Help!! My Dog Stinks!!

Updated on May 05, 2008
J.V. asks from Ottawa, IL
13 answers

I have an 8 year old lab mix who is a part of our family and we love her dearly. About 4 months ago we did some tests on her because she was losing her hair and she had a stench that we couldn't stand!! She has a skin disease that is similar to lupus in people that we will have to deal with for the rest of her life. I have to bathe her every 2-3 weeks (professionally) with a special shampoo and mineral oil to help her skin stay moisturized. My problem is that in between baths, she gets unbearable to be around because of her smell. Does anyone have a solution that is proven to work to help with her smell? Or has someone gone through this before who can give me some more insight as to what to expect with this disease?

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D.D.

answers from Peoria on

Hello

I have ran across a product called Xango. It is juice from a mangosteen. I give it to my dogs for there joints and allergies. Xango has also helped people with Lupus. If you would like I could send you some info. Just let me know.

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C.S.

answers from Springfield on

I have had this problem and our vet has given us Ketoconazole and Cyclosporin and shampoo (Dermazole) As long as we keep her on this med. her hair comes back in and the sores go away and the odor goes away.....She also has clogged anal glands that causes dogs to give off a smell...I take her to the vet also for a cortisone shot each month and have her anal glands cleaned out.....we have spent so much on this dog...but the meds really help....Yeah I know what you mean the odor is overpowering.

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N.C.

answers from Chicago on

Hi, J.,
This will probably sound way-out, but I havea friend who had a smelly dog, and she began giving him Shaklee's Alfalfa tabs daily, and the smell was gone by 3 days!
If you've heard of Shaklee, you know it is an organic nutrition company with over 50 years of helping people (& pets) live healthier lives. Alfalfa helps with digestion, so it gets to the root of the problem, not just camoflages it.
Alfalfa is very inexpensive, and does wonders for arthritis & allergies, too!
N. Carter
www.shaklee.net/nan_c

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H.G.

answers from Chicago on

I go to a holistic medicine vet and I bet she could help you with this problem. Here is the information:

Dr. Deb Rykoff
Ventur-On Clinic
###-###-####

Good luck!

H.

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J.A.

answers from Chicago on

I wouldn't use anything without consulting a veternarian. I have found that vinegar douche works when a dog gets stunked by a skunk! Again, I would find out through a vet if this would be acceptable, due to the skin problems.

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P.

answers from Chicago on

Ask the vet. If they can't help you, have you ever tried taking her to a holistic vet? I am not sure where you live but there is a wonderful office in Tinley Park (unless they moved) called Natural Pet. It's a totally different approach, but we took our two Frenchies there a long time ago when they were having a lot of problems.

Good luck! I hope your baby feels better (and smells better!) soon!

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J.R.

answers from Chicago on

What is the name of your dog's disease??

Edit: thank you for the response. You said your dog has Chronic mild interface dermatitis, chronic moderate sebaceous adenitis with sebaceous atrophy and periglandular fibrosis. Your poor baby :( First, your vet should be the first course of action for help treating her condition. I will give my thoughts on each of the conditions, based on my experiences and research. You don't say if you are currently treating her with medications, so I will assume the bathing is all that's being done.

Chronic mild interface dermatitis - basically this is a generalized term for basic mild dermatitis. you can address this a couple of ways. topically and internally. topically you can use a seborrheic shampoo on the dog - i would suggest doing this yourself, unless your vet is the one providing the baths. leave the shampoo on for 10 minutes and rinse well. a good one i've used in the past is DermaPet Seborrheic Shampoo. you can find online retailers if you google it. Internally treating would involve supplementing her diet with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid supplements. There likely isn't enough in her food for her condition. this will only improve her skin health and cellular function, and won't harm her. Cortisone shots are a possible course of action and Benadryl may help as well. See what your vet thinks.

Periglandular fibrosis - basically glandular cysts. Not much you can do about these except possibly have them drained if they are filled with pus or other liquidy material. they are likely to return even if you were to go as far as having them surgically removed. My dog had internal cysts and we found out at the autopsy (we put her down but the vet wanted our permission to do exploratory autopsy to better understand her condition and we agreed) - the cysts were interrupting organ functions and she actually going thru liver failure when we put her down. she would have died a slow death had we not made the choice. Of course, your dog may not be experiencing this. your vet can help you decide the extent of her problem.

sebaceous adenitis - this autoimmune condition is basically the body attacking and destroying the sebaceous glands. this is likely where the hair loss comes into play as well.

Sebaceous atrophy is essentially the sebaceous glands shutting down and dying off due to the adenitis.

