Dog Smell

Lots of good advice here on the odor issue, and hope you get it resolved, but had an experience with my 8 year old Setter that didn't turn out too well. Don't intend to magnify a minor proboem, but I would recommend a visit to your Vet if the problem can't be worked out in a reasonable time. Some organic health issues can cause odors.

Bathing your dog likely wont do too much if your hunting him/her alot, mine Lab gets kinda doggy after you start running him a lot. They are like people in a way, you excersise and you stink the dog wont sweat like we do but they get smelly.

A dog with a deep bark wont normally have anal gland issues, but man if you have a dog that does those anal glands are just nasty when they pop.

Had to hold her down the other day to get drops in her ears. I think I was holding her to tight and those glands got squeezed. Not a pretty smell. i was thinking one other thing that may affect the smell is her outside kennel where she is during the day time. I usually change out the straw every 2 months. Maybe I need to make that more often. Her inside kennel gets cleaned every two weeks. Only takes one day for that smell to come back. Still finishing the current bag of dog food so then I will swith over (with the recommended mixture).

The Dude, I had to laugh about the anal glands. One of dogs had a terribly problem with them filling up. My vet tried to teach me how to express them at home, I just laughed andtold him that I will continue to make the trip to see him! TF

what city is that in?

 

He is currently feeding Loyall.  Also, I mentioned below, when introducing a new food I do the following:

 

 When changing foods, I do so over a 10 day period.  Days 1-3 25% new/75%old.  Days 4-6 50%/50%.  Days 7-9 75% new/25% old.  Day 10 is 100% new.

Blue Buffalo

Loyall

 

regardless of what brand you go with just realize you can just start serving it at the dog's next meal. slowly introduce it and mix it in with their current food, gradually increasing the new brand. You may have mroe problems if you just switch it. .

I've also introduced Probiotics to my dog's meals to help with digestion issues, mainly gas, horrible horrible gas!! it seems to be helping as well, but I'll also look into yogurt.

I assume you are talking about Diamond Naturals.  My opinion is it is an average food.  All dogs are different, so your dog may or may not do okay on it. 

If your dog is reacting to something in the food, it is most likely a grain.  If it isn't a grain, it could be the protien source, in this case chicken.  If it was my dog, I would do the following:

1.  Put the dog on a high quality grain free food that does not have chicken as the protien source.

2.  Supplement with plain yogurt and canned pure pumpkin.

3.  Give the dog a couple months on the new food and see if the issue has resolved.

If the new, high quality food corrects the issue, you know that the Loyall was the issue.  At that point, you could look at different foods if you are looking to find something more affordable, as grain frees are expensive.  I would recommend any of the following foods:

Fromm Grain Free (made in Wisconsin.  Fromm also produces another brand name that is less expensive that also is grain free, but I can't recall the name.)

Innova Evo

Orijen

Wellness Core

Taste of the Wild

Blue Wilderness

Canidae

When picking a grain free, be cognizant of the the protien/fat contents.  Some of them go sky high in the protien department, and unless your dog is an extreme athlete, the super high protien levels are not required.  This is again one of the reasons why I feed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Formula, as it is one of the more affordable grain free foods, has a reasonable protien level, and is available at two different places in the town I work (Tractor Supply sells it).

I did check her food this morning and it state the protein was from poultry fat and some other things.  My boss has the same breed and feeds him Diamond brand and says his dog never has that smell.  Any input on the quality of diamond?  Thanks again for all help.

Activity level of the dog shouldn't have any impact. 

Impacted anal glands would not make the coat smell.  If it was anal glands, believe me, you would know.  At my old vets office, they would express impacted anal glands for like $20.  Some people do that themselves.  I don't think they can charge too much.  There are lots of things I do to try and save a buck.  Expressing impacted anal glands myself will never be one of those things.

Based on everything you have said, I think diet could definitely be the culprit.  I certainly do not think it hurts to change to grain free food and see what happens.  Again, please take your time switching foods by mixing new with old as I mentioned below.  Also, it could take several weeks on the new diet to see any results, so don't get impatient and start switching foods every couple of weeks.

Also she is 18 months old and always been on the same food.  Pretty much has always smelled a little.  Seems to be getting worse but it could be that she does a ton more hunting now.

 

I think her ears are fine as they look pretty clean.  I have sprayed them a couple times with a solution but she hates that.  As far as the anal glands, she is always rubbing her butt on the carpet.  I was told that once you clean them, you will have to clean them all the time then.  Not something I am interested in doing but maybe I can pay someone.  Will these two things affect her coat though.  Her coat is what really smells.  One week without a bath and her coat smells.  She was pheasant hunting twice during that time for a total of 7 hours.  I was thinking maybe like a sweat but then dogs don't sweat, hence why the tongue hangs out while hunting.  I forgot to check the protein base last night but I will check tonight.  I appreciate your guys help!

 

I have a few more questions:

1.  How old is the dog?  2.  How long on his current food?  3.  How long has the smell been an issue?

As the others have mentioned, I would want to rule out skin infection or ear infection - both yeast and bacteria.  The ear infection should be pretty easy.  A visual and smell inspection of the ears should tell you quickly if something is going on there. 

The other issue that I know of that can cause constant odor is compacted anal glands.  If that is the issue, the smell is unbearable and you can definitely notice that the strength of the odor increases dramatically towards the rear of the dog.

Those issues aside, I would guess that the food may be the issue.  The dog may have developed a food allergy, which could cause the itching and the smelly skin.  Your dog may also just have an issue digesting the particular type of protien in the food.  Some protiens are easier to digest than others.  This is where it can get tricky, as many would suggest chicken is the easiest digested protien source for dogs, but it is also the most likely meat dogs become allegic to which is probably simply because it is the most common.

Anyway, the bottom line is that the most likely cause of food allergies in dogs and cats are grains.  I would rule out the things I mentioned above, then I would try changing your dog over to a grain free diet.  There are many good ones out there -- Wellness, Fromm, Canidae, Taste of the Wild, etc.  I feed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Formula with good results.  When changing foods, I do so over a 10 day period.  Days 1-3 25% new/75%old.  Days 4-6 50%/50%.  Days 7-9 75% new/25% old.  Day 10 is 100% new.

If you don't already do so, I would suggest supplementing with plain yogurt and canned pure pumpkin.  I give 1 tablespoon of each daily.  You can simply give them 1 tablespoon of each a couple times a week.  The yogurt should be plan and NOT low fat.  It must have active cultures.  The pupkin is just 100% pure canned pumpkin.  This supplement maintains good bacteria levels in the intestines, which can help cure/prevent all sorts of issues.

I would check the ears for a brown yeast. It smells terrible but you can control it with medicine and frequent deep ear cleanings. Just an idea from my smelly dog.

do her feet smell like fritos? Thats normal