My dog has never really smelt doggy - but the last few days she has smelt quite strong.  Her ears don't smell - it is her coat.  She did roll at the beginning of the week but I have cleaned her coat - this is not the same smell - this is the smell that I have found on other dogs.  Your hands smell of it after stroking her.  I have never had this before and she is nearly 2.   Has anyone any ideas why this should be please - and can I do anything about it?
Christine

Well, you could bath her! With my show dogs I bath and oil them twice a week. Storm the big bad Newfie I bath every couple of weeks if she's being shown. I have only bathed her every 4-6 weeks for the last 18 months - 2 years due to my hip and knee replacements. Storm does get a bit smelly if I don't bath her, so I do it and make sure you really rinse everything off, otherwise you can get a whiteish deposit in the coat. I always dilute the shampoo with water into a big jug and then use that to shampoo it in. I also use conditioner on her feathers, tail and belly! All the best, Dawn (Oh and I have hot and cold water taps outside and use a shower mixer to bath Storm, the wee boys and now girl, I wash on a bath seat across the bath with shower attachment)

>With my show dogs I bath and oil them twice a week.

Blimey! I was told (obviously wrongly) that breeds whose coats were supposed to be waterproof shouldn't be bathed less than two weeks before a show.

Luckily my breed, when not shown, can be bathed once a year, whether they need it or not! :D :D

That's the Yorkies!!! Who need to be kept clean and crackered and you cannot put a brush through a dirty coat! The boys are very good at piddling on their long coats, they drive me bananas! Storm the Newfie gets bathed every two - four weeks but a longer period in the last two years due to my surgery! Yes oil is stripped from the double coat of a Newfie if bathed too often, very noticable when you take them for waterwork and they sink!!! :P

Blimey that is still an awful lot of dog to bath that often.  Two to four times a year for my lot.  I do them outside with a watering can and shampoo diluted in a spray bottle, I find this way I can mist it all over and rub it in without the shampoo just running off.

Yes, but conversly it allows the coat to be kept free from tangles and knots and matts! If you've ever seen a Newfie blow a coat you would understand why it's better to bath, groom and blast them regularly rather than face massive matts and need scissors, matt cutters and 4 hours to put it right! I see far too many that hardly ever get bathed and end up looking like Hungarian Pulis!!! Also, bitches throw their coats twice a year as opposed to the male who generally throw it once a year! :D And a big thick double coat is a nightmare to get clean, so if you keep it fairly clean all of the time, it does end up being less work and less traumatic for all involved! Certainly takes more than a watering can and a spray of shampoo ROFL!!! Sometimes I wonder why I've got such a hard work breed! :)

I like the double coat, but in manageable quantities, not enough of it to tangle, but sure enough of it to fill my vacuum over and over. 

With three bitches in full shed in the last few weeks, what joy (hence the Maunday Thursday shower).  Can you not get as good a result with just regular grooming, I thought that if you strip all the oils by bathing the coat actually attracts dirt and is no longer self cleaning???

When I had a longer coated breed (Groenendael) I would use a water spray and section brush and comb the entire coat regularly so as not to have any matts or tangles.

I know what you mean, but there is just SSSOOO much coat on a Newfie! I dardn't do anything else in case it all goes pear shaped and I end up having to rely on someone to help me sort it out or paying for a Groomer! I'm very limited with what I can physically do, so I suppose I tend to err on the side of caution and get on with it! All the best, Dawn

Wow that is dedication :D: eek:

Some may call it stupidity!!! :P

I love my smooth single-coated breed! :D :D

It just goes to show that I bet few potential new owners really consider the grooming requirements of a breed before embarking on ownership.

Between the breeds mentioned here, you have quite the spectrum. Dally, Elkie, Yorkie and Newf.

