Wet dog smell

Polmop

Hi, our rescue dog has decided he loves water, so whenever we are out he finds water to jump into, yesterday it was the canal.
The problem is when he is wet he really stinks, it is that bad it can make you feel sick.
Anyone any ideas on how to stop the smell????

krlyr

I would try to rinse the canal water off him ASAP - so maybe carry a few bottles in the car if you're driving to places, so you can rinse him beforehand. Then try to dry him ASAP, microfibre towels can help. You can even get "dry bags" that zip up around the dog to dry them quickly, but it depends how well the dog will tolerate them.
Do you find he smells the same regardless of where he gets wet, or do some places make him smell worse than others? If it's the latter, I would perhaps try avoiding letting him in those, a longline will give him some more freedom without allowing him to jump into the water.

Polmop

krlyr wrote: »

I would try to rinse the canal water off him ASAP - so maybe carry a few bottles in the car if you're driving to places, so you can rinse him beforehand. Then try to dry him ASAP, microfibre towels can help. You can even get "dry bags" that zip up around the dog to dry them quickly, but it depends how well the dog will tolerate them.
Do you find he smells the same regardless of where he gets wet, or do some places make him smell worse than others? If it's the latter, I would perhaps try avoiding letting him in those, a longline will give him some more freedom without allowing him to jump into the water.

Thanks, he smells the same no matter what he has jumped in

Will try the towels as he is stinking the car out as well

krlyr

You can get some fancy carbon dog beds that deodourise, but otherwise you could try the cheapy option of using bicarbonate of soda - it's what they use in the "fresh eggs" for fridges. Mix 50:50 bicarb and cornflour and put into stockings/tights for spill-proof little deodourising balls you can keep in the car.
Another trick I've used with soft furnishings and damp dogs is a spray bottle of vinegar or lemon juice. Mix 50:50 with water and then spritz onto the soft furnishes (patch-test first), I've used this in the car too - saves having artificial smelling, chemically air fresheners lingering in there (I hate the smell of them and don't want my dogs breathing them in either). I don't imagine either would do much harm directly applied to the dog either but please don't take my word for that! There are some doggy deodourising sprays on the market but again, can be a bit artificial smelling.

Fire_Fox

Are you bathing him too often or not often enough? The smell is probably bacterial in origin, you might ask your vet about a sulphate-free anti-bacterial shampoo. You might also consider a change of diet because the skin is an organ of excretion, so what we eat affects what comes out in our sweat and sebum. This is turn feeds the microorganisms that live on the skin (good and bad guys).