Why does our dog stink?

Ian D J said:
As Kirk in Coronation once said "Oh aye, you can't beat the smell of a wet dog's head, best smell in the world, that!".
However, I've never owned a dog of some sorts or other but do have a cat with bad breath (he has that from when I got him as a kitten, he's now ten years old. I did get him checked out for tooth-related issues but nothing showed up, so had to accept that he just has bad breath).
However, much higher up in the list is cat's fart. Man alive, if Saddam Hussein is still alive and is able to bottle what comes out of Chad's backside, he'd win the Middle East war hands down with it.
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:lol:
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Seriously Ruth what is the problem here? There is no reason for her to be in the house, so she is kept outside most of the time.
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Your original post says you dislike the dog. It says that the dog is kept outside only when your wife is out, which indicates she's only outside because of your dislike for her; and that when your wife is home the dog is inside. I may be an overly sensitive dog owner, but you're just being rotten to the dog simply because you don't like her.
 
Ricardo.

http://www.shinearchive.co.uk/08/files/images/mud dog.jpg

I (and I'm sure the other 'dog' people on this thread) see the link and think you horrible horrible dog, then laugh out loud at the state of it - this is why its hard to hear that someone has a dog (or any animal for that matter) but doesn't actually like it. I know she isn't yours as such though but your wife's but nonetheless its quite hard to hear.
 
Outdoor dogs will naturally smell more than indoor ones, they have far greater access to stuff to roll in and generally make merry hell with, as well as pollutants in the air, getting rained on, etc. However, if a dog has suddenly got much more whiffy, then there is usually some underlying cause. Either medical, such as the suggestions already made, or possibly something less obvious, like for example, a fox [or other wildlife] is getting in the garden when the dog is out walking/indoors and defaecating and the dog is rolling in it. That is just one suggestion, there could be myriad others. If it is that much of a problem, a trip to the vets should be the first step. You should not discount things like anal gland infections just because the smell is apparently all over, dogs may not groom to the same extent as cats, but they still do it and can spread smells from these areas around, especially if she spends 19hrs of the day outside with little else to do or attention.
 
viv1969 said:
Your original post says you dislike the dog. It says that the dog is kept outside only when your wife is out, which indicates she's only outside because of your dislike for her; and that when your wife is home the dog is inside. I may be an overly sensitive dog owner, but you're just being rotten to the dog simply because you don't like her.
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Osmo said:
Ricardo.

http://www.shinearchive.co.uk/08/files/images/mud dog.jpg

I (and I'm sure the other 'dog' people on this thread) see the link and think you horrible horrible dog, then laugh out loud at the state of it - this is why its hard to hear that someone has a dog (or any animal for that matter) but doesn't actually like it. I know she isn't yours as such though but your wife's but nonetheless its quite hard to hear.
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The dog is not badly treated in any way whatsoever. It's me that is up at 6:30 every day to take her out for her morning ablutions, and it's me that takes her out last thing at night too. I'm the one that takes her out for a long walk during the day, and I'm the one that feeds her. Keeping her outside is NOT being "rotten" to her in any way whatsoever. Outside she has her kennel and her terrace. Outside she can choose to go to the roof terrace and sunbathe should she choose to do so. Implying that this animal is mistreated in any way is not only insulting, it's also grossly unfair. Viv1969, you need to wind your neck in.
 
Its pretty unusual for me to agree with ricardo, but i'm with him on this one - some dogs are quite happy living outside. My landlord has a collie who lives outdoors during the hours of daylight and sleeps in the porch at night , and he's loved to bits by his owners (and the various tenants who all frequently play with him) - he gets loads more mental stimulation by being outside than he would shut indoors.

Its only inherently cruel to put a dog outdoors if

a) it doesnt have access to shelter from the elements
b) it is of a breed that can't cope with outdoor life, or
c) the dog is used to being indoors and is suddenly deprived of that for no reason

none of which are relevant here so perhaps we could focus on the question of why ric's dog smells worse than a rancid elephant
 
To be clear - I in no way implied you had mis-treated the dog in any way.

With the amount of time that you obviously spend with the dog (walking/feeding etc) and apart from the dog hair thing that we could all do without, is there something else that makes you not like her or dogs in general? The reason I ask is that i wondered if there may be a health link between her starting to smell and a particular behaviour?

Also, just to confirm I'm not trying to get you to like dogs if you don't but still trying to trouble shoot the smell problem.
 
Ricardo, let us know how she gets on at the vets tonight. good luck...hope its nothing serious if anything at all.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
The dog is not badly treated in any way whatsoever. It's me that is up at 6:30 every day to take her out for her morning ablutions, and it's me that takes her out last thing at night too. I'm the one that takes her out for a long walk during the day, and I'm the one that feeds her. Keeping her outside is NOT being "rotten" to her in any way whatsoever. Outside she has her kennel and her terrace. Outside she can choose to go to the roof terrace and sunbathe should she choose to do so. Implying that this animal is mistreated in any way is not only insulting, it's also grossly unfair. Viv1969, you need to wind your neck in.
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Yes yes, seems you do so much for her, except give her any affection, or social interaction. She's a dog, a supposed pet, not a plant pot to adorn your terrace.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
She's going to the vets this evening.
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You have to remember that dog lovers will over react when we hear of a dog being locked outside for 19hrs a day.

