Necessity of bathing

[Infinite]

My pure german shepherd is needing baths every other week, as he gets extremely greasy and smells quite foul otherwise. I feed him Blue Buffalo, so I'm hesitant to say it's his diet. Any suggestions?

[Lucy Dog]

You definitely should not have to bathe him that much. I give Lucy about 3-4 times a year, but that's because she went in salt water or just got really muddy, not because of smell or oily skin.

How old is he? Has he always been like this or is this something new?

Does he live indoors or outdoors?

Is he scratching a lot? How do his ears look.. Any gunk inside?

[onyx'girl]

I would think there is something going on/possibly diet related. My dogs never need bathing unless they are dusty/dirty or muddy. I have been giving them baths recently due to scratching, but they aren't smelly/oily.

How is he housed/crated? Kenneled? Do you give any supplements beside his kibble? What is the age? How are his teeth?

[Infinite]

he's a little over a year old now. He's always been a smelly dog, really. His teeth and ears are clean, and he lives indoors. He scratches just about as much as any other dog, only on occasion and not persistently. He sleeps in a crate, and takes no supplements.

He gets flakes of dander.

I have another german shepherd (mutt though), who never needs bathing unless she rolls in something.

He's been on Innova and Blue Buffalo the whole time I've had him. The only brands I've seen readily available and better are Wilderness and Evo, both a bit too costly.

[Lucy Dog]

I'd try either switching to a different protein (fish or lamb) or just get off the grains completely and see if that helps.

There really is no reason your dog should smell as bad as you say he does.

[DTS]

I give my dog a bath every 2 or 3 months. When she was a pup and didn't know any better we bathed her once a week. Our other dog needed a bath atleast once a week due to smell and grease. He was a mix. Our pup started getting really dry skin and Red bumps we use a medicated shampoo from the vetand lessened the amount of baths and she cleared right up. This is te first dog I've had that doesn't get that "dog" smell. I know some people with gsds that only bathe once a season.
Salmon has helped her skin tons as well. The omega 3s help with her dryness

[gsdraven]

I was just thinking about this yesterday. I don't remember the last time I bathe Kaiser or Raven and neither of them smell. I would definitely re-evaluate diet.

[Kittilicious]

He gets flakes of dander.

That tells me it's some type of allergy. My golden had really dry skin & flakes, we switched her food and it all cleared up.

[carmspack]

Greasy skin , mouldy smell , ---- take the dog to the vet to rule out any underlying medical condition such as Cushings or a systemic fungal problem . Do a stool check to make sure that there are no internal parasites .
Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs

[WVGSD]

I have had my German Shepherd for one year now and he has had one bath - on the day after I got him from the shelter. I brush him, clean his ears and wipe him down with a towel if he gets wet or muddy in the yard, but no more baths so far. His coat glistens and he has very little flaking of his skin with a good strong slicker-brushing.

I second having a vet look at your dog's skin.