My dog's breath smells like fish. What's wrong?
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I have an answer for you but it is a gross one and you aren't going to like it so brace yourself.. :) Your dog is licking her butt.. and I don't mean this in a gross way.. Dogs have two glands located near the rectum called anal glands and these glands tend to fill up with fluid. We honestly have no idea why or what these glands are for. Some people thing it is supposed to aid in the passing of stool, others think it was for when dogs were wild and they used it to mark territory (Hyenas use theirs for this purpose) but they are gross and they smell like nasty fish! Now some dogs, for whatever reason, these glands don't empty on their own or the fluid becomes more like gel and less like fluid and has a hard time emptying, so the dog will pay a lot of attention to the anal glands, licking, chewing, scooting the butt on the ground, just trying to get these uncomfortable glands empty. You may have noticed this behavior. You can do your dog a favor by taking him to the vet and asking them to empty his glands. It is a simple thing for them to do, and fairly cheap at most places. Your dog will feel much better and thank you for it! AND bonus! No more fish breath! The downside is that most dogs who have issues usually have to have it done once every two or three weeks, but it beats fish breath :)
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