# Doggy Smell



## yuricamp (Mar 13, 2011)

I’m looking for best practices for keeping the doggy smell to a minimum. I already feed raw so I feel that’s the first step, and I give my dog a bath at least every other week.


----------



## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

If I had to take a guess I'd say your dog probably isn't getting completely dry after those baths. Do you have a doggy dryer to use? If not, I'd recommend getting one. Not only will it ensure that the dog gets dry after a bath but it's also AWESOME for blowing out coat.  You can get one for around $100-$130 on Wholesale Pet Supplies, Dog Grooming | PetEdge.com


----------



## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

My first thought was too many baths and when we do bath them making sure we are getting them dried off. I always struggle with drying my boys neck, it's so dense.

Why so many baths? 

Unless my boy is just smelling sour or really got muddy he gets a bath once every 2 months..sometimes longer.

It's also important to brush them often, that will help keep the smell down.

Diet also plays a part.


----------



## yuricamp (Mar 13, 2011)

Thank you for the responses. My concern is not really after he bathes, because I towel him off as best as I can and take him for a nice active walk before we go back inside. I'm talking about like a week after his last bath. I grewe up an island and dogs were outside dwellers. Now that I have my own animals, I like to keep them inside. Maybe I'm being a bit neurotic, but I don't want to smell my dog when he comes into the room. Not that he is really stinky or anything, he just starts to smell like a dog again after a week. If that is something that everyone just lives with then fine, but I'm just wondering if there WAS a way around it.

As I sit and look at him, I think not. If I didn't bathe for a few days you would certainly SMELL me when I walked into a room, so maybe I should accept that. Especially with all the hair/fur he has.


----------



## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

Well there is a slight difference in us and dogs, we smell because of sweat. Dogs don't sweat through their skin, their sweat glands are on their paw pads and they regulate temperature (The reason we sweat) by panting. Though even if you towel him off well, he could still have moisture under his coat that is building up between each bath and causing bacteria and yeast to grow therefore causing the doggy smell. 

As for bathing your dog regularly, I don't blame you. Sweating or not, I don't like a dirty dog and after my dog has been running around with her friends and rolling in the dirt or swimming in a pond or whatever, she is no doubt dirty. My dogs get bathed every 1-2 weeks for this reason. My dogs don't have a dog smell to them though, even if I did (and have due to situations where I couldn't bathe them) go for much much longer between baths they still don't smell. I really think you've probably got an issue with him not getting dry enough. I also wipe Gretchen down with a baby wipe a lot, she has a bad habit of rolling in stinky stuff and getting into the fish carcasses after fishing trips. x.x


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i'm thinking your dog doesn't smell. he probably has a natural
dog odor but that doesn't mean it's offensive. i bathe my dog
maybe 4 times a year. in the summer he gets sprayed with
the hose a lot.


----------



## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

Brushing and a heavy duty blow dryer def. help  
Is he a long coat?

Perhaps you could try some of those sprays that make the dogs smell "nice"?? 
Persoanlly I think they are horrible, I'd rather smell dog than "coconut" LOL but hey some people like it, that's why the groomers use it


----------



## Marnie (Oct 11, 2011)

Healthy dogs should not smell (unless they frequently swim in lakes or rivers). That doggy odor is probably an overgrowth of yeast or fungus on the skin. The most common cause is food allergies but other things are possible. Not too many vets are knowledgeable about this and most will recommend medicated baths (which only work for a matter of days). Good luck finding a vet that will work with you.


----------



## Justaguy (Nov 20, 2012)

In my experience it don't matter how many times you wash your dog the common dog smell will always come back after a day or two. Sometimes even the same day. Its a natural smell for them and nothing you can do about it atleast I don't think so. We bath our dogs like once a month unless they were out playing in the rain and snow then straight to the bath.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

GSDs especially don't need washed every week -2 weeks.

We bathe ours 1x-2x a year, usually once, unless something happens and he gets really dirty.
Some dogs are greasier than others (labs and hounds spring to mind), GSDs are low maintenance, in that department though.


----------



## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

It sounds to me, like if the smell is worse about a week later, the dog isn't getting dry enough and bacteria (like yeast) are growing.

I'd cut the baths down, make sure the dog DRIES COMPLETELY, and brush regularly.


----------



## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I agree with the others, you probably aren't getting his coat thoroughly dry after bathing. Trust me, I know what it takes to dry a GSD coat, and toweling and walking won't cut it. You can probably get away with that in a hot, dry climate, but otherwise, that undercoat is so thick and dense, it traps water and holds it for a long time. This makes a warm, moist, dark environment perfect for yeast and bacteria to grow.

Try this--take your dog to a professional groomer. Make sure they have a force dryer--that is the key to getting the dog's coat bone-dry and clear of dead hair, skin flakes, dirt and debris. See if that doesn't make a difference in the "doggy" smell. 

