Is That A Fishy Smell From The Dog?
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No matter how many dog books you read, dog movies you see or dogs you walk by on the street, NOTHING can prepare you for the "fishy". This is what my Mom and I call the smell that emanates from the dog's anal glands. I'm surprised they never talked about this in Lassie. "Woof! Woof!" "What is it, girl? Is Timmy down the -OH MY GOSH! What is that SMELL? Lassie, did you just do a fishy?" "Whine."
What On Earth Is THAT?
Usually for no reason and without any warning whatsoever, your dog's anal glands will spontaneously empty. There will be a sudden stink of fish left too long in the sun. Your dog will often leave a clear or brown mucus-like small discharge from the anus onto the carpet, couch or whatever they happen to be sitting on. They will often look embarrassed or afraid and promptly groom under his or her tail.
The discharge usually does not leave a stain and is entirely gone within 24 hours. In the meantime, break out the Lysol and make the best of it. The only thing that makes the smell go away entirely is time. After a few months, you start to get used to it. Once you whiff it, it can be a source of great amusement for the family to tease the dog about his or her "fishies". Don't go overboard on the teasing, though.
Why Is This Happening?
This "fishy" is actually normal. Ideally, the anal glands only discharge when a dog is pooping or when extremely scared. But, like everything else in life, the anal glands don't often work as they should. Sometimes, through no fault of the dog at all, they will suddenly empty. I cannot emphasize enough that the dog cannot control this.
When a dog scoots his or her behind on the carpet, literally dragging the anus along the carpet, this is a sign that the anal glands are uncomfortably full and need to empty. The discharge usually is non-staining, starts dissipating after an hour and is entirely gone in 24 hours. A dog can scoot and still have spontaneous "fishies".
Do I Need To Go To The Vet
If your dog is constantly licking and cleaning his or her behind, then something is wrong. Anal glands can get infected and sometimes need to be surgically removed. Check also for sores or abnormal redness or even blood or pus. If your dog has "fishies" but is otherwise acting normally, eating normally and excreting normally, there is not much a vet can do.
The vet can teach you how to empty your dog's anal glands yourself. This is called "expressing the anal glands" and is one of the services dog groomers and some vet offices provide, usually at a separate cost. There are even tutorials online about how to express your dog's anal glands yourself, but only do this for big, very mellow dogs, please. You might need to actually insert your forefinger into the dog's anus, which can be a bit of a shock for the dog.
Do I express my dog's anal glands? No. She's nervous enough as it is. And, I have poor eyesight. Besides, the smell is not that much of a bother. I check that her anal glands are not infected, and the rest I leave for the vet.
It is thought that too soft stool and not enough fiber in the diet can lead to more "fishies".
Don't be angry at your dog for having "fishies". Considering the love and affection your dog provides for you, a few stink bombs are a small price to pay. If anyone in your family complains about the dog's "fishies", remind the complainer of all the times they don't exactly smell like roses.
This Lab is "scooting"
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Comments
That's a good way to deal with it -- let the vet do it :-) Thanks for taking the time to read my humble article.
I have to say this explains a lot of strange behaviour of our dog. Thanks.
Thanks for the help....i thought that my dog was getting into some garbage outside. but turns out it was just the "Fishies". Thanks Again!
Thank you for the "Fishies!" So gross, but I feel better now that my dog doesn't have an infection. Thanks!!!!
My boyfriend and I had wondered for a long time what exactly that smell was. It's gross but it is nice to finally have an answer to what it was. Thanks
ewwwwwww
My Great Dane just started this and I was wondering if someone was feeding her something they shouldn't. Thank you for putting my mind at ease.
Thanks for the info. I have a pitbul and a dashound and they both sometimes smell like fish. I'm glad to know this is sum what normal. I thought the high quality food that I was feeding them was junk.
This website made me laugh so much, my dog has fishies now poor girl lol!
I just adopted my beagle a few months ago and noticed the fishy smell.
