Help - smelly dog! (update @ post 13)

Hi,

Some of you will have read my thread a while ago about Diesel my GSD being smelly and I wondered if it may have been the food he eats. Anyway, Ive kept him on the same food as he does really well on it but he still smells Im starting a new job soon and I'm hoping to take him with me but I can't have him stinking the office out!

He just smells really really strong of 'dog' if you know what I mean, Ive never smelt anything like it! Its like a usual doggy smell but 100 times stronger, its bloody awful. When people visit I feel like I have to apologise for the smell Smokeybear did say that entire male dogs can sometimes have a strong smell so it's possibly just one of them things that I have to live with....

I want to be able to take him to work but I wont be able to if he's going to make the place reek like my house! So any ideas how I can reduce the smell on him and in the air around us and how often can I take him to the groomers for a bath?

ANY ideas much appreciated

xx

Have you brought him to the vet? Certain conditions can cause a dog to have an all-over body stench... infections, bacteria, diseases (like kidney disease)... even an ear infection or a tooth absess will cause a dog to reek sometimes. A quick fix is a an all over baking soda rub... send him outside, pat him down and let him shake it off... will help with the friends visiting.

do you mind me asking what food he his on
its just me and mum have been saying for a while now that ruby smells really ''doggy'' she is on wainrights so i have just bought her some new food to try see if it is the food.
im going to start putting her on the new food at the end of the week as this bag of her old is now running out.
i can only try

I haven't had him at the vets as I've no reason to believe he is not well. His ears are clean and dont smell and his breath is fine, he is happy, full of energy and fit as a fiddle. Now you mention it, his wee does smell very strong, but boys wee does smell worse than girls doesn't it I can usually tell when one of my dogs is poorly but maybe I should take him along to be on the safe side...

Thank you

Hi, he is on Pro Plan Puppy, Large breed athletic salmon and rice. I have read somewhere on the internet that fish based food can cause a dog to smell more, I really dont want to change his food as I'm really happy with his condition on it, especially as he is only 10 months old, I'd like to keep him on the same food until he is at least twelve months but at the same time, I want to be able to take him to work with me and Ive got NO chance with his current stench!!

Let me know how you get on with your dogs change of diet, if it makes her smell better, I'd love to know.

Also, if anyone can recommend a good food for a ten month old GSD I could change him onto, that would be great.

xx

[QUOTE=pinkgunner;2333169]Hi, he is on Pro Plan Puppy, Large breed athletic salmon and rice. I have read somewhere on the internet that fish based food can cause a dog to smell more, I really dont want to change his food as I'm really happy with his condition on it, especially as he is only 10 months old, I'd like to keep him on the same food until he is at least twelve months but at the same time, I want to be able to take him to work with me and Ive got NO chance with his current stench!!

Let me know how you get on with your dogs change of diet, if it makes her smell better, I'd love to know.

Also, if anyone can recommend a good food for a ten month old GSD I could change him onto, that would be great.


xx[/QUOTE

ah right thanks Thats interesting to no about the fish based foods as ruby was on the salmon and potatoe based food so I've just got her the chicken walfcol instead to try. She is the only dog we have had that has has this really bad doggy smell and also she is the only one that's has had a fish flavour food.

My brother's girlfriend has commented on how un-doggy my two smell since we switched to raw so definately think diet can have a big effect. I tried a few previous dogs on Burns and they all lose coat condition and developed very musty smelling coats - so even "good" foods can disagree with dogs, though I have to say I'm not sure I would feed Pro Plan myself (premium food price tag but not premium ingredients IMO - seems to be lots of maize in it, even in the rice variety, which screams "cheap filler"). If you want to stick to a fish based food then maybe look into something like Fish4Dogs that uses potato as the filler/carb source.
I agree that it may be worth a vet trip to rule out a health issue though, either he may have very few symptoms or be good at hiding them (which is very natural for animals, as a survival instinct), probably worth ruling out if you don't want to trial a change of food. A yeast/fungal skin infection might not affect his ears or breath, but could be gathering in folds of skin or areas like his armputs. Fungi love dark, damp places so if he's a dog that loves to swim, perhaps water is getting trapped under his GSD doublecoat and causing issues if he doesn't dry out fully - laying on a damp bed could worsen things too. Anal gland issues don't always present as obvious either, some dogs won't scoot or lick at the site, just develop a strong fishy odour.