If it works, then you could invest in a force dryer of your own.

As a groomer, my clients always tell me that when I bathe their dogs, they stay clean and smell good far longer than when they bathe the dog at home.


----------



## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

My dogs don't smell, and I don't bath them unless they roll in something. The oils in their coat repel dirt.


----------



## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

FlyAway said:


> My dogs don't smell, and I don't bath them unless they roll in something. The oils in their coat repel dirt.


Same here. Rocco doesn't smell unless he's gotten into something. I brush him regularly and always wipe his paws when he comes inside.


----------



## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I don't notice much odor coming from my GSDs, either. Then again, I am so used to it that I probably *can't* smell mild cases of doggy odor. I can smell a cocker coming a mile away, though!

I want to say that a strong odor coming from a dog probably means that there's something wrong. But what's strong to you might just be normal mild "dog" smell to me... and there's nothing wrong with that smell, unpleasant as it may seem to some.


----------



## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

Freestep said:


> Try this--take your dog to a professional groomer. Make sure they have a force dryer--that is the key to getting the dog's coat bone-dry and clear of dead hair, skin flakes, dirt and debris. See if that doesn't make a difference in the "doggy" smell.
> 
> If it works, then you could invest in a force dryer of your own.
> 
> As a groomer, my clients always tell me that when I bathe their dogs, they stay clean and smell good far longer than when they bathe the dog at home.


 
We no longer bathe at home for this reason. I either take her to a groomer OR a DIY dog bath place WITH a force dryer. She can go months without a bath before she is really funky.


----------



## yuricamp (Mar 13, 2011)

Yep. Did the professional groomer and he stays fresh longer. I think think I may need to invest in a dryer. 

I' ll ask... Will my wife's hair dryer work though?

He really doesn't smell strong, just noticeable.


----------



## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

No, a regular human hair dryer will not work. A force dryer is much more powerful and does not have heat. A Metro or K9 dryer will set you back anywhere from $140-400 depending on how much power you want--get the best you can afford, and you will never regret it. I'm eyeing the k9III model as a backup dryer.

Here's a selection for you to peruse:

Dryers | PetEdge.com


----------



## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Diet and nutrition.


----------



## Shep's_Shepherd (Jan 18, 2012)

yuricamp said:


> Yep. Did the professional groomer and he stays fresh longer. I think think I may need to invest in a dryer.
> 
> I' ll ask... Will my wife's hair dryer work though?
> 
> He really doesn't smell strong, just noticeable.



I tried the people hair dryer using the cool setting and it just doesn't have the juice of the pet dryers. Those pet dryers seem more equal to a leaf blower than that of a hair dryer! I go to PetCo's Unleashed and we're able to use a bathing stall for the wash, then after a brief towel dry, the professional blower is used to force any remaining water off the dog. The pet dryers are able to reach down to his undercoat for a through drying, all for 10 dollars. We do that once every three months at most. In between baths, we use a pet coat deodorizer spray. We try and limit the baths since it tends to strip his skin and coat of essential oils, which end up being counterproductive in the effort of keeping him clean.


----------



## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

I totally agree with this comment. My GSD stinks when he doesn't get totally dry. It's not yeasty, it's just strong doggy smell. We live in Florida and it's humid ;-) to say the least. He has a kiddie pool he lays in just about every day in the summer and he stays wet at the belly, hind quarters, and chest. He gets a bath every other week and then I blow off the excess water with a wet/dry vac. Put the vac hose in the exhaust port to turn it into a blower rather than a vacuum. It has some serious powerful blowing action and works well. After he's dry and I brush him out, I turn the vac back into a vacuum and he lets me vacuum him...and the floor, and the walls, and, well you can picture it.





ChancetheGSD said:


> Well there is a slight difference in us and dogs, we smell because of sweat. Dogs don't sweat through their skin, their sweat glands are on their paw pads and they regulate temperature (The reason we sweat) by panting. Though even if you towel him off well, he could still have moisture under his coat that is building up between each bath and causing bacteria and yeast to grow therefore causing the doggy smell.
> 
> As for bathing your dog regularly, I don't blame you. Sweating or not, I don't like a dirty dog and after my dog has been running around with her friends and rolling in the dirt or swimming in a pond or whatever, she is no doubt dirty. My dogs get bathed every 1-2 weeks for this reason. My dogs don't have a dog smell to them though, even if I did (and have due to situations where I couldn't bathe them) go for much much longer between baths they still don't smell. I really think you've probably got an issue with him not getting dry enough. I also wipe Gretchen down with a baby wipe a lot, she has a bad habit of rolling in stinky stuff and getting into the fish carcasses after fishing trips. x.x


----------

