does your doxie do this???

[Kitaku]

hi, my doxie does this odd thing, when he's VERY scared he starts to smell horrible. like a dead animal or something, is this like a natural defense or something. we have asked people and vet, no clue. it's very odd, it could come from his paws. i remember when he was very young his paws would smell like cornchips. is this normal? has your doxie done this
it hapened when there was a lound noise, like fireworks that scared him (he jumped up in the air) or once i was walking him and a dog attacked us (he wasn't attached to his collar properly and my dog was new in the neighborhood)

 

[Wandering Man]

Our dachshunds will sometimes release the musk stored in their anal glands when they are scared. I wouldn't describe it as the scent of a dead animal, but it isn't pleasant.

BTW: we typically have the vet express their glands every 5 to 6 weeks, since the dogs aren't very good at doing that for themselves. I've heard the glands can get impacted and infected if they aren't taken care of. I wonder if the scent my go south (get worse) if the glands are infected?

 

[Inkeri]

I've never heard about dachsies doing a skunk-thing...
But someone else is also smelling their dog's paws! My boy-friend says i'm crazy, but i think Manu's paws smell like popcorn.

 

[Kitaku]

ok thank you

 

[natural curl]

Can you express the glands yourself? Can a groomer do it? I looked up the technique, but I don't get it. I would describe the aroma as long-dead fish.

 

[Wandering Man]

Some people do it themselves. I get squeemish, and the couple of times I tried it, I was not successful.

I think a lot of groomers will express the glands for you. My vet says he would never believed them if they told him in Vet school that he'd be squeezing dog's butts. He doesn't enjoy the job, which I think is why the fee keeps going up!

 

[Kitaku]

no it's not that, it doesn't smell like dead fish, my friend's dog has that and i know what its smells like