Smelly Dog

Helen S · Smelly Dog

Can anyone shed any light on why my dog smells "doggy".

Liesel lives in the house and I wash both her (in Vetadyne shampoo) and her bedding (in the washing machine) fairly regularly whenever I notice a smell or she/it looks dirty. I would expect it of a dog which lived in a wooden kennel which didn't get cleaned very often but she doesn't. I never noticed my previous dogs smelling quite so "doggy". I feed her on a complete dry food in nugget form, I think it is based on lamb but has all the important nutrients and latest things for supple joints etc. She doesn't have real bones as they tend to get brought in the house so she has about one or two rawhide bones a week. I am reluctant to experiment with different foods without evidence that this will help as she can be a fussy feeder. I am not keen on doing the raw food thing.

I was hoping to give an older GSP a home as a playmate and steadying influence for her, but if I can't get rid of doggy smells the other half will definitely not approve having another!

Helen S

josie

Could it be that you are washing her too frequently, and so stripping her coat of its natural oils, so her skin/coat then works harder to make more of these oils and so on?

Helen S

I don't think so Josie. I only wash her about every four or six weeks, unless she rolls in something disgusting! The Vetadyne wash is not very sudsy, it is supposed to be good for the skin and not dry them out which is why I use it.

I am inclined to think that it may be dietary but as I said I don't want to get on a wagon of trying lots of different foods at random. I would like some anecdotal evidence that a food or regime works.

Helen S

cressy

My dogs rarely have a bath Shocked

. Brice the deeerhound has a swill around his boy bits if we are showing and for Crufts he did get the works but I guess we are looking at a max of 3 baths a year.

Freddy the WSS is kept in full feather and has a bath when he rolls - less than 6 a year.

Mugi the Brittany has had one bath and a few quick hose downs for fox related issues Embarassed

.

Chase pup has had one bath so he could have the experience while teeny.

My weim had 3 baths in her 10 yrs!!!!!!!!!!

I live in a small house with 4 dogs and I ask my neighbour to come and 'sniff test' my house as she hates the smell of dog. She says she can rarely smell the guys.

I have to agree with Jo that you may well be altering the natural balance of oils etc making her more smelly. Another option is to see if the smell is more prominent near her ears or her feet. I know some people swear by the fact that sweaty doggy feet are the main culprits for doggy smells and by keeping the feet fresh the dog smells better.

Helen S

Thanks Sue, I'll bear that in mind. No more baths for a while.

I probably bath her more because she loves it! She jumps into the stone wash tub when I've filled it and especially loves the getting dried with a towel bit.

I also wondered if it could be something to do with temperature change; getting hot by the fire in the evenings and then sleeping in a cold boot room overnight?

Helen S

lou

I'm inclined to think it would be diet related. The first brand of kibble that I fed Connie on made her whole being stink so i soon changed to a slightly better quality food. its not top of the range or anything but at least her general odor is under control. Connie gets a hose down if she has rolled in a cow pat or fox poo, other than that i dont bother bathing her.
Have you 'done' Liesels anal glands? that can really make a difference to the smell!
Louise

Helen S

No, I hadn't thought of that as she hasn't shown any sign of them bothering her. How do you do it?

Helen S

windem bang

I put "All Bran" in my dogs food, a good handful mixed with the food. My dogs seem to like it and it saves me having to clean out anal glands as it makes their motions firmer.

I very seldom bath the dogs. I think my old boy who died last year got two baths in his 14 years! Buck likes to roll in choice "finds" and has had that many in two months !

If a dog smells I think its more likely to be diet related than anything to do with not being regularly bathed.

Bill T.

BritAnnie

I too think you may be over bathing. My GWP is never bathed unless she rolls in disgusting stuff - and then it's just the bit that's been rolled. Also I hose her down rather than shampoo her. Having said that all my four dogs are fed EXACTLY the same but Allez has a slightly different odour from the others and he f - - - s more too, smelly ones. Mad

They are usually in water at least once a day too so don't often need proper bathing. The Brittanys might need more than the Wirey because of the type of coat but I tend to use clean wipes just before going in the showring, just so they don't grease the palms of the Judge(that's a joke, by the way Wink

)
Annie

weima

Well during the show season my dogs get bathed before every show & they smell lurvly Very Happy

I hate anal glands & would get the vet to do them but my dogs tend to empty their own Rolling Eyes

Good idea for the bran flakes though

tashap

I'd check their breath... if that smells it will carry onto the coat when they clean Smile

Helen S

Bother, I've just been to the vet to get kennel cough vaccine and forgot to ask for her to check the anal glands.

Yes the breath smells too. Although she has a complete "nugget" style food her stools can be loose. I also give her one big dog biscuit when she goes to bed and she has snippets of cooked lambs' liver for training treats. I will try the All Bran though - sounds sensible.

Helen S

windem bang

The All Bran worked for my dog, he was given a good handful of it and I can remember thinking he wont like that, but he did. It took about two or three days for his system to adjust and for the results to "come through!"

Bill T.

Helen S

So do you put All Bran in every feed or just when they seem "loose"?

I spoke to a nutritionist yesterday to see if she thought it could be diet related and she just talked about good all round nutrition. She did describe what the anal gland smell is like though and it didn't sound like the smell we have! She wondered if it was the heat of a warm house in winter exaggerating the problem.

It seems to have faded now but I would still like to combat the problem for next time.

Helen S