Bum scooting is the symptom nobody wants to discuss and everybody eventually googles. It is usually about anal glands, and anal glands are often about stool consistency — which is where fibre and gut bacteria come into it, and why a chew like this exists at all rather than a cream.

Bugalugs make these as duck-flavoured chews, 120 to a tub, combining prebiotics and probiotics with added fibre. Their own list of what the chews are aimed at is specific: digestive support, bum scooting, anal gland support, itchy or smelly ears, and general gut health. They are suitable for all breeds and dog sizes over 4 weeks old, which is unusually young for a supplement.

• 120 chews per tub
• Duck flavoured
• Pre and probiotics with added fibre
• Suitable from 4 weeks and for all breeds and sizes
• Aimed at digestion, anal glands and gut health

Scooting has causes worth finding. Impacted or infected anal glands need emptying and sometimes treating, and a dog dragging along the carpet repeatedly should be seen rather than managed with a chew — the same behaviour also comes from worms, from itchy skin, and occasionally from something more serious. Fibre helps the mechanism that keeps glands emptying naturally, so this is a reasonable thing to add for the long run; it is not what you reach for when a dog is uncomfortable now. Bugalugs also supply no composition list or analytical constituents to us, so we cannot tell you which strains or how much fibre.

Who it's for: dogs with a history of anal gland trouble or loose stools, where a vet has already looked and the job now is keeping things steady.