Why does my dog smell?

[Puppmom]

My doggie, an almost 5 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, has started to smell bad over the past few months. In the past month, it's super yucky - like to the point that you can smell it if he walks by you and the *zone* around him just stinks.

He is a short-coated dog and, up until now, was VERY low maintenance in the grooming department. Bathing was only a quarterly requirement - unless he decided to roll in something. But now, he just plain stinks. I'm out of ideas because the usual culprits don't seem to be the cause. We made a vet appointment but I like to go in prepared so I'm hoping you guys have some ideas.

Here's what I think it ISN'T:

Ears - as a pup, he had ear problems and I know that yucky, yeasty ear smell. This is not it. And, if I specifically smell his ears, they smell fine.
Anal glands - I KNOW what it smells like when he needs his glands expressed. That smell is unmistakable.
He rolled in something - this doesn't smell like he rolled in something and, when he does roll in something, it usually hits all of the sudden. Let him in the yard smelling perfectly fine and he comes back in smelling like something died.

Any other ideas? We have noticed he's licking himself a little more than usual but nothing else has changed. Same food, same environment etc. We've tried bathing him (obviously!) and it works but only for a day or two and the stink is back. The *stink* smells kind of like generic dog smell...just turned up on high.

I feel bad...the poor thing is sick of sitting alone.

 

[iheartscience]

Skin issues? We had a shar pei mix who was the stinkiest ever, because she had skin issues due to her wrinkly coat. Maybe your dog has some sort of fungal infection or something? I'd take him to the vet ASAP if I were you. Any major change like that is probably something medically related. (Not saying it's serious, just saying any major change probably needs to be dealt with by a vet!)

 

[Puppmom]

Thing, thanks for the tip. His skin LOOKS normal but the maybe the extra licking is a sign that something's bothering him? Our vet appt is next week so hopefully they'll pin it down. DH wanted to get him professionally groomed because he thought maybe we were just bathing him improperly. I wasn't buying it since he didn't stink for the first 4.5 years of his life and we've been bathing him all along. Heck, I think a pro-bath would probably cost more than a vet visit and not solve our problem.

When your dog had a skin infection, could you see it?

 

[Enerchi]

Teeth? If there are dental issues, the dogs get pretty ripe smelling with decay! Maybe a teeth cleaning is in order?

 

[lulu]

How are his teeth?

 

[Puppmom]

As of his last checkup (May of this year) his teeth were in tip-top shape. I know a lot can change in a short time, though. His breath definitely doesn't smell. Could a decay smell from his teeth manifest itself elsewhere?

 

[Enerchi]

As of his last checkup (May of this year) his teeth were in tip-top shape. I know a lot can change in a short time, though. His breath definitely doesn't smell. Could a decay smell from his teeth manifest itself elsewhere?

Not likely.

Do you live in an area w ticks? We just pulled one off of our Airedale. Maybe there is something embedded in his skin??

 

[Dee*Jay]

Could it be his ears? I know several people with dogs who have ear issues (yeast infections, that sort of thing) and they can be rather smelly.

ETA: Sorry, I just reread your post and I see you've already check his ears.

 

[Puppmom]

Enerchi, we do live in an area with ticks. I'll give him a thorough inspection. The few times he's gotten ticks on him they were pretty apparent because of the short reddish colored coat but there could be something in a weird location that I can't see...tick or otherwise.

Deejay, I'm going to look more into the ears. I know what the yeasty ear business smells like but maybe it's ears just not yeast? I'm sure all kinds of things can grown in there. Normally, if his ears are bothering him, he'll shake his head a lot but I'm guessing whatever this is just bothers us not him. He doesn't seem to care that he stinks! In fact, this weekend after we bathed him, I cleaned the furniture and washed his dog bed and he seemed a bit peaved or at least perplexed. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to work very hard to spread his stink again.

 

[stci]

I have a cocker who have this problem and it's her skin who smell bad.

Impossible to find if it's allergy or other problem and professionnal groom failed.

I suggest you discuss of that with your vet.

 

[tuffyluvr]

Could it possibly be pyoderma? Our German Shepherd got some hot spots this summer, and they smelled so gross. We treat him for fleas, but we live in a warm, arid climate so it's a constant battle. The lesions werent immediately obvious--we only noticed because he was licking/chewing the area. The vet prescribed some medicated spray--I think it was 2% chlorhexadine--and the hot spots cleared right up (and the smell!). Here is some info on pyoderma:
http://www.rr-oona.com/SkinDiseases/pyoderma/pyoderma6ENG.html
Best of luck with your pup!

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm sorry this is at your expense, Puppmom, but your post is exactly why I love this place - could it be any farther from sophisticated diamonds if you tried?!!