Dogs by their very nature are social animals. They need stimulation attention and affection. To a dog lover even the thought of leaving a dog un attended for that long is upsetting.

To you it's normal to us it's not. If my replies sounded harsh it was for the reasons stated above. It wasn't my intention to offend but I'm entitled to my point of view regardless of who agrees with me or not.

I'm glad your taking the dog to the vet and I hope it's just something simple or with any luck it's nothing at all.
 
Osmo said:
To be clear - I in no way implied you had mis-treated the dog in any way.

With the amount of time that you obviously spend with the dog (walking/feeding etc) and apart from the dog hair thing that we could all do without, is there something else that makes you not like her or dogs in general? The reason I ask is that i wondered if there may be a health link between her starting to smell and a particular behaviour?

Also, just to confirm I'm not trying to get you to like dogs if you don't but still trying to trouble shoot the smell problem.
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Sorry Osmo, that wasn't really aimed at you at all! What I have failed to make clear is that this isn't a sudden thing. It's something that has developed over time, and I certainly notice it more now. On reading the advice given here I am taking her to the vet this evening, and we'll see what he has to say.
As for the more general question...why don't I like dogs (or cats). It's just that they have never interested me. I hate the fact that I am constantly having to vacuum up her hair. Yes, she's outside most of the time, but then the doors are open all year round and hair gets blown in. To me that alone confirms that they are just a pain in the bum! Of course I appreciate that others look on them differently. My wife adores her! People in the street adore her, especially as you don't see many of her colour here. But as for me, I am just not interested. That does not stop me undertaking my duties as mentioned above. But nothing has changed the opinion that I've had all my life.
 
pepi1967 said:
You have to remember that dog lovers will over react when we hear of a dog being locked outside for 19hrs a day.

Dogs by their very nature are social animals. They need stimulation attention and affection. To a dog lover even the thought of leaving a dog un attended for that long is upsetting.

To you it's normal to us it's not. If my replies sounded harsh it was for the reasons stated above. It wasn't my intention to offend but I'm entitled to my point of view regardless of who agrees with me or not.

I'm glad your taking the dog to the vet and I hope it's just something simple or with any luck it's nothing at all.
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That's the thing, she's not unattended for that long, she is outside for that long. Two totally different things. She may only be in the house during the evening, but during the day she gets lots of attention we we go for her daily walk.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
That's the thing, she's not unattended for that long, she is outside for that long. Two totally different things. She may only be in the house during the evening, but during the day she gets lots of attention we we go for her daily walk.
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And like I said my replies were not meant to offend you or imply the dog was being abused. I just had a strong feeling the dog was unloved and left outdoors so let my feeling known.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Sorry Osmo, that wasn't really aimed at you at all! What I have failed to make clear is that this isn't a sudden thing. It's something that has developed over time, and I certainly notice it more now. On reading the advice given here I am taking her to the vet this evening, and we'll see what he has to say.
As for the more general question...why don't I like dogs (or cats). It's just that they have never interested me. I hate the fact that I am constantly having to vacuum up her hair. Yes, she's outside most of the time, but then the doors are open all year round and hair gets blown in. To me that alone confirms that they are just a pain in the bum! Of course I appreciate that others look on them differently. My wife adores her! People in the street adore her, especially as you don't see many of her colour here. But as for me, I am just not interested. That does not stop me undertaking my duties as mentioned above. But nothing has changed the opinion that I've had all my life.
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Cool, thanks for confirming. I'm not being pedantic here but if you need to constantly vacuum a chocolate lab's hair, I wonder if the smell and the hair loss are related. You say the smell appears to have gotten worse, has the hair loss?
..or do you have marble floors/ light coloured furniture where you are which makes it more noticeable?

good luck tonight.
 
Osmo said:
Cool, thanks for confirming. I'm not being pedantic here but if you need to constantly vacuum a chocolate lab's hair, I wonder if the smell and the hair loss are related. You say the smell appears to have gotten worse, has the hair loss?
..or do you have marble floors/ light coloured furniture where you are which makes it more noticeable?

good luck tonight.
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Marble floors throughout, which only goes to make it more noticeable! I don't think she's losing more hair, but I have been told that outside dogs do have a thicker coat, and therefore there is more hair to lose. She certainly has a thick shiny coat. We'll see what the vet says later.
 
