Smells like maple syrup

Laguna · 04-21-2006

Hi! I'm very glad to have found this site. I'm hoping that someone might be able to help answer my question. We have a 4 year old one of a kind dog. Recently she has started to smell like maple syrup. It's a very nice smell, but it has us concerned.

We took her to the vet, thinking that she might have diabetes. They did blood work and the good news was she didn't. Our vet said that she had read about this condition but couldn't remember what it meant or where she had read it. Any help will be greatly be appreciated.

griffon · 05-08-2006

Hi,

Sometimes my Griffon smells like maple syrup, too! I've asked a lot of people and no one seems to have heard of such a thing - except my next door neighbor. She says her 1 year old yellow lab sometimes smells like maple syrup. The only thing I've been able to find online is some rare genetic disease that is usually fatal in infancy called "Maple Syrup Disease" where a person is missing some essential amino acids which lead to severe mental & physical retardation. My Griffon is 3 years old and seems quite healthy. Did you ever learn anything more?

:?:

Laguna · 05-14-2006

griffon,
We never did learn anything else. The maple syrup smell did go away and now she just smells like a regular dog. Her health is good with lots of energy. Even though she's going almost 5 she still acts like a puppy.

danab · 05-29-2006

Are you in Southern California? My dog (a lab-terrier mix) and his friends smell like maple syrup after rustling around in the scrub around the park we go to in the San Fernando Valley. I was really worried also until I realized it went away when I washed him, and came back strongly right after a park visit.

coralveb · 06-18-2006

Our son's young boxer has a very strong maple syrup smell. So much so that his pregnant wife can't stand to be around him! They recently moved to the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Maybe its the plants on their property, such as the posting for So. Calif. They have another (older) boxer, though, who does not smell of maple, yet both dogs roam all over the property together.

I read that fennugreek can cause this smell. I don't know if that is on their property. Does anyone else know anything about this?

cate · 06-18-2006

This is so great! I just googled "dog smells like maple syrup" and came upon this forum. My dog also smells like maple syrup. I notice it in the spring affter she runs through the woods in the redwood park. I live in the Sf Bay Area. I've gotten a faint whiff while walking in the park, so I'm 99% sure the smell is from some kind of plant. I was just googling to see if I could figure out which plant it is. Glad to hear I'm not going crazy! I'll post again if I can figure out the plant that's causing the smell around here.

coralveb · 06-19-2006

Wow! I did the same thing with Google! (Cate---you wouldn't be from Hilltop High, would you? Veb reversed is Bev!)
OK....so my daughter-in-law was weed-whacking and said she smelled a plant that smells like maple. The closest I can find on Google is fennugreek....used in syrups, and sweetners. I've used the herb for upper respiratory infections! I've also known for years about the maple sugar urine syndrome and its effects on the brain. And the young boxer is, well, a "different sort." I'm glad to know it might just be the plants!!

Any other new info out there?

laurajcole · 07-07-2006

Thank you all! My mom and I have been so worried. Every time my lab goes to their house he comes home smelling like Maple Syrup. They live in the hills near Monterey, CA. The other day my fiance was working on their property and the next day his legs smelled like maple syrup, so I'm pretty convinced at this point that I'm not going to need to give my dog insulin shots any time soon! Thanks again for everyone's effort to inform others about this.

laurajcole · 07-07-2006

I think it might be California everlasting (Gnaphalium californicum). This website (#37) says that the flowers on this plant give off a maple syrup smell, which explains why my dog only smells that way at certain (long) times of the year. http://tchester.org/plants/analysis/floras/wrc.html.

Here is a picture: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...LC:en%26sa%3DN.

Hope this helps!

addicted2evol · 07-30-2006

Hi! I have a puppy that smells like syrup too! My vet noticed it first and it was really faint, but sometimes gets pretty strong at random times. It seems to only be coming from his snout area. Even after bathing, you can still smell it, just not as strongly. I was worried that it might have something to do with diabetes as well but the vet doesn't seem to think it's cause for alarm. I don't live near any woods (Texas) and I have never seen any of the plants mentioned around here. I also have a pomeranian that lives, eats, plays, etc, under the exact same conditions and she doesn't have the syrup smell at all. ????????????????????