I too, can't take it when my dogs start smelling. I know this is a gross question, but what does it smell like? Like rotting? astringent? sulfurous? I'm just throwing out major bad smells as you can tell.

I have a fairly new dog (in avatar at the mo) who has intense skin allergies. He gets um, shall we say, "ripe" if its not treated. A bath relieves his itching for a day or so (and the immediate smell), but it comes back pretty quickly if we don't give him special food, and special supplements, and special sprays, etc. - you get the idea. I can complain about him because as much as a part of the family he is and awfully cute to boot, it was my teenage son who brought him home )

If it is the skin, your vet should be able to figure it out.

Good luck and let us know if you find out?

 

[Puppmom]

Thanks! I think you guys might be onto something with his skin. Although his coat is short, it's dense so something in the beginning stages might not be readily apparent to me. Also, with the skin it makes sense that a bath would temporarily rid him of the smell. I also wouldn't be surprised because he has food allergies so some sort of contact allergy wouldn't be out of the question. Hope it isn't the furniture shampoo and Febreze I'm using to get rid of his stink!

I'll definitely let you all know what the vet says.

 

[woofmama]

Does he smell like frito's? Thats a common sign of food allergies. If he is licking/chewing his feet that's another symptom of allergies.
What food is he on? Do you regularly switch his proteins? It's very common for dogs to develop an allergy to a protein from over exposure so he's been fed the same food for five yrs and it's chicken based he may well be allergic to chicken now. The solution is to buy a food with a novel protein and feed it excluscively for 2 months. Make sure your treats are the same protein as his food. If the problem subsides then you'll know it was a food issue. No need to buy expensive prescription food from the vet. Visit any local natural pet food store and they can walk you through options. I would recommend a grain-free salmon or red meat based diet. The main goal is provide a food he hasn't been exposed to. You may also want to look into a potato-free diet. If the problem is at all yeast related potato's feed the growth of yeast. Nutrisca is a great grain-free, potato-free food to try for this situation. I sell quite a lot for allergy dogs and my customers swear by it.

If it's not the food he could have a bladder infection. This also causes body odor. Your vet can check him for that.

By the way, I love Rhodesians! Several visit my store regularly & they are magnificent. Almost chose that breed many years ago but DS had asthma so have Giant Schnauzers. May still get one some day.

 

[Haven]

Woofmama--Oh my gosh, Bailee has smelled like Frito's since we adopted her four years ago. It isn't a bad smell, and it's not strong, but when she's smushed against me at night I smell it. I actually love it because it's her smell , but now I'm wondering if she has some sort of allergy? My good friend and I always talk about how much we love our Frito pups. (I even call her Frito Bai sometimes!)

She eats an all-raw diet that's a mixture of turkey, chicken, beef, fish, and Cornish hen, mostly.

Sorry for the threadjack!

Puppmom--My first thought was tooth decay, but it sounds like that's been ruled out.

 

[soocool]

My dog smells weird at times and I figured it out that whenever he walks on freshly cut grass or wet leaves, wet lawn,etc. he developsva weird smell. His underbelly sometimes comes in contact with the wet surfaces. I then use baby/doggy wipes and he doe not smell so bad anymore.

 

[Puppmom]

Okay, I think I've pinned down a description for the smell. It's kind of "sour" and a little "rotten" - almost like a wet rag smells if it's been left sitting out too long.

To answer questions:
- He's on blue buffalo wilderness salmon formula
- We've only switched his food twice - once from puppy to adult (prescription food because he wasn't doing well and they believed it was allergies). He stopped vomiting frequently as soon as we switched to vet food
- After about 18mos, he started to refuse the food. We worked with the vet on a new food choice and it took us months to transition him because he kept getting sick. The only proteins he's tolerated so far are rabbit and salmon.
- He's been on the current food for about 2.5 years and the only other thing he eats is sweet potatoes.

So many dogs I know smell like corn chips and I never knew why!

 

[soocool]

I just looked up pet odors in a book I have about pet care. It states you might have to bathe your dog more often (I bathe my dog every 3-4 weeks). If your dog has a particularly oily coat it states to skip the mild shampoo and use a tar-based product. Regular brushing helps remove gunk that gets in the fur and causes odors. It finally states that after all this your dog is still unusually smelly have the vet check for ear infection, gum or tooth disease, kidney problems, or skin disease.

