Why does my dog smell like fish?

When an ailment touches our pets, the responsibility completely falls on our shoulders, because they cannot even tell us about it. What does the bad smell from the organs of the excretory system of a four-legged friend say?

There can be many reasons, and the consequences are different. To eliminate an unpleasant odor, you first need to find out its cause.

To find out why a dog's urine smells bad, you need to remember its biological functions. It is a liquid that removes salts, poison, drug metabolites, and decay products from the body.

Violation of the water-salt balance

It can be triggered not only by a large number of seasonings and salt in the diet but also by a lack of fluid. The urine becomes dark in color and has a pungent rotten odor. In this case, you need to give your pet more water or other liquid, exclude salt and seasonings from the diet. If the pet's condition worsens, you need to see a doctor for a more detailed diagnosis.

Medicine

Pharmacological agents often disrupt the metabolism, and their excipients are not absorbed by the body and are excreted in the urine unchanged. Most medications or supplements for dogs are well excreted and only change the color of the urine without affecting the odor. If you associate taking medications and the appearance of a bad smell, you need to cancel them.

Sad dog / by @wirestock from Freepik

Hormonal disbalance

The endocrine system also affects the quantity, quality (density, amount of excreted toxins), and parameters of urine. The cause of the failure may be seasonal change, mating games, illness. In pregnant and lactating dogs, odor and color changes are normal. If there are no obvious reasons for the change in smell, contact your veterinary clinic to confirm or deny hormonal imbalance.

Protein. Increased concentration of protein in the urine

This happens with various viral diseases, an excess of meat products in the diet. Together with the smell, gray or white small lumps appear in the urine. In this case, you need to reduce the proportion of animal products in the diet.

Kidneys failure

The kidneys regulate the exchange of fluids and the elimination of foreign substances from the body. In case of malfunctions, the kidneys do not cope with the task, edema appears, or vice versa, the dog has frequent urge to urinate, rapid loss of fluid.

What other reasons could there be?

Occasionally, the owner picks up the smell of fish. This can be the result of food that is too fragrant (and often forbidden for dogs) or it gets stuck between the teeth. A similar scent is a signal of gum and oral cavity disease. Examine the gums for inflammation and ulcers - in case of redness and even more suppuration, consult a doctor. Some disruptions in the endocrine system lead to the appearance of halitosis. Here you cannot do without a lot of tests and the help of a good, experienced veterinarian.