Alternatively, if you feel it's just "one of those things" then you can try deodourising the area to decrease the dog smell. I don't like to use artificial air fresheners so I use lemon juice mixed 50:50 with water in a spray bottle. I use this on soft furnishings like the rug, curtains and fabric sofa, as well as the dogs' beds, and it helps to eliminate odours as well as give the room a citrus-y smell. If the dogs aren't in the room then I spritz it in the air too (just worried about getting it in their eyes if they're about). You can do the same with white vinegar but I find lemon juice smells a bit more pleasant (the vinegar odour does dissipate very quickly though, I've used it before when out of lemon juice). Vinegar or bicarbonate of soda placed in a shallow bowl/dish on sides out of dog reach can help with doggy odours too. You could look at a waterproof dog bed to help make it easier to clean and less likely to get damp and smell the house out too.

Both my sheps have been on fish based diets for over 2 years now and only the eldest one smells remotely doggy and that's due to a skin condition which produces lots of bacteria, so I have to hunt out the bad spots and bath them in Hibiscrub.

Talking of baths, can you not bath him, or hose him down, or take him to a groomers and tell them you want a good, deodorising shampoo used on him, and then take it from there. If the smell comes back, then it's gotta be the food, or something's not quite right, maybe the anal glands, maybe some bacteria somewhere under the fur that you haven't noticed? A good swim somewhere might just do the trick too, if you've got a beach or a lake nearby?

The only time my dogs smell of dog is when they've been out in the rain and have damp coats, but then again, it's still only the older dog who smells at all

Do you give raw carrots, coz they're very good at keeping the anal glands clear? Try giving him a raw carrot as a treat each day and see if things improve.

He doesn't like getting wet so it's not like he lies damp or anything, it's Ruby who's the water baby and he smells ten times worse than her The only reason I feed him Pro Plan is because its what he was on when I picked him up from the breeder and she gave me a bag so I have just carried on feeding him this. After much internet trawling I think Im going to get him in the groomers for a bath next week and try him on Wainwrights and see how he gets on.

Thanks for the tip on the lemon spray, I have plug in fresheners but if you have them too low you can hardly smell it and if its turned up higher I find it irritating in the air, so a natural spray sounds like a good idea.

xx





I have had him at the groomers for a bath and the smell went for a few days (it was fab!) but it came back. He doesn't roll in anything, he doesnt like to even get his feet wet in the sea so theres nothing on his coat thats making him smell so bad.

I'm going to try what I have written above and see how we get on. He does love raw carrots so I could also implement this everyday along with gradually introducing the new food and the bath

Oh fingers crossed this works!! I had a hospital appointment the other day and as I was sat there in the waiting room I could smell a really horrible smell and yes, as you probably guessed, it was me The jacket I was wearing had being hanging up overnight in the dining room where Diesel sleeps and his stench was clinging to it, I was mortified!!

xx

That really doesn't sound normal, I know dogs have their own odours but I've never smelt or heard of a dog smelling that severely! I would definately have some vet checks and tests done to rule out a health issue as it sounds bizarre.

I know, it's definitely not right. Although, when I cuddle him, he doesn't really smell that bad to me, though he does leave you with smelly hands. It's more the smell in the air when we get up in the morning or come home after being out. It really takes your breath away, when you're in the house you get used to it and I dont notice it as much but then my partner or my daughter will come in and comment on how bad it smells. It's not an offensive smell, its just very strong doggy/musty

He's going for a bath this week and Ive bought him some Wainwrights which Im going to start introducing today. I'll give it a week and see if there is any improvement after a bath and new food, if not I'll take him along to the vets.