 

[woofmama]

Puppmom Blue Buffalo is a solid food, I stock it, but it does have chicken meal as the 2nd ingredient & turkey meal as the 3rd ingredient with potato starch as the 4th ingredient. I recommend trying a brand that has only salmon as the protein source & no potato. Note white potato cause yeast issues (whiteshade family, and contain alkaloids which cause inflamation) not sweet potatos(yam family) Here are the options I carry that I show to customers whose pets have issues:
Nutrisca Salmon & Chickpea
PureVita Grain Free Salmon
California Natural Grain Free Formula's available in several protein sources, Salmon, Kangaroo, Venison etc.
Zignature Salmon & Trout

I have had great success with these foods, particularly the Nutrisca & PureVita brands. I sell hundreds of bags per month of these brands and many customers come to me that have tried many other options. Hope this helps!

Haven Have you heard of Dr Karen Becker? She is a holistic vet based in IL. I have attended many of her seminars. I know you are a raw feeder, which is fabulous! Here's a link to her informative article on frito feet. Please read it and watch her video.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/03/eating-these-foods-can-make-your-dog-itch-like-crazy.aspx
You can also sign up for her newsletter. She is a guru for natural pet food store owners like me.

 

[Puppmom]

Woofmama, this is kind of embarrassing but I had no idea our food actually contained chicken and turkey. We did a lot of research on foods and worked with the vet and it took us months and 4 attempts to transition Hollis. Once we got to the point of 1/3 prescription food and 2/3 new food, the vomitting would start. I asked the vet about leaving him on a 50/50 mix indefinitely and she advised against it. She wanted him off of the vet food - A. because he was refusing it and B. because, even though he tolerated it, she didn't feel it was really nutritionally sound otherwise, for the long haul anyway. So, eventually we ended up with the Wildnerness Salmon. The next food on our list if that didn't work was Fromm's. This was recommended in the event his allergies/intolerance weren't protein related. Apparently, Fromm's is good for dogs who tire of a food because they have similar formulas with just a protein change so we could change his food from one protein variety to another with less trauma to his tummy? Phew...sorry for the long story.

He does still vomit periodically but we're almost certain it's reflux because it happens if he's gone too long between meals. We feed him three times per day but sometimes, due to our schedule, it has to be two. Almost always if he misses that middle meal (a snack, really), he vomits bile.

I appreciate your food pointers...I'll be referring back to this if we need to change his food.

Sooocool, we just gave him a bath this weekend but he started to stink a few days later. If this turns out to be nothing medical, then maybe we're not bathing him properly?

Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to getting this resolved. I mean, imagine if your best friend smelled? I love him dearly but, when he comes near me all I think about is how bad he smells! He likes to do tricks for me while I blow dry my hair in the morning (for treats of course!) and I wanted to kick him out of the bathroom this morning. I sucked it up though.

I did give his coat a thorough check - minus his paws and under his tail. He wasn't in the mood for that! The only thing I could see that is even somewhat out of the ordinary is a little bit of gray spotting on his belly near his groin. It's not raised and not widespread but I'll point it out to the vet when we go next week.

Thank you pet detectives and I'll be sure to come back once we know what it is!

 

[Haven]

Oh Puppmom, I hope you can figure this out soon. Poor baby!

Woofmama--Thank you for that info! I don't think Bailee smells like Frito's in the way the article describes, so that's a relief. It's just her smell, and it's very faint and pleasant the way a baby's smell is pleasant to her mama. She doesn't lick or have a strong smell anywhere, thank goodness.
I wish I knew which store you owned, we would happily be your customers!

 

[minousbijoux]

Puppmom, good luck and report back please so we know what worked for you.

Our dog, Joseph (my avatar) is a stray pitbull we took in about a year ago. When we took him in, he was dirty and completely cut up. We thought he had been used as a training dog (I guess they call them bait dogs) by those awful dog fighting people. Anyway, now that he's been here a while, I realize that he has amazingly sensitive skin. He spends his days licking, itching and biting all over. I've tried baths. He's been to the vet twice and gotten prednisone shots (which last a few weeks and keep symptoms at bay). But he will scratch until he bleeds. We've tried sprays, benadryl, special diet and supplements. I have heard that giving him protein-based food instead of grain-based is key, but then again, I've heard so many things that I don't know what to believe. I wish he could be tested and I could find out what it is without further speculation!

I wish someone wrote a book on what different conditions mean. To be able to look up for example "sour slightly rotten" smell and find out that a smell like that is typically associated with the following x conditions would be great. My dog's feet (different dog) smell lightly like fritos and I love it - didn't know what it meant. I wish they would just explain in english how they're feeling, instead of trying to guess.

 

[LAJennifer]

Just to chime in on the sour, wet rag smell. My cat, Electra, smelled like that for a few days. I finally "caught" her making all kinds of love to a dirty mop we had hanging in the basement. Oh my, the smell . . .

 

[soocool]

Just to chime in on the sour, wet rag smell. My cat, Electra, smelled like that for a few days. I finally "caught" her making all kinds of love to a dirty mop we had hanging in the basement. Oh my, the smell . . .