I can understand your stupidity oops I mean dedication Dawn :P Having such thick blowing coats is indeed a nightmare. To be honest I only bath the show dog once, maybe twice per year all over, the rest of the time its just the furnishings I shampoo before showing. Never had a problem with smelly coats. I blast them all about once every two weeks, gets the dust and loose fur out and they get groomed on a daily basis but once a week are given a proper going over - claws/feet trimmed - I only really have a problem with matted fur when they have been playfighting with the puppy! :D 

TUT TUT such tardiness!!! :P Do you like my new siggy??? :D

ROFLOL Hi ya Dawn

Yes, thought yr new sig was quite apt ;)

Me too! :D

My Dobe doesn't really smell or get oily at all. Even when we come back from walking through boggy fields I'll somehow be covered head to toe in mud and he'll still be gleaming other than a bit of mud on his legs and underneath which I just sponge off with warm water, and then towel dry for about 20 seconds :P Don't think I could cope with a long haired breed.

Have you changed her food? My dog puppy came to me from the breeder with really bad doggy BO. Even baths didn't get rid of it. As soon as he was comfortable in our house I changed his food to what I wanted to feed and the smell went away.

I have always admired the dedication people put in to looking after long/heavy coated breeds- I couldn't do it!
Think I'll stick with my nice short coated low maintenance breed :-D

Rachael

Meg is a working sheep dog - with handling problems - no way am I going to be able to bath her!!!!!  I can't imagine bathing a newfoundland but when I had setters I just stuck them in the shower - luckily our second bathroom is downstairs off the utility room.  If Meg rolls in anything I sponge her clean, let her dry and brush or if she is really pongy I use dry shampoo. 
I feed her on Burns but with suspected anal gland problems (had the all clear from the vet this week though) I have started putting all bran in her food.  Could that make the difference between smelling doggy or not?  

Some dogs do seem to smell  more doggie than others - strange though that it's "suddenly" with your girl.

I remember once I stroked a Sharpei and my hands smelt for several hours after - I'd find it hard to live with that kind of smell although the dog herself was very sweet (stroking her was like stroking furry jelly :P ).

Banya only smells after she's been in the marshes/bogs. Has your girl been anywhere like that, which has kind of dried out and become smelly?

Banya never gets bathed unless something unusual happens - she does go in forest streams but that's about it, luckily Belgians smell absolutely wonderful
and don't really get "doggie".

Hope you find the cause, it is a bit of a mystery.

Lindsay
x

Anal glands will make your dog smell doggy (they are scent glands), slightly fishy quite often too.

The vet said her anal glands were OK Barbara.  She has been to the sea and river over Easter weekend - would that still make a difference?  She rolled in cat or fox poo since then.  She is lying out in the sun a lot though.  

I met a friend with a labrador last week whose coat had suddenly gone dreadfully oily and smelly.    She lives next to a rape field, and the dog goes through it daily.    The coat was horrible to the touch.

Jo

Ermmm yes, swimming in salty or stagnant water will obviously make a dog smell as will rollinb in poo....poo is particularly guilty of making a dog smell less appealing and is harder to get rid of!!

We had a rough collie who smelt really doggy, but it was a different smell from stagnant water or rolling in poo. It was  very strong and you could smell it as soon as you came in the house. None of the other dogs smelt like this, and they all had the same food etc. Maybe some dogs just have a strong doggy smell? I would shampoo and see if it improves.

Also found this on another site Does your dog smells, well, a bit doggy?! When giving your dog a bath, add a couple of cups of vinegar to the final rinse. This reduces that doggy smell and makes their coat gleam.

Does your dog smells, well, a bit doggy?! When giving your dog a bath, add a couple of cups of vinegar to the final rinse. This reduces that doggy smell and makes their coat gleam.

worth a try
marion

My golden has a gorgeous smell

BUT he quite often gets very muddy, or rolls around in the most disgusting smelly things and so we have no choice but to take him to the wet room and give him a good shower, usually happens about once a week but sometimes more.

Takes me about half an hour to wash him, another half an hour to dry him and then it's off to clean the wet room which can take up to an hour after Jasper has been in there

Wanna swop with a hairy Newfie??? :P

last few times i was at the hairdressers getting my highlights done she put brown vinegar in my hair while rinsing. i was shocked thinking am not paying all this money to have vinegar on my hair but she swears by it and says it stops the hair from splitting from the bleach and gives your hair a fantastic shine...
leaves me hungry every time cause then all i can think of is chips with loads of salt and vinegar