Male Dog smells

westies4ever

My one year old male westie sometimes gives off a really strong smell - its a bit liked dried urine mixed with fish but stronger. He neutered and is in great shape.

Tonight for example, he was on my knee as usual and all of a sudden i get the smell, he left a small wet patch on my trousers. He's asleep on the floor now and I can still get this smell off my clothes and skin.

Its not all the time (maybe once a month) and it goes away as quick as it appears.

Is this normal? Is he'marking' me in someway? Could it be his anal glands - but if it was them would he not smell all the time? My four year old female westie hasnt had any trouble with hers so I dont know what that smell is like but I've heard it foul. Hes not displaying any other symptoms.

Should I take him to the vet just in case?

boodlesdoodles

It's probably his anal glands, when they're impacted they can give off a fishy smell. They might need to be emptied, which is definitely a job for the vet or a very experienced groomer. A diet that produces hard poos is the key (not often you get to type a sentence like that!)

westies4ever

cheers - I was thinking it could be that, his poo's are pretty good most of the time - he's on royal canin and I get comments on how great he looks.

I just thought that with the glands he'd be 'at himself' or 'scooting' his bum on the floor. Also thought he was a bit young - hes just turned one. I thought that took a while to build up but probably showing my ignorance there.

I'm going to have to get into the shower - the smell he's left on me is unreal!!

Whispered

Oh I feel your pain - my boy is the same. We changed his diet and it helped hugely. Well worth the research and trials. We were up in the vet every 3-4 weeks to have his emptied and he hated it. Poor fella. The smell in the surgery would be putrid.

You can also get a fibre powder from the vet, but at 16 a box which lasts a week or 2 max I'd recommend getting natural capsules or powder from the health food shop and trying them first. (Check with vet that this is ok for your dog).

tk123

westies4ever wrote: »

he's on royal canin

Our retriever used to be then same on RC. No scooting the same as your guy but every other evening he'd be lying there then WHAM you'd get the smell, it'd leak out and stink everything he sat on etc. No more probs after switching to Burns/Luath thank god.

westies4ever

Thanks for the advice guys - I'll definitely have a look at the food - my older westie has no problems though and shes thriving on RC! Took me ages to find a food she likes cos she's so fussy!

Hes grand now this morning so I'm also going to keep a diary of how often he gets it and how long it lasts - last night was only for about 10 minutes and I'm assuming the little patch he left on my jeans was him expressing the glands himself (lovely). Guess whats in a boil wash this morning??? I think this is the third time in about 6 months I've noticed it.

He's a nightmare at the vet - his boosters and getting his nails clipped were World War 3 - I can only imagine his reaction if the vet tries to express his glands!!

falabo

Whispered wrote: »

Oh I feel your pain - my boy is the same. We changed his diet and it helped hugely. Well worth the research and trials. We were up in the vet every 3-4 weeks to have his emptied and he hated it. Poor fella. The smell in the surgery would be putrid.

You can also get a fibre powder from the vet, but at 16 a box which lasts a week or 2 max I'd recommend getting natural capsules or powder from the health food shop and trying them first. (Check with vet that this is ok for your dog).

Hi Whispered

may I ask what powder / capsules you're talkign about ? I have tried changing their food, adding weetabix to their food etc with no luck. one my cocker spaniel has that problem, I have to empty her glandes once a week AT LEAST

westies4ever

I do recall seeing a product in petmania the last day i was in - some sort of 'stool hardener' - I cant remember what it was called or what the ingredients were but I might have a look next visit.

Whispered

falabo wrote: »

Hi Whispered

may I ask what powder / capsules you're talkign about ? I have tried changing their food, adding weetabix to their food etc with no luck. one my cocker spaniel has that problem, I have to empty her glandes once a week AT LEAST

The one from the vet is up on top of a kitchen press so when my husband gets home I'll ask him to get it down

But if you go into any health food shop you can get human fibre. A quick call to your vet to ask if it's safe for your dog is all you'll need I think.

And if you have your dog on fibre make sure they're getting loads of water.

