So many pet owners have asked the question “Why do dog feet smell like Fritos?” that it deserves a decent answer. Here’s why your puppy’s paws smell funny.

You’ve never smelled your dog’s feet?! Go do it now! Smells like Fritos or corn chips, right? (or tortillas, or popcorn, or some other corn-based salty treat). To dogs owners, this smell is not strange!

But why does that odor smell like Fritos?

The corn chip odor — which some human noses interpret as more of a popcorn scent — is a byproduct ofyeast and bacteria, Dr. Robert J. Silver, a Colorado-based veterinarian, said. Pseudomonas and proteus are the two types of natural bacteria that make their way from soil or water into the crevices of a paw, and it’s the former that gives your pet that snack food smell.

Proteus or Pseudomonas that emanate from their paws and give off a yeasty, snacky smell and look like this:

Even the cleanest dogs have trillions of bacteria living on their skin. But dog’s feet, trampling through the grass and dirt, being licked, with moist folds of skin and fur between the toe pads, are breeding grounds for bacteria and yeast.

There are things you can do to keep the odor under control, like keeping the fur between his nails trimmed and making sure his paws are scrubbed.

While the smell is perfectly normal, Silver said that it can sometimes be a sign of infection. If your pooch is excessively licking his feet, his paws are greasy or there is inflammation in the webbed part between his toes, you might want to take a trip to the vet.

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