help with doggy smell--PLS!

[leslie10]

hello everyone!
I'm at my wits end and hope someone can give me some ideas. I have an 8 yr old Samoyed that has never had a smell. When he went in the river, we gave him a bath and the smell was gone. We live in Michigan and began to go up to an inland lake this summer. He loves to wade (but not swim) and will do this for hours if we let him.

The problem is he now smells horrible. We've bathed him on and off since May, and the smell has never really gone away, but it had lessened. We went to the lake last weekend and it's worse than ever. We've tried regular shampoos, and even one called "Fresh and Clean" that was recommended by the vet receptionist that is supposed to get rid of skunk and other nasty odors. It seems to be coming from his belly only, which makes sense given this is what gets wet when he wades.

We've been to the vet twice, thinking at first it was a penile infection (thought that was where it was coming from first), but that's not it. Don't see any open sores and he doesn't seem to lick at his belly either.

Please, any suggestions! Our whole house smells like smelly feet and we don't know what to do anymore!

thanks,
Leslie

[SmoothCollieluver]

I would bathe more often and try baking soda. You could also try human aussie shampoo that worked on my old dog that had skin problems she always smelled but that seemed to keep it away the longest.

[ClarkFarm]

I remember seeing doggie "perfume" at a PetSmart before. They had spray cans with different smells made for use on a dog. Maybe this would help alleviate the smell until the root of the problem is solved?

[tftmom]

Are you sure all the excess undercoat has been brushed out of the dog? Can you easily reach the skin through his coat? It could be that whatever he got in his coat from the water is still there if his undercoat is packed. I would take him outside, work some cornstarch into his coat particularly on his belly, and brush and comb until you are sure you have removed all excess undercoat. Get down to the skin and make sure there are no sore areas or hotspots.

[DoggyMom]

Have you taken your dog in to actually see the vet? I take my dog to the beach and lake often. After the last time at the lake, Lily began to itch madly at her stomach, and it began to give off a very nasty odor. After trying several different products from the pet store, I finally took her in to see the vet. She had a reaction to some bacteria that was in the lake. So I would suggest having your vet take a close look at the skin on your dogs belly to rule out skin infections or hot spots.

[leslie10]

thanks for the replies. Yes, we have taken him to the vet about 6 weeks ago. We thought the smell was coming from his penis (while now we're sure it's his whole belly/chest area). The vet checked and saw a little discharge - not much - but said he'd try some oral antibiotics and some antibacterial wipes. We did that and continued to bathe him about every other week. The smell diminished, but never really went away. Then this last weekend in the lake and it's back full force.

I was browsing the web last night looking for ideas, and found an article about yeast infections in dogs on their skin. It's supposed to smell pretty bad. Could this be yeast? I don't see much change on his skin though. I little redness here and there, but nothing significant. We're taking him to the vet again tomorrow for a thorough skin check across his chest and belly.

[Rottweilerlvr]

Have you considered shaving him and starting over??? I know, it sounds bad, I would have a hard time doing it, BUT when I worked at the vets office before joining the military, during the summer alot of people would bring their dogs in during the summer to shave them so they are cooler, etc, etc. Let me tell you, it was like a treasure chest, I found so much "stuff" in the coat that was next to the skin and the odor on all of them was aweful. When you bath them, especially on the really thick coat breeds, it is really hard to get a good scrub on the undercoat... I don't know... It's something to think about...

[tftmom]

If you do decide to shave your dog be aware that shaved dogs can sunburn. Be careful about leaving him outside to long during the day until enough coat grows back to protect his skin.

I don't understand the bacterial wipes. How the heck were you supposed to get past all the hair to wipe the skin effectively? You may need to trim or shave the belly area in order to effectively treat the skin if you are given any topical treatment; however, bacterial infections generally are treated with oral antibiotics.

Keep us posted, I am very curious what it turns out to be. At least it doesn't seem to be making the dog uncomfortable.

[ClarkFarm]

I am thinking you might do better having a groomer shave his belly, assuming the groomer would have the proper equipment and set-up. If there are raw spots or any other irritating/painful areas, your dog might get snappy when the fur there is shaved off. Just a thought.

[JennKBM]

I recently have been having problems with my Miniature Schnauzer, he also smelled horrible. He had a bacterial skin infection which was treated with some antibiotics, and some shampoo from the vet. As soon as he recovered it seemed I was back in there with him smelling like funk again. He is now on a second round of antibiotics. He is black though, and has the Schnauzer cut, so I can see the flaking when it starts on his back and it has a definite smell to it as well. When this is over he will be undergoing some allergy tests. Just thought I'd share my stink experience which is more than likely (with my luck lately) going to be allergies.

[leslie10]

well, I'm just really frustrated now. We went to the vet, and he told me he couldn't smell anything! He sniffed all over him and said he didn't smell anything funky. He has got to be kidding. My in-laws were just here and they asked us what was wrong with Niko; our babysitter said the same thing. So needless to say we didn't get any answers. Also, he couldn't find any visible skin issues, allergic or otherwise.

He did say to try benadryl for 7 days, since Niko licks his paws quite a bit. We just started that, but I'm very confident, since his paws don't smell.

If we ever get to the bottom of this, then I'll let you all know.

thanks,
Leslie

[StarfishSaving]

Is his skin flaky? Sometimes skin infections do not manifest themselves with redness, but cause the skin to flake and smell. Yes, it could certainly be a yeast or bacterial infection of the skin.

I would first take him to a groomer that can get all the loose dead undercoat out, scrub down to the skin and get him good and clean. If you shave him, his coat will NEVER be the same again- it will be more dull and cottony and probably harder to brush through- many dogs have this problem.

If you bathe him yourself instead of trying a groomer, use an anti-microbial or anti-sebhorric shampoo and get a Zoom Groom brush so you can get right down to the skin and clean him. Personally, working at a grooming shop I can tell you we can do a heck of a lot better job than most folks at home (I'm not putting anyone down but am including myself in that) because we have specialized equipment and shampoos for bathing and brushing.

Good luck!

[shoffee]

My friends have a pair of bassets who I groomed for their whole lives. One day I realized that the second one still smelled bad after her oatmeal bath. Sudsed her again with a different shampoo; same thing. Sudsed her one last time with a medicated...same thing. I deep-conditioned her coat, dried her, and had our vet come take a look. Turns out the yeast problems in her ears spread to all over her body. And it smelled AWFUL! She's not the only one we've seen this happen to. Honestly, that would be my guess, especially with a double-coated dog like a samoyed who may not be getting dry underneath after his fun in the lake. But I'm no vet :). Keep us posted when you get it figured out!

Oh, and someone suggested doggie cologne from Petsmart. I swear by the Fresh-n-Clean Fresh Floral--I adore the scent and it really does a good job of masking odor. There's also an Earthbath spritz that works well, smells like Lavender (but I'm not a big fan of lavender).

[amys2peanuts]

She gets a seborrhea on her skin (think cradle cap on a baby, a waxy, flaky coating on the skin). It has a smell. I use a flea comb to loosen it up. Then I use a special shampoo (HyLyt) to bathe her, followed by a cream rinse. It really helps. I agree with many of the replies that this is coming either from the fur or the skin on the underside. I've never had a dog with a thick undercoat. In your shoes. I'd probably at least have a groomer thin out the undercoat so I could see the skin better or have the belly shaved.

Good luck!!!

Amy