Why does my dog smell bad when he gets excited/scared?

Question

We have a 7 month old maltese/shih tzu and usually he smells fine, we bath him about once a month and that keeps him pretty clean. However, when strangers come over and he gets excited/scared he puts out a really bad smell. It's not the smell of pee, it's something else. Does anyone know what this is and how we can stop it from happening?

Answer 1

happens to my dog when he is very scared they release this liquid (i think ) anyway it only happens when he is scared so dont scare your dog

Answer 2

He's emptying his anal glands, some dogs do this, especially when frightened. You might be able to minimize the smell by regularly expressing the glands, but if he doesn't have problems with them otherwise, I would leave them alone. There's no need to mess with well-functioning anal glands.

Instead try to socialize him more on strangers and make meeting strangers a pleasant, non-threatening experience, so that he doesn't get that excited or scared. This should take care of the problem. Also, he's still very young and his reaction is likely related to his age, much like submissive peeing in puppies and young dogs, so he can still grow out of it.

Answer 3

If it smells like p**p, then he is probably expressing his anal sacs when he gets excited or stressed. If it is anal sacs, then they should be checked at least every 6-8  weeks by a vet or groomer.

Answer 4

Dogs excrete oil when they are worked up. It can make their skin flake or smell.