What food are they on at the moment. I had major problems with RC.

tk123

OP I've think I've read on previous threads about stinky bums that raw chicken wings can help? Maybe somebody who feeds RAW/BARF can confirm? Our main reason for switching from RC was the protein content so it was a bonus that it sorted the gland issue

westies4ever

tk123 wrote: »

OP I've think I've read on previous threads about stinky bums that raw chicken wings can help? Maybe somebody who feeds RAW/BARF can confirm? Our main reason for switching from RC was the protein content so it was a bonus that it sorted the gland issue

Yeah I had a look there at the Burns - the ingredients look great and its actually working out cheaper than the RC - i pay €29.95 for a 4kg bag of RC and the Burns is €53 for 15kg? I saw on another thread that some of the RC ingredients are just posh names for additives?

My only reservation is what it tastes like as the queen if the house is quite likely to turn her nose up! I might buy a small bag and see how they fare out. I could feed her the RC and him the Burns but that's going to work out expensive!

tk123

Burns will send out samples if you contact them or any vets who stock it should have samples too

westies4ever

ok - so I've ordered 2 2kg bags of burns from zooplus.co.uk - working out at €25 and €6 of that is delivery - I believe delivery is free if the order is over £30 - thats reasonable! I tried to get the free sample pack from the website but I kept getting an error message.

I'll update on how they fare out. I know he'll eat it - he'll eat anything - just hope she's ok with it! Worst case scenario they'll be on different foods - I suppose what ever works for each dog!

Thanx for all the advice guys.

falabo

Whispered wrote: »

The one from the vet is up on top of a kitchen press so when my husband gets home I'll ask him to get it down

But if you go into any health food shop you can get human fibre. A quick call to your vet to ask if it's safe for your dog is all you'll need I think.

And if you have your dog on fibre make sure they're getting loads of water.

What food are they on at the moment. I had major problems with RC.

they were on Pedigree when I got them as I didnt know anything about pet nutriton. Now they've been on james Wellbeloved for over a year. their stools are resonably hard but could be firmer ....

they never scratch however which is a good thing. coats are fantastic. loads of enery and happy dogs, it's just the anal glandes ....

Tony H

tk123 wrote: »

OP I've think I've read on previous threads about stinky bums that raw chicken wings can help? Maybe somebody who feeds RAW/BARF can confirm? Our main reason for switching from RC was the protein content so it was a bonus that it sorted the gland issue[/QUOTE

Raw chicken wings are great for firming up anal gland problems, lots of bone in them which firms things up nicely, just keep an eye on him while he is eating in case of choking.

/V\etalfish

Our Cavalier has problems with the anal glands too.
We have to get the emptied roughly every 3 months.

Interestingly enough she's on the RC food too but we also supplement her food with Pro-Fiber.
We got it from the Vet, but this is the stuff here: http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-and-cat-supplements-prebiotic-probiotic-products-c-5_172/protexin-profibre-for-dogs-cats-800g-pot-p-769

Her stools are actually nice and firm since being on the fiber but they still need emptying, which I believe some cav's are just prone to.

She doesn't express them herself at all though, we just notice that she'll get a bit agitated/hyper before pooing and we know it's time to get them done soon.

Tranceypoo

Oh that smell, I know it well - we call it 'leaky bum syndrome' in our house!! My lad gets it on and off even though he is on a good quality food (Barking Heads) and his poops are regular (you could set your watch by him) and nice and firm!! But every once in a while I'll be sitting on the sofa and get the smell, it's got to the stage now where I have a towel underneath the cover he sits on on the sofa, cream suede and black dogs - what was I thinking?!!!

pokertalk

if she is dragging her bum or tentative the its prob a good time to get them done . you can do it yourself its very easy once you do a bit of homework on it and you can stomach the smell. going to the vet is if they unnercessary and if you not comfortable doing it then your groomer will be able to do it. squeeeeeeeeeeeeze:eek:

Susannahmia

It is easy to do small dogs yourself once you know how. Get the vet or a groomer to show you and you should have no problem at all. There are also instructional videos on utube etc. We have to do our Jrt every once in a while ourselves and its no bother (just disgusting:P).

westies4ever

Just a quick update - they're both on Burns now for the last 2 and a half weeks and so far so good. His movements are a lot firmer and thankfully her ladyship seems happy with it too!!