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Feminine odor, help!


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:oops: Poor Spirit, she'll be so embarrassed by this! First let start with I have taken her to the vet about this "problem" before and he found nothing wrong, just told me to keep the hair clipped away from her female area and keep it clean. Well, I do this and her "problem" is still there. She is spayed and has been since she was 6 months old, now is 3 years old.

Her problem is that she smells fishy "down there". The vet is convinced it is anal gland leakage, but it doesn't smell the same to me. This smells like rotten fish! She can stink up the entire car with that fishy smell on short trips and let me tell you that trips with her to Virginia are not pleasant with that stench! On advice of some I changed her food to Chicken Soup which she loves, but there is no change in odor. She is bathed quite frequently, at least twice a month and her "area" is washed often too. I have noticed that when the odor is really strong my other dogs take a keen interest in that area and Kara will (this is just nasty!) lay there and just lick it forever until I pry her away from that area of Spirit. Then she has fishy breath!

What else can I do! People notice her "smell" and I really would die of they thought it was coming from me! My coworkers have commented on the odor too, so it's not just my imagination and they agree that it doesn't smell like anal glands.

Suggestions please! :oops:

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Hmmm, sorry, can't help, I don't have the same problem! :cry:

I think your best bet would be to go see another vet, and there are also some "Doggie Colognes", I'm not sure if they're good, or if they're only for males, but I have heard of it!

When did this start? After she got spayed? Maybe that has something to do with it? :-?

Good Luck! I hope the members will have better advice than I do! :-? :lol:

Rowie :angel:

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OMD, Honey has the same problem!!! But we found out why her's smells that way...she is a little overweight and has a hard time cleaning herself "down there". :oops: We use the doggy bath wipes and they work great. I had asked the vet about it and she told me as long as we help her keep it clean it was ok...well, plus help her get rid of some of the extra weight.

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It started about 2 years ago so not right after she was spayed. She too is a little overweight, needs to lose 4 pounds. But this has been going on regardless of her weight. I do like those new doggy bath wipes they've since made and those make it much easier. I just wish I could be rid of the smell, it kills me! And it makes me mad that vet isn't taking it seriously. I asked him to do a swab just to see if it was infection-related, but he just writes it off as anal gland even though the smell does not come from her behind. He won't sniff! Maybe I'll try a different vet and get a second opinion.

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Anal gland secretion does smell like fish....beleive me I've had dogs blow their glands on me many times!!!! :o some dogs are not as strong smelling as others.
Perhaps your dog has a yeast infection...very common...and about the Chicken soup..thats not a good idea, too much salt and no nutrition.
I would definately get a second opinion if I were you...and I'd definately make a change in Spirit's diet and increase the amount of fiber to help express the glands naturally ...I found the BARF diet to be especially good...one of my female Newf's who is spayed had continuous skin infections, vaginal & ear infections...the vet would treat her with antibiotics it would clear up then come right back. I changed her to the BARF diet which is agreeing with her system...she has an allergy to the grains in dog food....or you could try a really good quality dog food, and give your dog natural bio yoghurt to replace the good bacteria in the gut.

or perhaps your dog has Vaginitis this is an inflammation or infection of the vagina. It can be brought on or caused by problems occurring within the vagina, or be secondary to conditions elsewhere in the body. It is a fairly common disorder in dogs of all ages. It may be the result of trauma, however, this is rarely the cause.
Most cases seen in dogs are caused by the caustic and irritating effects of urine on the vaginal mucosa or lining. Since urine normally passes through the vagina with every urination and vaginitis is only seen in a very small percentage of female dogs, cases of this disorder typically mean the urine is abnormal or its flow is in some way altered.

In cases of bladder infections (cystitis), the urine contains large numbers of bacteria. Expelled with the urine, these can easily colonize the vagina, leading to an infection and inflammation of this structure. In mature female dogs, especially in those that have been spayed, urinary incontinence can be a common problem. This is basically a chronic leaking of small quantities of urine from the bladder. When this occurs, urine may lie against the vaginal lining much of the time and lead to a 'urine scald' or irritation.

Infections from bacteria, yeasts, and viruses are known to occur within the vagina. The bacteria isolated from this structure are those commonly found or passed in the dog's stool. It is thought that when the animal cleans itself after urination and defecation, the licking may transfer bacteria from the anus to the vagina. As in other species, yeast infections of the vagina sometimes occur in animals that are on prolonged antibiotic therapy. It appears that these medications suppress the normal bacteria living in this structure, which in some way may prevent the growth of yeast organisms.

Non-infectious inflammations of the vagina also occur due to the effects of shampoos, detergents, cleaning agents, and other solutions. The severity of these is dependent on the properties of the causative agent.

In animals with vulvar fold abnormalities, the vaginitis may be secondary to irritations resulting from this condition.

Young female dogs less than one year of age may develop 'juvenile vaginitis.' The cause of this condition is unknown, but generally resolves with age.

I don't know if Vaginitis would have a fishy odor or not....but, your dog may be blowing its glands at inappropriate times then licking the bacteria over its vagina...

Get a second opinion for your dog...it must be awful to live with such a stinky companion... :roll: if it is the glands then perhaps you should up the fiber in your dogs diet to express them naturally with bowel movements....I always beleive you are what you eat...this goes for your dog as well...Chicken soup is not a good food.

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I had always heard good things about the Chicken Soup food and previously fed my dogs Diamond which is the same company that makes the Chicken Soup food so I figured I'd switch them over to that. The ingredients seemed fine to me.

