Expert: Delores Beck - 1/5/2009

Question
Our cocker spaniel dogs smells like old fish or sweaty feet.  The smell comes from his back side (not his actual butt, but rather his backside by his tail?  What is causing this?  What can be done?  Does it have something to do with glands?  Can they be drained/removed?

Answer
Yes, it's pretty certain the problem is his anal glands.  Take him to the vet who will empty them and, if they're infected, put him on an antibiotic.

After your vet has examined him and made sure nothing else is going on there, you can then just have a vet tech empty them.

Some dogs have this once - some dogs every once in awhile - and some quite a lot.  It's not serious and usually indicates not enough fibre in their diet.  So I'd ask what you're feeding him?
Delores