Smells fishy

[pongo111]

Hello,

Puppy, approx 5 months old, has started to have a fishy smell.
I've done some searching and it seems it is anal glands. there's lots of info, but I wondered if someone could help me make sense of it.
Some say go to the vet, others to the groomer. iF I could sort it by diet i would much prefer that.
It tends to come and go throughout the day.

Thanks all!

 

[JudyN]

What do you feed him, and what are his poos like (size/consistency, whether he has to push a little)?

 

[pongo111]

We feed her rice and mince - chicken or beef and broccoli or carrot. plus a bit of royal canin as a topping.
we bought the most enormous bag of royal canin and we're trying to use it up, but prefer cooking her food.
Her poos seem ok ... some times she goes and then does another. not sure if she has to push.
she does the scooting thing but not often - every few days.

 

[Josie]

Ah the dreaded ‘fishy bum’ as we call it!

I think that if your dog has a firm stall then this helps the anal glands release in small amounts each time they go to the toilet but if the stalls are soft then the anal glands build up and may release when they are full (someone may correct if I’m wrong?)

However, our dog has firm stalls but still occasionally gets the dreaded ‘fishy bum’ and I think this is because sometimes they can also release if your dog has been scared in anyway e.g if the doorbell goes late at night

 

[pongo111]

Thanks Josie. The dreaded fishy bum indeed.
Is it likely to go away unaided or is there anything we can do?
it's interesting what you say about getting scared as she has had a couple of stresses recently - like new people to bark at outside the house which didn't use to bother her but she has become more aware recently.

 

[Josie]

Thanks Josie. The dreaded fishy bum indeed.
Is it likely to go away unaided or is there anything we can do?
it's interesting what you say about getting scared as she has had a couple of stresses recently - like new people to bark at outside the house which didn't use to bother her but she has become more aware recently.

You may want to go and get them emptied by the vet and then ask what you can add to the diet which will help them empty naturally as the rice and mince chicken/beef is very soft so maybe a bit more of the royal canin in her meals? Or raw chicken wings may help. Would you recommend these @excuseme?

Sometimes something random can trigger an anal gland release! It’s the worst smell.

 

[excuseme]

I can't remember ever having a fishy bum!
I would suggest that you change your dry kibble for a grain FREE mix, (this will mean no rice too) and as Josie has mentioned give a raw chicken wing with fat and skin attached 3 to 4 times a week or even daily.
The raw bone content is very good at producing "firm" poo's, which is much better than the large soft poo's that grain filled kibbles produce. The extra firmness can help express the anal glands more easily. Bones can create white hard and crumbly poo's, this is quiet normal.
A visit to your vet might be a good idea to get her glands checked out, the last thing you would want is for them to become infected.

 

[pongo111]

Just an update on the fishy bum saga.

i'm not exactly why/how, but this has gone away by itself.

harder stools help and we also fed her some squash which was expected to help.