The choice of the breed of a new pet is dictated by many factors: size, habits, skills, attitude towards children, and others. However, not many owners take into account in advance the fact that some breeds have a specific smell. The owner will know that the dog smells like a dog after the fact. Further, throughout their life together, the owner looks for ways to get rid of the smell and, unfortunately, often only makes it worse.
Let's start with the fact that all dogs smell like dog, the decisive factor is the intensity of the aroma. People who have kept four-legged dogs for years simply get used to the smell and do not feel it, but those who have never owned dogs clearly feel the aroma. Another unexpected fact is that most small dogs smell stronger than large ones precisely due to improper care. It is customary (for unknown reasons) to bathe babies more often, treat them to forbidden treats, etc. In theory, the smaller the dog, the weaker its scent.
Remember! Healthy puppies, up to 4 months old, do not have a specific odor.
You should be wary if your dog smells strongly of dog, but this has never been observed before . A strong odor may be a symptom of illness or a sign of improper feeding. Odor can also appear in so-called odorless breeds and cannot be eliminated by washing.
Rotten meat and rot
There are quite a few reasons why a dog starts to smell unpleasant, but the main ones are:
- Stress . During stressful situations of a physical nature, dogs begin to emit an unpleasant odor. This occurs mainly during prolonged pain.
- Fear . Often, pets, experiencing a feeling of fear, begin to spontaneously emit a foul odor. The source of fear can be anything; in apartments it is mainly electrical appliances, in particular a vacuum cleaner and a blender.
Many dog owners have noticed that as soon as they start cleaning their apartment or house, the pet hides in some corner and does not come out until the cleaning is completed, but after such cleaning the unpleasant smell is felt even stronger than before. To prevent this from happening, it is advisable to use such items only when the animal is not in the house.
How to Get Rid of Strong Dog Smell on a Sofa or Chair
There is no need to buy new furniture to eliminate dog odor. Textile deodorant will help get rid of it quickly. Suitable for beds and sofas. You also need to regularly clean wool from the surface of the furniture (using a soft brush or vacuum cleaner). Frequent washing of removable covers will also help protect the fillings from stench.
It is imperative to determine the dog’s place and not allow it to rest at home on beds or chairs. To do this, you can wrap an old down jacket in a piece of fabric (it can be easily removed and washed in a machine) and make a bed for the animal. The pet will definitely “appreciate” what efforts the owners made for its comfort.
Fish
Owners often complain that their pet smells like rotten fish - why this happens and what is the reason:
- Disease . Often during diseases of the gums, teeth and gastrointestinal tract, as well as when the anal glands are blocked, the smell of fish may emanate from the animal. It is important to remember that dogs, especially large breeds, need to periodically brush their teeth, as they have food remaining between their teeth, which subsequently begins to rot and emit an unpleasant odor. If this solution to the problem does not help and the pet continues to smell fishy, then you should contact a veterinarian who can determine the cause, prescribe treatment and, if necessary, review the dog’s diet.
- Nutrition. An unpleasant odor emanating from a dog is one of the signs that the pet’s diet is not suitable for him. Often the desire to pamper your beloved pet with some bakery results in the sebaceous glands starting to work with greater activity, as a result, producing more fat, which, in turn, provokes the appearance of an unpleasant odor.
A dog is not a dump for uneaten food! You should think about its health, especially in terms of nutrition.
Incorrectly selected dry dog food can also cause the pet to stink, in this case you just need to switch to food from another company or manufacturer. Usually, just a couple of weeks after changing food from one brand to another is enough for the dog to stop stinking and start smelling nice again.Over time, a dog that is fed fish too often begins to emit a specific odor. Fish is, without a doubt, very healthy, but it is not recommended to constantly feed your pet only this product.
It is undesirable to give your animal homemade food, especially for those food products that help activate the processes of rotting and decomposition of food debris in the intestines: potatoes, pasta, cabbage, beans, peas, meat. Often they become the cause of the development of gastrointestinal tract diseases in pets .
