a true allergy — the good news is that's usually fixable with a diet change. True food allergies exist but are less common; what you're describing sounds like a gut reaction to a common ingredient, most likely chicken, beef, or a grain. The most reliable fix is an elimination diet using a novel or hydrolysed protein — something your dog has never eaten before. To point you in the right direction: how old is your Lurcher, what are they currently eating, and have you spoken to a vet or tried switching foods before?

That all makes sense — supermarket dry foods almost always use chicken or beef as the main protein, and both are extremely common triggers for gut sensitivity in dogs. The scooting tells me her anal glands are likely getting impacted because of loose or poorly formed stools, which is a classic downstream symptom of food intolerance. Before spending money on a vet, it's completely reasonable to try a food switch first, since a dietary trigger is the most likely culprit here. What's her current weight roughly, and is her stool generally soft or loose?

That makes complete sense and it's the right call to start with food. For a 25kg dog with this exact symptom profile — soft stools, gas, scooting — I'd go with Harringtons Salmon & Potato dry dog food. It uses salmon as the single main protein, which is a genuine novel protein for most UK rescue dogs who've been fed chicken-based diets, and potato instead of wheat or corn, which removes the two most common grain irritants in one go. It's one of the most affordable proper novel-protein foods available — a 10kg bag comes in under £20 on Amazon, which works out well for a 25kg dog. Transition her slowly over 7–10 days, mixing it in gradually, to avoid making the stomach upset worse. Firm stools and less scooting within 3–4 weeks would be a strong sign you've found the trigger. If there's no improvement at all after a month on it, that's when a vet visit would be worth prioritising.

It's perfectly fine as her main food long term — Harringtons Salmon & Potato is a complete dry food, so it meets all her nutritional needs. If after a couple of months everything has settled down and you wanted to identify the exact trigger, you could try reintroducing a chicken-based food and see if symptoms return, but honestly if she's doing well on the salmon and potato there's no real reason to. Many dogs with food sensitivities just stay on a novel protein food indefinitely and thrive on it. Keep an eye on stool consistency as your main indicator — firm, well-formed stools mean the gut is happy.

Good plan. Slow transition is really the key — resist the temptation to switch over faster even if she seems to tolerate it, because the gut needs time to adjust. If the scooting hasn't improved after four weeks on the new food, or if you notice blood in her stool at any point, that's when it's worth getting the vet involved regardless of cost. But most dogs with a straightforward food sensitivity respond really well once you remove the trigger. Good luck with her — rescue Lurchers are brilliant dogs.