What does it mean when your dog smells like death? What to Know

Do Dogs Smell Bad When They Are Sick

Dogs are able to smell things at a much stronger level than humans. This is why they are able to track down missing people and animals much better than we are. Dogs can also smell things that we can’t, like cancer.

Some of the smells that a sick dog will give off are intense and can be detected by us. One of the most common smells that a sick dog will give off is vomiting. This is because when a dog is vomiting, they are putting up a lot of gastric acid. This smell is intense and can be detected by us even if the dog is hiding their face.

Another smell that a sick dog can give off is diarrhea. Diarrhea is a common symptom of many different diseases, and it is also a good way to track down a sick dog. When a dog is diarrheaing, they are putting up a lot of waste. This waste contains bacteria, which is what makes the smell so strong.

Another smell that a sick dog can give off is fever. When a dog has a fever, their body is trying to fight off the infection. This is why a dog will give off a strong smell of fever.

All of these smells are easy to detect if you know what to look for. If you notice your dog giving off any of these smells, be sure to take them to the veterinarian. They may have caught something that is causing their symptoms and a visit to the vet will help them get better as quickly as possible.

Do Dogs Have an Odor When They Are Dying

You walk into the room and immediately smell death. You walk over to the bed and see a dog lying there with barely any breath left in its lungs. You knew this was going to be a difficult death, but you didn’t expect it to smell this bad. The dog’s body is covered in a thick layer of sweaty, foul-smelling sweat. You can barely make out the dog’s corpse under the pile of sweat and feces.

Dogs smell it on people, too. In fact, dogs have been trained to bark when their owners with type 1 diabetes start to experience hypoglycemia, a situation in which blood sugar falls too low, perhaps in response to medication’s overshooting the mark in combatting the disease. If left untreated, it can result in a diabetic coma. But the barking lets the person know he should ingest something sweet — perhaps a glass of juice — to raise his blood sugar.

Severe periodontal disease. With some dogs, it smells as if you’re staring into the mouth of a whale when you get too near them. They simply have awful breath. That in itself is not a problem — for the dog, anyway. But if the odor is particularly strong and foul, and especially if it’s in conjunction with loose teeth and pus, the dog probably has advanced periodontal disease, which is a fancy way of saying that the gums surrounding his teeth have deteriorated to a significant degree, and perhaps the bone around his teeth, too. Once the bone erodes, it can no longer anchor the teeth, which is why they loosen — and potentially fall out. If the problem remains unchecked, even the jaw can weaken to the point that small blood vessels beneath the bone become damaged and bleed, allowing a pathway for bacteria to enter the bloodstream. You can avoid this cascade of events by brushing your dog’s teeth once a day, every single day, and by taking him for dental cleanings when the veterinarian suggests them. Older dogs, in particular, may need a professional cleaning once or twice a year to remove “gunk” that has accumulated under the gum line, where you can’t reach.

Parvovirus. Diarrhea has never had a reputation for smelling good, of course, but when a dog has parvovirus, his odor can be particularly foul. The smell comes from dead tissue. The virus mounts such an attack on the lining of the intestine that it causes intestinal cells to die. The dead cells slough off and make their way into a dog’s waste. “Dead tissue has a really nasty odor,” says Dr. Berg.

Yeast infection. The odor of sickness coming from a dog’s ear can be especially unpleasant. A yeast infection, which is a type of fungal infection, can cause an odor that smells like fermentation. If you notice a brown, waxy discharge upon looking at your dog’s ear (just the part you can see by looking into the pinna, or flap — don’t go further in), a yeast infection may very well be the cause. It will perhaps be soupy in appearance.

Oral tumors. Just as dogs can smell cancer on us, we can smell it on them — if it is in their mouths. The scent is literally sickening — hard to take in some instances. It comes from the necrosis [death] of cells. A change in the odor of a dog’s breath can also indicate a malignant tumor. “Don’t just chalk it up to doggie breath,” advises Dr. Berg. “Take your dog to the doctor, particularly because oral tumors are often in the back of the mouth, where they’re not really that noticeable.” Unfortunately, oral tumors can be among the most difficult to treat. They tend to grow fast, into surrounding bone and tissue, and they also spread quickly to other sites in the body. Such tumors are usually seen in large breeds.

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