I thought that might be the case due to your location. let us know how you get on tonight. :thumbs:
 
pepi1967 said:
And like I said my replies were not meant to offend you or imply the dog was being abused. I just had a strong feeling the dog was unloved and left outdoors so let my feeling known.
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Then let's agree that we have differing opinions where dogs are concerned. I may not love her, but I do look after her. She may not be allowed in the house during the day, but she has already enjoyed a long walk today and I've heard up go upstairs a number of times since then to get some winter sun! She has a good life!
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Outside she can choose to go to the roof terrace and sunbathe should she choose to do so..
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She's not using that Tropicana Factor 30 stuff by any chance is she? Or drinking the after sun? That might cause it :shrug:
 
a bit of unnecessary bashing going on here..

my other halfs previous dog (collie) used to live outside (with shelter) and she loved it.

my grandparents previous dog(s) used to live outside (with shelter) and they loved it.

lets not forget richards location also, not like the dog will be battling the elements on a day to day basis.
 
Sounds to me like the smell is karma for you not liking the dog and not giving the dog any affection. Long live the stench! Karma is awesome :lol:
 
Osmo said:
I thought that might be the case due to your location. let us know how you get on tonight. :thumbs:
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She's perfectly well. The vet reckons the pong is due to her spending the majority of her time outside. The make of food could be a factor too, and he recommended a more expensive brand, which we've already bought anyway.
 
forget the expensive brand and consider going to RMB / BARF - basically it's feeding a raw meat & bones diet (closer to their natural diet than the rubbish we buy in bags!) There's lots of benefits, including better oral and digestive tract health...

more info here : http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=7209

other than that, ship her to me and she can come and live here and my 3 hooligans :)
 
I can add only a couple of comments to the suggestions already made.

When we had dogs (a cairn terrier cross and a bearded collie) they were hardly ever bathed.

The cairn cross liked to roll in decomposing carcasses, so a bath would be needed then and the bearded collie liked lying in muddy puddles so she would be hosed down, but other than those occasions, it would be about one bath a year.

Better quality food may help but with a couple of dogs, not ours, I've known it seemed too rich. The dogs were fine on what looked like cheap slurry but 'higher' quality dog food really upset their digestive systems.

Hope you get it sorted.

Dave
 
Ricardodaforce said:
She's perfectly well. The vet reckons the pong is due to her spending the majority of her time outside. The make of food could be a factor too, and he recommended a more expensive brand, which we've already bought anyway.
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At least she's fit and well Ricardo.
 
Was it always an outside dog, we have a lab which we took on at 7 month old and it stunk to high heaven, found out it was actually eating its own crap.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Was it always an outside dog, we have a lab which we took on at 7 month old and it stunk to high heaven, found out it was actually eating its own crap.
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My choc lab done that as a puppy, we used some tablets in her food. Soon stopped.

she is part of the family and doesn't smell at all (well no more than the kids)
 
If you have an outside hose then it could be beneficial to give her a more regular hosing down. On a hot day she'd probably really like it. Dogs often like playing with water.

If she's leaving lots of hair then giving her a good grooming each day might keep it outside rather than shedding everywhere indoors.
 
FourRingCircus said:
FWIW, I spent a vast sum on a new Italian cream leather suite and my dog was the first one to sit on it. She has slept on it every night since! What's more, it smells of leather and not dog.:D
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We let our dog on the last leather sofa we had, it wasn't long before her jumping on and off knackered it, scratched it quite badly she's not allowed on the new one, a bit confusing at first but she soon realised
 
I am no vet but it sounds like it could be the diet, are you feeding the dog human food or cheap canned pet food.

Just like when you eat garlic the smell can exit though your skin pores, we had a Rhodesian Ridgeback that stank due to the left overs we feed her, if this doesn't help laugh it off and consult your local vet.
 
FourRingCircus said:
keeping the dog outside all the time will potentially be making the problem worse. Food consumed will also make a difference
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Ricardodaforce said:
vet reckons the pong is due to her spending the majority of her time outside. The make of food could be a factor too
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Do I get a prize?:D

Given what vets charge, I think I'm missing a trick here!:lol:
 
Ricardodaforce said:
She's perfectly well. The vet reckons the pong is due to her spending the majority of her time outside. The make of food could be a factor too, and he recommended a more expensive brand, which we've already bought anyway.
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Here's another suggestion ... does she have any soft bedding in her outside kennel, and does she spend a lot of time in it? May be worth checking whether this smells as well and if so adapting your cleaning regime so that the bedding gets plenty of air.

My parents keep their dogs outside, and even though they wash the bedding in their kennel very regularly, it inevitably ends up smelling of dog. I also have to say their dogs smell more than ours (who live inside the house), even though we rarely wash our dogs' beds.
 
Dogs smell like dogs :shrug: And a wet dog smells worse - end of.
 
At the end of the day it depends what she smell of - if she smells like a dog, then thast can really come as no suprise - if on the otherhand she smells like she's been dead for a week then something probably isnt right.

I thought my dog had started to really stink - as bit like gorgonzola - then i realised that the smell was coming from my wallking boots (which are next to the dog basket) :puke: :lol:
 
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