Smell

Hi all. I have 2 lab/retriever/collie mixes, 1year old, brother and sister. We just adopted them about a month ago. House-trained, no accidents so far. I walked in the house the other day and it just smelled like a dog house. Any suggestions on keeping the house smelling fresh? They've both already been to the groomer and bathed. Thoughts?

Hi Leslie! Welcome to Dogsey!

What do you feed your dogs? Bearing in mind they are fairly heavy coated, I would recommend that you try feeding them raw if you don't already. "Artificial" dog foods such as kibble contain a lot of carbohydrate which can cause bacterial overgrowth both internally and externally on the skin. This leads to the unpleasant "cheesy" doggy smell that in my opinion so many kibble fed dogs suffer from.

My advice would be to switch to a natural diet of raw meat, bones with some veg and fruit, preferably raw but cooked vegs are perfectly acceptable. My dog Ben is fed on raw meat and bones, with raw pureed vegetables and fruit and left overs from our plates including cooked vegetables and even raw salad - Ben loves lettuce!

Hope this helps - that doggie smell is very unpleasant so I sympathise!

To be fair some dogs just smell more than others, bit like people I suppose. Longer hair and thicker coat no doubt contribute too. I had a Boxer years ago that always smelt of freshly baked biscuits lol My Dobermanns also short coated always smelt fresh, My Pugs do too. Ok the Dobies and Pugs were/are raw fed but the Boxer wasn't. I find spending a lot of time out and about with the breeze in their coats helps. Also laying on certain kinds of bedding can create a smell, as can frequency of washing their bedding. Are you sure it's the dogs that pong and not their beds? If they come back wet from their walks we come in via the side access way and they stay in the conservatory with the heating on if it's chilly to dry off completely before entering the rest of the house. I still have vanilla reed diffusers dotted about the house and wash the kitchen and conservatory floors daily. People usually comment they can't smell the dogs, well nor can I because I would find it off putting.

It is really interesting that some dogs have that doggy smell and others just don't. None of my dogs (and they are coated breeds - GSDs and BCs) have a dog smell - and I have had none-dog friends remark that my house doesn't smell of dogs (in surprise I think!).

Mine are on a half and half diet. Raw breakfast and kibble for evening meal. However, I have had purely kibble fed dogs who didn't smell either.

I wonder if it has more to do with whether a dog has a more greasy skin and/or oily coat (such as newfs or retrievers) or factors such as that.

When the breath is smelly, that is more likely to be down to diet or having unclean teeth (plaque/tartar) or gum disease.

Hmmm ... I think it is mainly down to diet. The "inside" skin is the same as the "outside"skin - as we all know, if we eat a shit diet it can result in lousy skin, spotty and purulent. An inappropriate diet - whether it be kibble or raw - will produce the same result. As with us humans, all dogs are different - some are allergic to wheat, to dairy, to eggs, whatever, it doesn't matter - the state of the gut is a reflection of the skin on the surface and vice versa. I think the point I am trying to make is that if a dog, or indeed a human, has for example bad breath, it is more likely to be a gut problem than poor dental hygiene, although plaque on teeth can cause bad breath. If I were the OP I would definitely be looking at diet as a cause for the doggie smell.