Why your dog is itchy and smells like fish from under its tail: harbingers of illness
How can a dog breeder benefit from Bionex biological treatment products?
In the line of the domestic manufacturer of biological products for various fields of activity “Bionex”, there is a drug that is very useful for pet lovers - Bionex Anti-odor
Action
- The action of the product is based on the fact that the bacterial strains included in its composition absorb and process into simple and neutral substances, chemical and biological agents that cause an unpleasant odor and form a protective film on the surface.
Benefits of using the drug
- Bionex Anti-odor is absolutely safe for the environment, people and pets. It has no odor of its own and destroys the immediate cause of “fragrances”. Accordingly, it does not provoke the animal to re-mark
The product is economical to use, reasonable in price and easy to use.
- Mix the contents of the bottle in one liter of water at a temperature of 25 - 35 C.
- Important! The entire effect of the drug is based on the activity of living organisms. Therefore, it is unacceptable to use water with a high content of residual chlorine, as well as distilled water. This environment can kill bacteria.
- Let the drug brew for about six hours. Therefore, it is better to have the product on hand already in a “working” state in a spray bottle.
- Store the substance in a spray bottle at room temperature.
- The full effect occurs within 12 – 24 hours, so it is worth limiting the contact of the tag author with the “crime scene” for the specified time.
Dogmeat
Most often, the reason why dogs smell like dog is the most commonplace - poor hygiene . Hygiene procedures play a very important role in the life of a four-legged pet. Often, the smell of a dog appears due to insufficient quality care for the animal.
Usually the sources of unpleasant odor are : the mouth, fur, ears and under the tail.
If the dog’s fur is actively growing, an unpleasant odor has appeared (especially after bathing or if the dog’s fur gets wet in the rain outside), but the dog is actively itching - these are signs of fungus !
Fact: A healthy dog does not smell.
The natural smell of a dog (subject to hygiene rules) is very gentle and neat, audible only during close contact. If the smell “hits” your nose, this is a sign of illness.
With fungus, the smell has a cloying scent, very similar to the smell of socks or rubber sneakers worn for a week. If you bathe your dog with shampoo, the effect will last no more than a couple of hours, then the smell appears again. The smell nests: at the base of the tail, on the paws, in the groin.
Proper dog nutrition
On our resource you will find a large number of articles devoted to proper dog nutrition. We will not dwell on this topic in detail, we will only touch on the obvious things:
- The pet should not be fed from the common table
- The dog's diet must be designed in such a way that it receives all the necessary proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins for normal functioning.
- Do not offer your pet raw meat. Otherwise, you risk infecting your dog with helminths.
Dirty socks
Sometimes dogs give off a very specific smell. Its cause will most likely be parasites . There are a number of parasites that settle on a dog’s skin and can spread the smell of dirty socks. The source of infection can be anywhere, even in the house. Therefore, if such a smell appears in a dog, first of all, it is necessary to disinfect the house or apartment, and then take the pet to the veterinarian.
Often the source of such an infection is a fungus; usually the veterinarian in this case recommends a course of vitamins to boost immunity: gamavit, hemobalance, baksin, aminovit.
Read more about this smell in the article What to do if your dog’s paws smell?
There is no definite answer to this question; you need to act comprehensively, step by step, eliminating all possible causes of the unpleasant odor.
When to contact a veterinarian
So, the presence of a specific dog scent is a physiological norm. But owners of our smaller brothers are advised to know the general symptoms of dog diseases and when to contact a veterinarian:
- A sharp unpleasant odor from the fur, ears, mouth, discharge from the anus, nose and loop.
- Depression, lethargy.
- Refusal of food.
- Temperature increase.
- Hair loss, alopecia, redness and scratching of the skin.
- Discharge from the nose, eyes, ears.
- Convulsions, loss of coordination.
- Vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, belching;
- Cough, wheezing.
