Why Does My Female Dog Smell Like Fish

And one day you pick your dog up to play with her and you get that sudden wave of a very bad smell hit you, and you notice that smell is coming from your dog? Worst of all, the smell is that of a fish which can be very unpleasant and terrible.

Do not be too disturbed, you are probably not the only female dog owner, who’s dog smells like fish. It is almost normal, for a female dog to start smelling like fish at some point, either its her vagina, her vagina fluid, her urine, or her breath.

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Why Does My Female Dog Smell Like Fish

There are various possible reasons why your female dog has started to smell like fish, but there are two most famous reasons for your dog suddenly smelling like fish which are; Vagina yeast infection, Anal gland blockage, these two problems can result in your female dog smelling like fish.

This dilemma is almost inevitable in a female dog’s life, so as a female dog owner, you should expect such problem at some point in your dog’s life.

Female dogs will smell like fish at some point, but some breed smell more than other breeds and it depends on various factors such as Conformation, Age, breed, these can all affect how bad the fish smell of your dog will be.

If your dog is a cocker spaniel or a retriever breed, she will have a very oily skin coat, and she is most likely to smell like fish very badly and also have an increase in her oil production.

If your dog is an English bulldog breed or a sharpie breed she is mostly likely to have lots of thick folds of skin and this breed will easily have yeast infection, because the yeast can hide between those folds of skin, and sooner than later, she will begin to smell badly like a spoilt fish.

Sometimes, you can solve your dog’s fish dilemma by giving her a long warm soapy bath, but if the fish smell goes on, a trip to see the vet may work, but in other cases, frequent treatment and even surgery maybe needed.

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Reasons why my female dogs anus smell like fish

There are different reasons why your female dog, most times it is as a result of fluids coming out from her virginal or anal glands or anal sac.

• Anal gland secretion: Fluids from your dogs anus can cause your dog to smell like fish. These fluids comes from a sac located on both sides of your dogs anus, and these sac’s containers sweat glands which can start to smell fishy. The sac’s are the source of every dogs distinguish smell, that is how dogs can tell one from another, by sniffing other dogs behind or urine.
• Fear of something or someone: Your dog may suddenly begin to smell like if she has developed a phobia of something or even someone. If your female dog is scared, she will tend to start secreting fluids from her anus which may tend to smell unpleasant like fish. Sometimes, she may start to smell like fish if she is sick or has a problem with her body, or if she is depressed or home sick, these are all reasons why your female dog has started to smell like fish, the reason is not always seriously medical.
• Problems with her anal sac: Biologically, your dog’s anal sac is to be emptied from time to time, through urination or defecation. But sometimes, the anal sac’s are not full emptied, and when this happens, the remnant fluid will get dried up and impact on the sac then the anal sac will not be fully expressed by your dog, which will result in a problem with the anal sac, and with time result in your dog smelling fishy.
• Infected anal sac’s: When the anal sac of your female dog gets infected, you can know by checking if her anus is sensitive or swollen, or having discoloration, or if you feel like it just looks different from how it normally does. But you cannot just be and think oh, let me check my dog’s anus, it is rather uncommon, and you may not know she has an infection if you don’t check, but you can know when she starts smelling like fish worst more a rotten fish. So if you get a bad fish smell from your dog, do check her anus or take her to the vet so she will start getting treated with antibiotics or injections.
• Tumor or abscesses in the anal sac: Abscesses or Tumor in your dogs anal sac can cause your dog to start smelling like fish, because the lumps will cause your dog to have problems when trying to express her anal gland, and it will make the anal sac swollen and it might even cause leakage of smelly fluids.

Why does my female dog’s vagina smell like fish

If you happen to notice that your dog’s virginal, urine or discharge smells like fish, below are a few possible reasons why:

• UTI (Urinary tract infection): Urinary tract infection can develop as a result of presence of unwanted foreign bacteria in the urine. This will cause your dog to start smelling like fish or start smelling like urine every time even freshly after bath, and most times the smell is unbearable.
• Yeast infection: When your female dog contacts urinary tract infection, and the infection stays there for a while and is not treated, your dog will develop yeast infection in her vagina which will cause her vagina to start smelling like a fish.
• Womb infection: In very rare cases, your dog smelling like fish may be as a result of a womb infection which is also known as “pyometra”. This Infection can affect the womb of any female dog, either spayed or unspayed, most people tend to believe it only affects a certain breed or type of female dog. The pyometra is a very chronic medical issue that demands immediate treatment. It is an infection that is located inside the womb of a female dog.

A female dog that is not being looked after properly is at a high risk of developing this womb infection especially female dog’s above 6years of age.

When a female dog is constantly surrounded by heat, she is likely to develop a womb infection, because there will be change in her hormones.

When the heat is over, some of the female dog may go back to normal, but majority of the female dog’s do not escape, unfortunately they develop some hormonal issues which will lead to a womb infection.

After a few weeks, the pyometra will begin to develop, and it develops, the womb will begin to get filled up with pus.

And within a few months, the pyometra will lead to kidney failure, blood poisoning, peritonitis and at last death. Because of the seriousness of this infection, If your female dog starts smelling like fish, you she go to the veterinarian just to be sure it is not something very serious or in other words deadly.

Why does the breath of my female dog smell like fish

When your female dog breath smells like fish there are various reasons possible, and Most times it is as a result of poor oral hygiene or a gum and tooth issue either gingivitis or periodontal. Further more, Fish smell on your dog breath can also be as result of plaque on your dogs teeth, living bacteria on your dogs tongue or in their gum.

If you want to get rid of your dogs fishy breath, it is quiet simple, you just have to get a new brush and brush your dogs teeth with a solution of enzymatic toothpaste for three times every week.

You can also make use of various dental sticks that are chewable or you can get other toothpaste effective for fighting fishy breath online on amazon or in a supermarket.

In conclusion, if your dog’s anal glands are blocked, you can either take them to the veterinarian to get it expressed, or if you know how to, express it yourself.

If your dog smell like fish, which is caused by an infected anus or vagina, it is in yours as well as your dog’s interest to take her to the vet as soon as possible to start treatment with antibiotics or treatment by other means.

After treatment has been done, and your dog is now well and in perfect health, you should also make sure to keep good hygiene, make sure your dog is well fed, provided good dental care, well bathed and taken care of, this way there will be no unpleasant odor from your dog.

Do make sure to seek professional advice whenever you feel something is wrong and do not assume the problem and try to treat your dog yourself.