# She smells...down there



## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Ruby has this foul fishy smell coming out of her back side. I did some research on this on google and this forum. I understand it is her anal glads. We have been having problems for weeks with her food that she has been on from the breeder. Dealing with on and off diarrhea for weeks so she is on the prescription food at the vet until I can figure out the right food that works well for her.

Anyway, back to Ms Stinky pants - I learned how to express her anal glands and this nasty stuff shot out at me. After that, she really had no smell, well it is back today but when I tried again nothing came out. I'm assuming since having all of this diarrhea that it is causing this but she is now starting to get solid again.

You think a vet trip is needed to have them do this?


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## Macaroni (Jan 19, 2011)

Mac's anal glands had to be expressed little over a month ago due to soft stools. You're braver than me, I took him to the vet to have it done. He was going crazy for two days scooting his butt and licking it (turned purple he did it so much). So we were watching youtube videos on it at 2:30 in the morning, but held out! 

Anyway, if she doesn't appear uncomfortable (licking/scotting) than you might want to leave it for a day or two, as the hard stools etc will express them itself. The licking/scooting is done in an attempt to express them thereselves, which sometimes works. Something we did to solve the soft stools is just add some wheat germ (or any source of fibre - pumpkin puree, etc) and it's helped - no need for prescription stuff from the vet $$$$ 

Best of luck w/ Ms Stinky!


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

We have been to the vet many times over the past 8 months with Holley for gland expression. She has had tummy issues since a week after we brought her home. It is a very foul smell. It is definitely due to all the of soft stools your pup has been having. We notice that Holley has to be taken in to the vet more frequently if she has had soft stool. We are also adding a fiber to her food to try to work on this. We started on pumpkin mixed in her food but she grew tired of that. We moved on to Metamucil but that didn't work with her. I have been using carrots for a couple months now and they seem to be helpful. 
Best of luck.


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Thanks for the responses.

Ruby hasn't been scooting so it must not be that bad. I have tried pumpkin and benefiber so far (vet recommended) and neither helped. I will try some carrots.

The prescription food is the only stuff that firms her up and I don't want to keep her on that and neither does my Vet.

My breeder wants me to try Taste of the Wild and slowly add it with the prescription food. Just need to get to the specialty store that sells it in my area.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Easy to do at home. Once you do it you'll save lots of money. Vets should be involved if the anal glands are blocked. 

Even if they are (our cat had this) we soaked a hand towel in warm, warm water and placed it over the anal area. We massaged the glands and expressed a smelly brown goo.

Lots of YouTube vids show this. I started a topic on this subject, no one replied. 
http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2246.msg15033.html#msg15033


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

datacan said:


> Easy to do at home. Once you do it you'll save lots of money. Vets should be involved if the anal glands are blocked.
> 
> Even if they are (our cat had this) we soaked a hand towel in warm, warm water and placed it over the anal area. We massaged the glands and expressed a smelly brown goo.
> 
> ...


Thanks datacan - I did see your post when I searched about this. It is so gross but very easy to do.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I thought so until I tried it on Sam. I put him inside the laundry sink, lifted his tail and massaged away. In Sam's case a brown liquid squirted out. Once I did that his poo smelled better too. 

The cat was hard.


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## Macaroni (Jan 19, 2011)

datacan said:


> I started a topic on this subject, no one replied.
> http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2246.msg15033.html#msg15033


Datacan, in response to your question about how many times/yr to express them, the answer I believe, is only if needed. They do it naturally when they poo (if hard enough). If your needed to do it too often, often times it exacerbates the problem and you will be req'rd to do it more often. V's can be more prone to it from what I've read as well b/c of their sensitive stomachs. :'(

Regards


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

RubyRoo said:


> Thanks for the responses.
> 
> Ruby hasn't been scooting so it must not be that bad. I have tried pumpkin and benefiber so far (vet recommended) and neither helped. I will try some carrots.
> 
> ...


Haver you tried boiled chicken (skinless, boneless) torn up and in boiled plain white rice? That's what we give Kian when he is not well in the tummy. Essentially it's the same as the food the vet will give us to give him and it costs much less.
Make sure it is luke warm when you feed it to him.
Kian's stool usually firms up in about 2 days on that chicken/rice combo.

Oh and I have to say you are a brave soul for expressing Ruby;s anal glands and sorry, but knowing you got squirted made me chuckle ;D

Good luck.


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Crazy said:


> RubyRoo said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for the responses.
> ...


Ha Ha - my husband laughed at me about getting squirted when I told him the story.

I have tried rice in the past but not chicken. I can try that but still need to find the right food for her. So confusing and too much to choose from :-\


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

Hmm, Rosie sometimes smells fishy, but I guess she must be expressing herself (so to speak, lol) because she doesn't scoot, like our last dog used to do. As far as diarrhea goes, we were given metronidazole for Rosie when she had diarrhea because it's anti-inflammatory. Metronidazole is both anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic, so that's what they also gave us when she was a puppy for her giardia. But this recent time, we only had to give her one dose and the diarrhea cleared right up (too short for it to be the anti-parasitic effect, so it must have just cleared up whatever irritation and inflammation she had in her gut). It's funny, it's also what I use topically for my rosacea (again, because it's anti-inflammatory). What else does this stuff treat?


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

Our vet suggested a teaspoon of powder Metamucil in Riley's food once a day if the problem is constant or just when he's having anal gland issues to firm his stools up enough to have the anal glands express themselves.


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## Maisy Mae (Jul 22, 2011)

Well first I would try some of of the food recommendations like the chicken and white rice or do massage her back side. Just wondering what did google have to say about that?


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## dculv11 (Aug 25, 2011)

glad this was recently posted. I was about to post the exact same thing. and have my first post be about how diagnose this tuna smell coming from our puppy!

I think we'll be taking her to the vet to avoid getting shot in the face with anal matter!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Apparently, 2 dried prunes/day or 2 dried apricots/day should clear the problem in 2 or 3 days. 

We meet a lot of dogs and dog owners... Dobermans, a Ridgeback and a Beagle yesterday. Only poodle owners tend to avoid us.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Carrots chicken and rice boiled up are a great fix. My vet who is old school suggests this too.


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