A wet dog rarely ever smells like roses, but luckily the problem should go away after a quick dry off in the garden. But what do you do with a smelly dog who is always throwing off a bad odour? If your dog has a bad scent, try to determine why. It could be an ear infection, a bad tooth, a skin infection, anal glands that are overly full, or maybe your canine friend has been rolling in something foul.
Cure For the Smell
Preventing the smelly dog scenario can often be as easy as changing their diet. Switching from dry food to raw, homemade or meat based canned food (listed in order of healthfulness) can take care of up to 80 percent of the problem. Note that it will take around three weeks for a change in a dog’s diet to change their smell.
If you dog is still smelly after this three week period, there is something else going on – and a lot of the time, the cause is yeast. Dogs are prone to excess yeast allover their bodies, but most often it comes out of their ears. These are dogs with chronic ear infections. The yeast is a result of eating processed foods — most dry dog food is the culprit as it is loaded with grains, which feed yeast.
If you suspect yeast is the issue, you can add three to four drops of baby oil inside the ear flap, not into the ear canal, and give them a gentle massage. A holistic vet will prescribe probiotics and anti-yeast therapies to help.
Combating the Smell
- Shampoo
When bathing your dog, it is important to use a high quality shampoo specifically for pets; human shampoo could really irritate their skin and make the problem worse. Be careful not to get water in their ears, bathing them from the neck down. You shouldn’t bathe a smelly dog more than once twice a week; if you need to wash them this regularly, make sure you are using a mild shampoo so as not to dry out their skin. - Wipes Or Towelettes
Quickly wiping your dog down with a fresh-smelling wipe is a speedy solution for a smelly dog. - Sprays
There are a number of different recipes available online for DIY deodorising sprays to spritz over your dog, furniture and carpets. For instance, you could simply spray a solution of one part white vinegar and one part water.
Another popular spray is the rosemary-mint spray which is a great deodoriser with the additional perk of rosemary being a natural flea-deterrent: For 2-3 minutes, boil 2 cups of water with ½ tsp vinegar, 1 tsp rosemary leaves and 2 tsp mint leaves. Once it has cooled a little, strain the liquid. Then add another 2 ¼ cups of water and ½ tsp of vinegar. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spritz your pet.
If you need an extra pair of hands to help, you can browse dog grooming on Care.com. Ultimately, if your dog is particularly smelly and their malodour persists even after DIY remedies, you should seek the help and advice of a vet.