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My dog has a very bad fish odor. We supplement her diet with fish oil pills, as well as our other dog. Lately our other dog hasn't been eating his pills right away and I think she has been coming around behind him and eating his too. Could she just be getting too much oil and her poo/anus smells like fish as a result? I've also heard about dogs having their anal sacks cleaned when they get professionally groomed. I groom my dogs myself, so I didn't know if I needed to have it done also.

My dog has a very bad fish odor. We supplement her diet with fish oil pills, as well as our other dog. Lately our other dog hasn't been eating his pills right away and I think she has been coming around behind him and eating his too. Could she just be getting too much oil and her poo/anus smells like fish as a result? I've also heard about dogs having their anal sacks cleaned when they get professionally groomed. I groom my dogs myself, so I didn't know if I needed to have it done also.

Updated On December 18th, 2016

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

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You are correct that if Angel is eating the fish oil pills that are meant for your other dog, then this could be the cause of her anus smelling like fish. You are also correct that it could be due to her anal sacs, as impacted ones have a fishy smell. You can try cleaning around her anus with a dog shampoo to see if that helps with the smell back there, but if it does not, then the likely cause is the anal sacs. At that point, I would recommend having her anal sacs expressed. You can do it yourself if you know how, but if you have never done it before, I recommend taking Angel into the vet to have it done. I would also recommend giving your dogs the fish pill separately to prevent Angel from eating too many.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Yes, the fish odor could certainly be due to getting extra fish oil with her dinner - some dogs do get a noticeable odor to their fur, skin, breath, and/or stool with fish oil supplementation, and this can be worse with higher doses. So one option would be to stop the fish oil altogether for a week or two to see if this resolves the problem. Impacted anal glands can also cause this odor, especially if she is also scooting her rear end on the ground or biting and chewing at this area. If you think this could be the problem, I would recommend asking your vet to show you how to express them safely - this can easily be done at home if you aren't too squeamish :)

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