# Odor at the base of the tail?



## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

Please advise me how to get rid of the odor. It's in his extra-thick fluffyfro on his back above his tail. It smells like dirty socks, and I'm guessing it's from getting wet and not drying properly, day after day? Is this yeast or some kind of bacterial problem? Is dog shampoo going to get rid of it?
Thank you for any suggestions.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I would visit the vet and have them check it out. It could be anything. Is it possibly excretions from his anal glands?


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Have you had his anal glands checked?


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I googled around and I think I've found my answer. In compairing similar situations (dog smells after swimming) and similar descriptions of odor (feet, musty, dirty socks - unlike anal secretions) and eliminating symptoms not showing (no itching, no redness, no flaking) I think my puppy has mildew.

It seems that alot of dogs, Labs and Retrievers especially, that love the water and don't dry thoroughly, get this. My puppy was pretty much wet for 3 days straight - between the river, the kiddie pool, the hose, the humidity, the rain...add to that sleeping on a carpet in between. I remember feeling his coat where it smelled (on his back, by his tail) before bedtime and being surprised that it was still damp. His coat is super-thick, stock in the sense of length but with an incredibly dense undercoat.

So for now (since I'm a less-is-more type) I'm not even going to bathe him. I've massaged the area with white vinegar and slicker brushed. I hope this works, so far he seems much better but the vinegar is still a bit damp. If this doesn't do anything, he will have to see the vet because it could be alot of different things.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

My male takes forever to dry. My female dries in 20 minutes. All from the undercoat. If my male is wet we spend a good bit of time still playing outside sans-water to mitigate his extra drying time. Sham-wow or the like work *really* well at speeding the drying. I suppose you could even make him lay on a few of them.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Blanketback said:


> I googled around and I think I've found my answer. In compairing similar situations (dog smells after swimming) and similar descriptions of odor (feet, musty, dirty socks - unlike anal secretions) and eliminating symptoms not showing (no itching, no redness, no flaking) I think my puppy has mildew.
> 
> It seems that alot of dogs, Labs and Retrievers especially, that love the water and don't dry thoroughly, get this. My puppy was pretty much wet for 3 days straight - between the river, the kiddie pool, the hose, the humidity, the rain...add to that sleeping on a carpet in between. I remember feeling his coat where it smelled (on his back, by his tail) before bedtime and being surprised that it was still damp. His coat is super-thick, stock in the sense of length but with an incredibly dense undercoat.
> 
> So for now (since I'm a less-is-more type) I'm not even going to bathe him. I've massaged the area with white vinegar and slicker brushed. I hope this works, so far he seems much better but the vinegar is still a bit damp. If this doesn't do anything, he will have to see the vet because it could be alot of different things.


Mix the vinegar w/alcohol unless the area is raw.


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

Get a high speed dryer like they have at the groomers  My long hair GSD takes for ever to dry,even if the top seems dry her undercoat will stay wet for ages - the dryer was the best thing I ever bought  
Even a normal hair dryer works if you just need to get rid of some "damp" spots


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

I have the same problem with Kiya. We went to the beach yesterday, then I gave her a bath, dried her as good as I could. This morning she was still damp and stunk. Even though the air was dry, cool no humidity.
So I am going to try the hair dryer on a cool setting and see how that works.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I smell this odor a lot in Labs, Goldens, and any dog that spends a lot of time in the water. The thick undercoat will hold moisture and sometimes it can take days to dry completely. I would take your guy to a groomer and have them give him a good bath and brushing, getting rid of as much dead undercoat as possible, and dried thoroughly with a force dryer. After that, try to keep him out of the water for a while. Once that musty smell goes away, you can allow him to swim again, just make sure you dry him really well. If he's had his undercoat brushed out, it shouldn't be as bad.


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