As for a Barf diet, that I cannot do as my mother is pertified of the dogs getting worms or some nasty disease from eating raw foods. Ihad Spirit on it for all of 2 weeks and then I had to discontinue it because my mom will not allow it and I do live with her.

I think when I get back from my mini-vacation I will take her to a different vet just to see what they say. Sounds gross, but I have sniffed her myself and and the odor is not coming from her behind, it's concentrated in her vaginal area which is why I wanted my vet to take a sniff.

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[quote]I had always heard good things about the Chicken Soup food and previously fed my dogs Diamond which is the same company that makes the Chicken Soup food so I figured I'd switch them over to that. The ingredients seemed fine to me[/quote]
[b]spiritsmom[/b]
:o Is Chicken Soup a brand of dog food :o I thought you were feeding your dog Campbell's chicken soup, the type you feed your human freinds....I'm sooo sorry.... :oops: :oops:
Here I'm thinking your opening a can of this soup with the high salt content and feeding it to your dog...actually....if you can imagine my thoughts at the time of my post....this is quite funny!!!!

I would definately consider it to be a yeast infection and treat this condition as like an allergy...give your dog some natural bio yoghurt....perhaps try a hypo-allegenic food and see if this clears it up...
your dog should be looked at by another Vet, your current Vet does not seem to be taking you seriously...your dog has had this for 2 years and 5 months too long!
I think their is a condition called candidiasis which is a yeast over growth in the body...eating yoghurt can help,
[b]Echinacea[/b] has been used to treat general infections and wounds, colds/flu, [b]candidiasis[/b], strep throat, staph infections, urinary infections, allergies, and toothaches. The active ingredient in echinacea has not yet been identified. It is suspected to work by inhibiting viral and bacterial breakdown of the body's cell walls which is a necessary step before the bacteria and viruses can replicate in the body. It may also slow the growth of some types of tumors.
Echinacea is used in fresh root, dried, tincture, tea, or capsule forms. Doses vary if the product is used at a tonic dose, maintenance dose, protective dose, or full course. Use is often discontinued after a maximum of 6-8 weeks since the immune-promoting impact may fade. Therapy may be started again at a later date.

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Yep, Chicken Soup For the Dog Lover's Soul (like the book) is the full name of the dog food, I was just too lazy to type all that out! It is an actual brand of dog food made by Diamond. Sorry about the mix-up I was wondering why they would add salt to dog food, you had me thinking for a minute there! It's a new food and only one store here carries it, but it has a nice "chickeny" smell which the dogs all love!

I do not think my vet is taking me seriously as he (jokingly) said that I should consider douching her if I feel it would work. She'd had a bladder infection once (blood in her urine) and that seemed to make the odor worse so perhaps there is a yeast like infection going on there. She gets a dollop of either yogurt or cottage cheese with her food as do all my dogs. She just had a bath today so the smell is gone for the moment, but driving to Virginia with her the other day was torture, 7 hours with that stench!

I've been squirted with anal glands enough times to know that smell (cats don't much like thermometers up their rears and like to spray you as revenge!) and this scent is somewhat similar (it's also quite pungent) and both are fishy, but this smell is different. It's like rotting fish and quite strong and as I've pointed out to my vet the smell is not coming from her anal glands, it is emanating from her vaginal area. I hate to sound nasty like I go around sniffing my dog's female parts, but I had to rule out anal glands as that's what everyone has been telling me it is. If it were then the smell would come from there wouldn't you think?

The things we do for our dogs!

That area is not irritated looking nor is there any discharge, but something just is not right. Thank you for teh suggestions of what this could be cause by, that was very helpful. Now armed with those possibilities I will contact another vet for their opinion, just such an embarrassing problem! But you've been a tremendous help!

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  • 2 years later...
  • 2 years later...

I am a brand new member and have never posted on ANY forum so I'm a bit of a newbie. I found this b/c i just noticed a fishy odor coming form my 7 month old lab. My husband smelled it to...smelled up the whole apartment! This morning it was gone and just got another whiff again and it was definitely close to her trunk area. I'm pretty sure its coming from the vaginal area.

After reading the posts, I'm not really sure what to do except take her to the vet? Or start giving her natural bio yoghurt? I'm not sure what that is or where I would get it. Honestly, vet bills can add up and I'll definitely take her if I really need to, but if there is another option then I'd love some wisdom or advice before do that. Thanks!

And how do you put a picture of your dog on the profile?

<>< chickadee

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I am a brand new member and have never posted on ANY forum so I'm a bit of a newbie. I found this b/c i just noticed a fishy odor coming form my 7 month old lab. My husband smelled it to...smelled up the whole apartment! This morning it was gone and just got another whiff again and it was definitely close to her trunk area. I'm pretty sure its coming from the vaginal area.

After reading the posts, I'm not really sure what to do except take her to the vet? Or start giving her natural bio yoghurt? I'm not sure what that is or where I would get it. Honestly, vet bills can add up and I'll definitely take her if I really need to, but if there is another option then I'd love some wisdom or advice before do that. Thanks!

And how do you put a picture of your dog on the profile?

<>< chickadee

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  • 10 years later...

I’ve noticed my dog smells very fishy, but it only lasts a day and happens about every 3-4 weeks. She’ll stink up the whole room, it’s awful. Thank god it only lasts for one day, it would drive me crazy if it was everyday. I’m planning on asking the vet about it next time we go, but I’m not going to make a special appointment. Please let me know if you figure it out.

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