Why does my dog stink?

[Thorny]

Gunnar is 5 months old and he's had more baths in his 3 months at my home than my previous dog (lab) had in her whole life. This guys just stinks! Is it genetics or environment?

Home is a wire crate with a plastic liner floor. He spends time in there when he's not traveling in my truck with me or following me around the house. He gets about 1-2 hours of activity a day in the yard or at the local parks (he has not been to a dog park since his last bath 2 weeks ago) point being I dont think its his environment that is making him stinky.

Food is Blue Buffalo - native, puppy variety. He also eats milk bone dog treats, the original flavor. And I let him snack on unflavored raw hide, as much as he wants which equals 1-2 consumed per day, average size is about the same as a smart phone. No other food.

He's not peeing on his legs, so I don't think that is the problem. But he just stinks like a dirty dog. Is this part of the breed? Does some aspect of his food contribute to this? I literally bathed my lab about once per year and she never smelled. And she ate blue buffalo too (albeit the salmon and sweet potato variety).

My next course of action will be to bath him with a deeper cleaning type of soap and see if that is part of the issue. I've been using puppy shampoo and following with a high quality human hair conditioner. Maybe I'm just not getting him clean enough at each bath?

[marshies]

Are you drying your dog properly after you bathe?
Maybe there is an ingredient in blue buffalo that doesn't agree with her?
I bathe Puppy maybe twice a year, and only when she gets really muddly, never for smells.

Also, slightly off topic, but please reconsider feeding raw hide. Many dogs have died from them. Google for more info.

[doggiedad]

i think you should use dog products on dogs.
that human conditioner maybe the problem.

[jocoyn]

No....I have not given my 18 month old a bath since he was about 12 weeks old. He does not have an odor about him. The only GSD I had with an unpleasant odor had allergy problems. The last bath my old guy had was in 2011 but it was a quick cleanup outside with dawn dish soap and a garden hose.

I don't know about the rawhide...I don't give that. I give another food but would not thnk blue buffalo would cause problems (unless allergies)

[RowdyDogs]

How often are you bathing him? Too much bathing can trigger excessive oil production in skin and fur, which can lead to stink.

Blue Buffalo is a good quality food, but are you sure he's not allergic to anything in it? A diet that isn't working for the dog can also cause excessive odor.

1-2 rawhide chews is a lot to me. Rawhide is a bit controversial as a snack. I know in dogs I have given it to, it has caused gas and diarrhea in some. I think cutting back might be worth a try. Give him non-consumable chew toys instead.

Milkbones are also a poor-quality treat. If he doesn't have a sensitivity, he's fine, but if he does have a corn sensitivity or something like that, just one or two small milkbones a day can make him stinky (or at least that's what happened with my corn-sensitive dog).

Usually, strong odor is diet-based. As a first step I'd probably set up a vet visit and talk about an age-appropriate way to do an elimination diet, to see if that helps.

[doggiedad]

maybe it's me. "reconsider feeding raw. "many dogs have died from them".
umm, what's wrong this statement?

Originally Posted by marshies

Are you drying your dog properly after you bathe?
Maybe there is an ingredient in blue buffalo that doesn't agree with her?
I bathe Puppy maybe twice a year, and only when she gets really muddly, never for smells.

>>>>> Also, slightly off topic, but please reconsider feeding raw hide. Many dogs have died from them.<<<<<

Google for more info.

[onyx'girl]

Originally Posted by Thorny

Gunnar is 5 months old and he's had more baths in his 3 months at my home than my previous dog (lab) had in her whole life. This guys just stinks! Is it genetics or environment?

Home is a wire crate with a plastic liner floor. He spends time in there when he's not traveling in my truck with me or following me around the house. He gets about 1-2 hours of activity a day in the yard or at the local parks (he has not been to a dog park since his last bath 2 weeks ago) point being I dont think its his environment that is making him stinky.

Food is Blue Buffalo - native, puppy variety. He also eats milk bone dog treats, the original flavor. And I let him snack on unflavored raw hide, as much as he wants which equals 1-2 consumed per day, average size is about the same as a smart phone. No other food.

He's not peeing on his legs, so I don't think that is the problem. But he just stinks like a dirty dog. Is this part of the breed? Does some aspect of his food contribute to this? I literally bathed my lab about once per year and she never smelled. And she ate blue buffalo too (albeit the salmon and sweet potato variety).

My next course of action will be to bath him with a deeper cleaning type of soap and see if that is part of the issue. I've been using puppy shampoo and following with a high quality human hair conditioner. Maybe I'm just not getting him clean enough at each bath?

I would quit the rawhides and switch to a fresh raw beef knucklebone(not daily however!)....add in some probiotic/digestive enzymes to his daily meal and I bet you'll see a change. I would also not use the conditioner....dogs coats are different than human hair/scalp. I use Mane n Tail when I bathe my dogs(very seldom) it is a bit too fragrant for my tastes, and my dogs probably don't like it either with their sensitive olfactories.

[Capone22]

The only dogs I know that stink have allergy issues and usually some kind of staph infection or yeast from the allergies. Any allergy symptoms? Itchiness? Redness? Flaky skin? Missing hair anywhere? Even if tiny spots.

[Thorny]

Thanks ya'll. I'll quit the raw hides and see if that helps. His stool, skin and gas production would not indicate an allergy, but if these dogs are naturally non-oderous and its not environment then it would likely be food.

As for the conditioner on the coat, I do it to help reduce static electricity shocks that can be terrible in the dry environment where we live here in Colorado. The hair conditioner really helps but may also contribute to junk sticking in his coat.

[Sunflowers]

How are you drying him? It could be fungus.