Smelly dog advice please...

kippers

My friend has bought a lovely chocolate spot dalmation. She has had the dog for about a month but she is getting very upset as she says her house now smells of dog. She is a very clean person and has bathed and groomed the dog but can't get rid of the dog smell.

She has no carpets in the house as she has a tiled floor everywhere with leather settees so there is nothing really to 'hold' the smell.

I would be really gratefull if you experts on here could give any advice as i know she is worrying about this and i'd like to be able to help.

trudij

Is it a male dog?? If it is, is he neutered? That can sometimes help - other than that,or filling hte house with dog friendly air freshners,im afraid theres now a whole lot she can do - you get a dog, you kinda expect them to smell !!!

At least its not a long haired breed though - I had an English Setter who REEKED of musty carpet when it was wet!!!
Beautiful dog though - love the liver spot ones

kippers

Thanks. It is a male dog...i'm not sure if its neutered though

Marsh_Samphire

If the smell is from the dog's coat, don't wash him/her too much as that will strip the coat of it's natural oils. If she is really upset about it, she can get sprays to put on the dog, any pet store or online pet shop will have them. I haven't used them myself on any of our 3 dogs though so I can't say if they work or not.

Could the dog have wind from a change of diet? Changing the food can make a massive different to the smell and, erm, consistency of the end product! Wet food will make it more runny, semi dry or dry food will make it firmer and less smelly. My dogs get the runs from Pedigree chum canned food something awful.

Is it a young or old dog, does it have bad breath from gum disease or tooth decay?

Marsh_Samphire

Just thought of another thing, is the dog "scooting" (rubbing it's bottom on the floor), if so it might need it's anal glands emptying. Get the vet to do it, it's gross!

suki1964

Id look at diet rather then keep washing the poor thing

My lad stinks the place out if hes been fed anything that's not "natural" . Denta sticks etc make him stink to high heavens. Hes on a high end kibble ( arden grange) and the only treats he gets are bonios or stuff I make or veggie treats.

Now all I need is to keep him out of fields where cows have been and he would be the sweetest smelling dog ever

Other thing is, if the dog comes in from outside wet - he will pong. I always dry my lad off as much as possible in the garage or utility before letting him in and if hes soaked - hairdryer comes out

Paparika

Of course her house will smell (not in a bad way) a dog isn't going to smell of frebreeze soft cotton. (not meant to sound nasty).

But if she means every now and then you get a blast of strong dog smells then depending on how old her dog is...

Mine when a few months old released some really strong smell, that i can only assume was hormones, he is now neutered but the other day he did it again.

At the time of me typing this, all my windows are open, the dog is sat on the sofa chilling out, the front door is wide open with a barrier to stop him escaping and the baby gate is on in the living room, so i can let some fresh air in.

It's just additional smells in the home, admittedly i do have the plug in smelly things to help as it really smelt of dog, not so bad now, but people know i have a dog without seeing him just by the way my home smells, not to mention the dog hair everywhere

RooBee

With a dog in the house, ou have to expect a certain amount of doggy smell but if it is very bad, I would have his anal glands checked at the vets first off. Also, his diet could be a factor....some commercial diets can really cause dogs to stink...I can almost always tell if a dog is fed on Pedigree by it's aroma (and it ain't pleasant).

BTW, dalmations are liver spotted, not chocolate ;-)

catkins

Does her house really smell of dog? Is it only her that thinks that or can other people smell it? I only ask because if she is very houseproud she could be imagining that the house smells.

I know people say a house with cats or dogs always smells of them but I am not sure that is true. The only time I can smell my dog is if he gets very wet. I asked my mother in law if she could smell the dog or cats in the house and she said no. Believe me if she could, and she has a good sense of smell, she would not hesitate to tell me.

LillyJ

My OH's parents have 2 dogs and their house never smells of dog (you would never know they had them). She uses lots of cleaning products and air fresheners etc.
Apparently our house does't smell of dog either, but sometimes our kitchen does as that is where he sleeps, and if he has been hot and sweaty he stinks a bit.
Washing him just makes him smell more, so we just wipe him down with dog wipes instead.
Is she washing his bedding regularly? That causes smells.
Also we have tiles in our hall, but the "brush" thing that is under the door to stop draughts catches hairs, so I have to clean it out every day.

You also have to be prepared to hoover and sweep at least once a day, probably more.

I also have the pug in air fresheners, and run round the house with a neutradol one if anyone comes round.

frugallass

my Westie was stinky until we changed his diet - since changing to Eukanuba (sensitive skin) his coat didn't feel as greasy and didn't smell as much.

I wash his bedding weekly cos it's amazing how stinky that can get (especially with the wet weather).