This is so funny!

My a neighbor has a female dog that has not been spayed. The dog stinks when she is in heat. Another reason to spay your dog if you are not breeding her.

Oh just remembered what I was going to write. Another neighbor's dog had an interesting smell and she could not figure out what the smell was until one day I was over her house and she washed her hands and then put lotion on her hands. Almost immediately after putting the lotion on her hands she was petting the dog. I suggested that perhaps the dog had a build up of her hand lotion on her fur that would start to turn rancid after a while? My dog always smells of perfume after she visits my dad in his retirement community. All the women have to pet and play with him. Then when I come home I have to air him out. He smells like a perfume ad that you can find stuck in a magazine.

 

[minousbijoux]

We're going to need to start a "Ask Woofmama" thread!

LAJennifer: that is one of the funniest animal stories I've heard.

Socool: brilliant realization about the lotion - now that one would've stumped me. Could that be what you smell, Puppmom?

 

[woofmama]

Hi Ladies I was working all day and don't visit PS there so just catching up on this thread. I'll try and touch on the various concerns. I'm so much better at talking than typing but here we go.

Woofmama, this is kind of embarrassing but I had no idea our food actually contained chicken and turkey. We did a lot of research on foods and worked with the vet and it took us months and 4 attempts to transition Hollis. Once we got to the point of 1/3 prescription food and 2/3 new food, the vomitting would start. I asked the vet about leaving him on a 50/50 mix indefinitely and she advised against it. She wanted him off of the vet food - A. because he was refusing it and B. because, even though he tolerated it, she didn't feel it was really nutritionally sound otherwise, for the long haul anyway. So, eventually we ended up with the Wildnerness Salmon. The next food on our list if that didn't work was Fromm's. This was recommended in the event his allergies/intolerance weren't protein related. Apparently, Fromm's is good for dogs who tire of a food because they have similar formulas with just a protein change so we could change his food from one protein variety to another with less trauma to his tummy? Phew...sorry for the long story.

He does still vomit periodically but we're almost certain it's reflux because it happens if he's gone too long between meals. We feed him three times per day but sometimes, due to our schedule, it has to be two. Almost always if he misses that middle meal (a snack, really), he vomits bile.

I appreciate your food pointers...I'll be referring back to this if we need to change his food.quote]

Puppmom-Most people don't read the ingrediet panels on the back of the bag & do assume that the only/main protein stated on the front is the only meat.Don't be embarrased, it's a learning curve. I still think he would benefit from a single source protein no potato grain free food. It couldn't hurt to try. As to the reflux issue I recommend you fill a kong with canned food, again single protein grain & potato free, freeze it and give it to him on the days you know you can't come home for the midday meal. He will spend hours licking the food from the kong and hopefully will not vomit. Example of a canned food to use for this:Wellness Core Grain Free Salmon, Whitefish & Herring formula.In regard to Fromm, that is my number one selling brand. It's a great food & you can rotate between the various formula's. They have four grain free varities but do have potato & multiple protein sources so in your case I still think the other brands I mentioned earlier would be a better option.

 

[woofmama]

Oh Puppmom, I hope you can figure this out soon. Poor baby!

Woofmama--Thank you for that info! I don't think Bailee smells like Frito's in the way the article describes, so that's a relief. It's just her smell, and it's very faint and pleasant the way a baby's smell is pleasant to her mama. She doesn't lick or have a strong smell anywhere, thank goodness.
I wish I knew which store you owned, we would happily be your customers!

Well my store isn't far from your town. Another PSer came in once. Am I allowed to say the name here? How about this I'm in Roselle on Main St and the word Woof is part of the store name. If you google Woof Roselle you'll find me. If this is against rules please let me know.

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

Just to chime in on the sour, wet rag smell. My cat, Electra, smelled like that for a few days. I finally "caught" her making all kinds of love to a dirty mop we had hanging in the basement. Oh my, the smell . . .

You know, I think LAJennifer could be onto something. Where does your dog sleep? Is it possible his bedding is the source of the smell? Like maybe you washed his pet bed and the inside of it is mildewed? Or could he have a dirty dishrag or washcloth hidden in his bedding, under the bed, under the sofa? Or even in the basement???

 

[Haven]

Woofmama--Got it! I don't work too far from you, actually. Very cool!

LAJennifer--Your story had me laughing out loud!

 

[woofmama]

Woofmama--Got it! I don't work too far from you, actually. Very cool!

LAJennifer--Your story had me laughing out loud!

Awesome! Come and visit me sometime. I'm off on Sunday & Wednesday but there all other days. Checkout my FB page for pics of the dog spa. It's really cool!

LAJennifer that story is hilarious!