Is this weird? My Yorkie's feet start to smell like Fritos after a few days of not giving him a bath. I try to give him a bath once a week. I can always tell when it is getting close to him needing a bath. I can't eat Fritos anymore or stand the smell since I have discovered that it smells like Peanut's feet! I used to LOVE Fritos in my Chilli, not anymore!
That's strange - has this always been the case or did it recently develop? I know that in humans, our diet can slightly alter the chemistry of our sweat and oil production... has your dog's diet been adjusted at all?
Another thing to be aware of, is that humans that have diabetes mellitus will often have sweet smelling urine - might this be something to look in to, just in case?
It is a likely possibility that your little Yorkie may have a yeast infection, from what you are describing about his feet smelling like Fritos.
Mercola.com has a great tutorial video about yeast infection in dogs, how to detect if it is yeast, and also how to treat it, if it is a yeast infection. They have instructions for making a simple dip from white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, that will disinfect the dog, and kill the yeast .
You just soak the dogs feet in it, and pour some over the rest of his body, being sure to not get any in his face and eyes.
Here is the link to the YouTube video' and hopefully , it will be helpful to you.
I wasn't aware that dogs could even get a yeast infection on their feet. I mean, I suppose any area that is damp could get it, but my dog's feet are typically pretty dry if anything. Do you know how this happens? Are the yeast feeding off of the dog's sweat or skin or something?
Also, since the yeast got me thinking - is it possible for a dog to get a fungal infection on its feet? Something like athletes food that humans can get? Would any of these be transmissible to humans or are they specific to canines? To my knowledge, my dog has never had an issue with a yeast infection (as she doesn't smell like Fritos hehe), and she's in the water quite often being a lab. She got an ear infection once, but that's about it.
Thanks for the advice! I will definitely check into the vinegar and peroxide treatment. Sounds easy enough! I don't know if any of you noticed but I posted about Peanut always licking, chewing and biting his front paws. Do you think this may be related to the stinky Fritos smell/possible yeast?
I discussed this with my vet and she just seemed to think that it was a food allergy. I have been on a mission the last several months TRYING to find a food that agrees with him and will stop him from all the chewing. I used Zignature Lamb And Rice No Grain food for awhile which did not help at all. I just recently changed him to Pure Balance Salmon And Potato No Grain. He LOVES it but I don't think it has been in his system long enough to tell if it is going to help with the "allergies", if that is even what it is. SO frustrating trying to figure it out. I hate to see him chew, lick and bite at his paws! :-(
I've never heard of this before. What a strange thing to smell like. There are a lot of terrible smells out there, so I guess it could be worse.
I wonder if your dog is stepping in something that is either causing bacteria to grow or has the smell itself. Is it just the feet that smell this way?
Yes it seems to be just his paws. I can smell the "Frito" smell when he gets near me but if I actually pick him up and smell his paws it is so strong. Yuck. Anyhow when I let him out to potty, he goes out into our backyard which is nothing but grass. It has even crossed my mind that he may be allergic to grass and that could be the problem to all the biting, chewing and licking. I don't think that it is though because even when I give him a fresh bath, once he gets settled he resorts right back to the same behavior even with clean paws. I am at a loss for what it could be?!
Someone in our household keeps using wet Swiffers all over the floors in our house, and I've noticed our pets sometimes smelling extra "floral" from time to time. It drives me nuts and I keep telling them to stop using all those chemicals around the pets.
Have you checked to see if there is a similar smell coming from the floors per chance? Maybe there's something he's getting into, such as crumbs on the floor.
No such luck with crumbs on the floor unfortunately. I wish it was that simple. I am OCD about my house so you can pretty much eat off of my floor!
I am beginning to wonder if Peanut is just licking, chewing and biting on his paws out of habit? As for the Frito smell, maybe the smell is just a result of all the licking that he does. He doesn't have the best breath either. Maybe it is just the smell of his saliva after it has dried on his paws. I have no idea...
My dog had the same problem, and he also liked to obsessively lick and bite his feet for what seemed like hours. Turned out to be a yeast infection indeed, which was probably making his feet itchy, hence the biting and licking. An imbalanced diet is what causes yeast infections, including not having enough beneficial bacteria in the gut. I fed him Pedigree Adult dog food for the longest time, only to discover recently that there are some pretty unhealthy ingredients in there! I think switching to a higher quality, grain-free dog food is a great idea, especially one that contains probiotics.
Best of luck!
I would be willing to bet that your doggie has a bit of yeast infection as well. My husband and I had a Pit Bull named Spunky (I miss him terribly) who's whole body would smell like Frito's. Turns out he had testicular cancer. I'm not trying to scare you but it is definitely worth getting it checked out. I would say that it is probably just a bit of a yeast infection though. Certain Dog foods can cause this from what I understand.
09-12-2013, 01:23 PM, (This post was last modified: 09-12-2013, 01:29 PM by cliverederson.)
I've got to say, I'm pretty surprised at the responses I'm reading here... I thought this was a very common thing? I know I've heard it mentioned a few times around, it's kind of a famous thing that dog paws smell like crackers or Fritos. My chihuahua's feet have smelled like that a little. I assume it's just how their nails, pads or even feet-fur smells. I don't think it's anything to worry about at all. Now obviously, I'm not veterinarian, so I would hate to give out bad advice, you could ask your vet to be sure if it really concerns you. Mine has always been very healthy (according to the vet) and she eats well, and her paws have always smelled like that. My mom calls her "cracker paws" even sometimes!
I just checked my dog and her paws don't smell much like it now, I trim her toe-fur, which is a good practice anyway, and I don't feed her food with corn in it, so maybe that could be something for you to try.
09-24-2013, 02:11 AM, (This post was last modified: 09-24-2013, 02:14 AM by glitteringfuzz.)
I'm sorry, but the subject line cracks me up here. I think I find it so funny because I know exactly what smell you're talking about. I wouldn't necessarily say there is an infection of any kind present, though. Think of what their feet go through. We get awful smelling feet with the protection of shoes and socks, so it only makes sense for their busy feet to get some funk. I have smelled the exact smell you're talking about on my own dogs, and I think we just need to wash in between their toes more often. I mean honestly, I know I haven't washed my dog's tween-toes area in a long time! So no biggie. Mmm, now I want some fritos. I think the previous poster hit the nail on the head, too. Just trim the toe hair and do some washes and all should be fine. You seem to be very caring to notice such a thing, so kudos to you for being a good doggy mommy.
I am having the same problem with my puppy her paws are starting to have that frito smell, at first when I smelled it I began to clean the house because I thought it was something in my house, and then I began yelling at my boyfriend about his feet because I thought it was him. But then I was playing with my pup and sure enough it was her so I began to give her baths every week but the smell comes back after a few days. I guess that is just a part of her charm...frito feet.