For any pathology, you should not self-medicate, as this can worsen the animal’s condition. Some diseases with an unpleasant odor can be fatal in the absence of timely therapeutic measures.
Hygiene
The first thing you should pay attention to in preventing unpleasant odors is hygiene. The coat, especially in long-haired breeds, needs regular cleaning and combing, and therefore the dog needs to be bathed periodically, but do this no more than once a week or 10 days .
After bathing, the pet must be thoroughly dried, preferably using a hairdryer. However, it is important to remember that the temperature during drying should be as low as possible, otherwise the sebaceous glands will begin to secrete even more sebum, making washing the dog a waste of time.
When brushing your pet, you need to carefully comb out all matted hair, as this can also be a source of bad odor from the dog.
When Head&Shoulders is not a help: dog dandruff
When choosing a shampoo for a dog, you should take into account what type of coat and skin your pet has. It is best to give preference to natural products, that is, those that do not contain fragrances or any additives.
If a dog is afraid of water, then the smell after bathing may intensify, especially if you bathe it without any special shampoo, but simply with laundry soap.
Often the cause of an unpleasant odor is dirty ears , which is why owners should regularly clean their pet's ears. In addition, regular hygiene of your dog’s ears will help prevent the development of diseases that lead to inflammation of the ears.
A large amount of dirt and debris also accumulates on your pet's paws, which can cause odor. Therefore, after each walk, you should wipe your dog’s paws with a damp towel and carefully examine them for injuries to prevent infection and bacteria. If necessary, you need to treat your paws with a disinfectant.
Another important aspect of a dog’s hygiene is its teeth ; they need to be brushed every other day with specially designed toothpastes or, in extreme cases, children’s toothpaste.
How to wash it so it doesn't stink?
First aid is Nizoral medicinal shampoo (can be bought at a regular pharmacy), diluted in a 1 to 1 ratio with water. You need to thoroughly soap your dog and leave it on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing it off. In difficult cases, you need to wash the dog 5-6 times every other day.
If you already have bald spots on your fur, then run to the vet! He will scrape the fungus and prescribe an ointment (for example, triderm or malavit).
Do not buy fungal vaccines yourself! Only a doctor can calculate their dose, and the vaccine itself is not a magic wand at all, because there are more than 70 types of fungi!
How to wash an animal so that it doesn’t smell like a dog if store-bought shampoos don’t help? There are 2 tips that are only suitable if absolutely all health and skin problems are excluded , otherwise such cleaning will only make everything worse.
- You need to mix water, vodka and vinegar in equal parts. Then, using newspaper, remove dirt from the dog’s fur. It is extremely important to dry the animal afterwards , otherwise there is a high risk of catching a cold.
- Moisten the animal's fur with a solution of baking soda from a spray bottle (1 tablespoon per glass of water), and when the fur dries, comb it thoroughly. Baking soda gets rid of unpleasant odors and makes the coat shiny and pliable to comb.
Do not try to mask the smell with perfumes, deodorants or scented products! You will only strengthen it and make it completely unbearable . Just imagine: the smell of dog with a slight touch of Chanel No. 5!
Getting rid of dog stink in the apartment
We remove the smell of “dog” from the house like this:
- To prevent the smell of the dog from interfering with normal life, regularly wet clean the room, preferably every day and with the addition of disinfectants.
- The smell of dog fur is specific, so it is necessary to carefully vacuum the places in the apartment where it accumulates.
- After washing, wipe the surfaces with a vinegar solution.
- Wipe all furniture with ammonia or vinegar solution.
Visit to the veterinarian
In order to exclude the occurrence of any serious health problems in your dog, it is recommended to regularly visit the veterinarian, carry out vaccinations on time and promptly treat all diseases.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that caring for a dog is not an easy task, but with the right approach, the pet will definitely thank its owners with excellent health, a cheerful disposition and, most importantly, a pleasant aroma.
If anyone would like to share their experience or have any questions, you can discuss it below. Comments with photos are welcome.