We have another dog and have never had this happen before. We were worried something was seriously wrong with new dog.
Thank you very much for this article, It has put our mind at ease and now we can laugh about it now instead of worry.
My dog had a really bad dream and it looked like she was almost convulsing in her sleep. I woke her up and she looked really scared and dazed. She got up from her baed and suddenly there was this terrible fishy stench! This article explains it! Thank you.
I asked the vet about this a year ago and he told me somewhat you said. I was nervous because my dog does it almost once a week. I was going to call my vet today, but after reading your article, I don't think I need to. She is acting completely normal, eating, excreting, playing etc. and I've checked for signs of an infection. Thanks for the information!
Thanks for this information, it was just what I was looking for! I had a beagle/pointer mix who never smelled fishy, and we recently adopted a lab/pit bull mix who has this fish smell that mysteriously comes and goes. I'm relieved to learn it's normal and won't permanently ruin my furniture.
Thanks so much for explaining this! This sometimes happens when my dog is barking. I couldn't figure out what it was!
Phew, I thought something was wrong with my girl, but now you've put my mind at ease. We have two mixed breed dogs, the larger one has been having the "fishies" every few weeks. However, we haven't noticed an odor on our smaller, male dog, but he definitely does the butt drag thing, while she does not??
Thanks for this hub, just a few days ago we noticed our Boxer Joda smelled like fish. This explains why lol.
I am so glad that my Chow Chow is not the only one that has this problem, I was beginning to think that she was an alien. The smell is really hectic and bathing does not even help. She sleeps on our bed and climbes on the furniture and well it is not pleasant. I will just have to keep some baby wet wipes handy and wipe away when it gets too bad. I had no objection keeping my daughter clean when she was a baby so I guess my four legged daughter will be no different, thanks for the info, it was really helpful!
I'm pet-sitting for a friend and her Shih-Tzu has this. I was scared she got sick or had an infection from my house! I'm glad that this is all it is.
Ohmigosh! My dog isn't the only one! He has done this twice, both out of fear. Both times he got his head stuck in the car window (about 10 seconds each time) and "squirted." It smelled SO bad!
eeeewwwww!!!!!!!! hahahahah!
How do you know if the glands are infected? My dog has the fishies and is constantly licking her tail. She will jump like something stuck or bit her. She does not have fleas. Does this mean her glands may be infected?
usually its from black people
okay thanks
" jamanji says:
2 weeks ago
usually its from black people"
what in the hell does that mean? dumbass
That explains a lot. We always just said the dog was juicy fartin' when he started licking his butthole.
Thank God I found this Coon hound and saved his damn life. Now it's one new awful thing after another. I have had dogs my whole life and have never experienced this! I kept thinking his bum was sore and kept putting Bag Bomb on it, which I think has made it worse. This particular dog I love very much, also smells like corn chips.... which my husband hates.
We've been calling them "fish blasts" for 15 years and always blamed it on the female dog, poor thing! Great article, thanks!
OMG - So that's what it is.....It's smells soooo bad too!
I thought it was Pyometra but my dog has been spayed and is in good health. I just wondered why she's only just started doing it? She's 4 and has never done before, and has smelled 3 times in the last few months!
Our beagle cross has done this since she was a pup. Sometimes she can go 3 months without a "fishbomb"(as we call it) yet in the last 10 days shes probably done 3 or 4!! Putrid!!
thanks for the wonderful inf.now i nowk what is happening to my dog. thanks again.
"it can be a source of great amusement for the family"
ahahaha
That's great!!! Thank you this actually put me at ease. This article was a great source of amusement for me.
landfill sites smell better than this, Never wanted one in my front room though!!!!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!
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Whitney05 says:
2 years ago
A lady my mother knows, has her dogs' anal glands emptied at the vet. One of the three, had to be rushed to the vet, and that's what he prescribed, so now she brings them all in every so many months or so.