If i were you, I would be very careful what you put on her skin. be sure if she goes outside for more than just potty time that she has a sunscreen on, though, do NOT use zinc oxide... this ingredient is toxic to dogs. topically treat her with the shampoo more frequently, visit the vet to see if her stink is caused by infection. I can't see your dog but skin infections can STINK bad... my one dog (mentioned above) had open sores that oozed a smelly pus, and needed to be hand cleaned, peroxide applied daily, antibiotic ointments applied twice daily, she went through several courses of antibiotics and her insides were riddled with large cysts and tumors. we finally made the decision that her quality of life was non-existent, she was likely in a lot of pain with the open sores, she became lethargic, showed signs of failure to thrive, lost a good portion of her hair, walked around mopey and would tremble often. I am not suggesting you do that, but I would keep an eye on her quality of life and not let her suffer.

This is not a condition that will go away, and she (and you) will battle this until she goes to doggie heaven :( I would also consider switching her diet to a lamb and rice formula, unless she is already on a special diet. Our dog was on a prescription diet from the vet.

Anyway... those are my thoughts on managing her stink. If her diseases are controlled, it should help with the stink. She likely just needs the bath more often and better skin helpers put into her body. You might even want to drizzle olive oil on her dry food, and try to help exfoliate any crusting with a soft bristle brush (like a baby brush) as long as there are no open weeping sores.

I hope this helps you... I like the suggestion of the natural homeopathic type vet. You can't get rid of the disease, but it will help you manage it.

p.s. I have a friend that treated her dog with shark cartilidge (sp?) for his cancer... it took a good solid year, but when she took him back to the vet, he was cancer free... so there is something to be said about natural remedies...

Good luck!

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S.A.

answers from Chicago on

I hear ads on BBM radio all the time for dinovites. It is a supplement for dogs that is supposed to take care of stinky dog. I think you can get a sample supply free or something along those lines.

This is a sample advertisement I copied:

"Healthy dogs don't itch, scratch, shed, stink or keep you up all night licking their paws. Healthy dogs rarely need creams, lotions, ointments, antibiotics, or steroid shots! Healthy dogs eat well. They get all the enzymes and nutrients they need to resist parasites and bad bacteriea. Dinovite is the perfect all around dog supplement."

It is kind of expensive I think, but you might try it.

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A.S.

answers from Chicago on

J., Did the vet give you the name of the diagnosis? Did your vet refer you to a dermatologist? Are you giving her any oral medications, or just topical?

Thanks,
A.

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B.W.

answers from Chicago on

HI,

As was suggested already, I strongly encourage you to take your baby to a holistic vet. We use Dr Karen Becker at Natural pet. drkarenbecker.com She is absolutely wonderful. It is not the closest place, but she saved my dogs life. My dog was diagnosed with GME from a Lyme vaccination. This is a fatal illness within a year at most. My dog is now thriving and well! This was 4 years ago. This was accomplished through detox, removing many metals from her blood and brain from the vaccinations.
I know she can help you to figure out why this is happening and help to nurish the baby's body. I would strongly encourage you to feed your dog a raw diet. They are carnivores and shouldn't be eating any grains. Research it to help you make the decision. My dog uses northwest naturals. We also supplement with some dry, which is made by Prairie and is a Lamb and Rice. Research what is in the dog food you are using.
If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer!
B.

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J.N.

answers from Chicago on

My friend's dog has a similar condition, but I don't know if it's exactly the same. "Simba" has the skin problem from allergies, to everything, so exposure can't be avoided. My friend gives him Benedryl to combat the allergies, and more recently started her whole family on Body Balance. She asked the vet about giving it to the dog also after it really helped the rest of the family. With his ok she did and his condition has improved. Oh, and I should also mention that Simba used to get cortisone shots, which also really helped but have become too expensive for my friend to continue.
Hope that helps!

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J.B.

answers from Chicago on

I'll preface this by saying that I'd listen to the vet first (which, I'm sure that you do), but if the dog is stinking (like dog B.O. stink), I would maybe spray her coat with a mix of 50/50 white distilled vinegar and water between baths. I'd just spray 'er enough to get her just a tad damp so that she can air dry quickly.

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S.N.

answers from Chicago on

Hi J.,

I think the best way to handle this problem now is to work from the inside out. There is a supplement for animals called ShedEx. It is a formula of natural fatty acids and antioxidants that are great for animals coats. You put it in their food. You can find it at Petsmart and Petco. Also consider his diet. Some vets treat the symptoms and not the underlying problem. So you might want to consult with a specialist about his diet. It's kind of like the concept of humans eating garlic and how we sweat it out through our skin. The same thing could hold for dogs and cats. Dog foods come in different formulas and not all are that great. There is a dog food from a company called Wellness. Its a holistic natural dog food made with only healthy vegetables, grains and meats. You could try too.

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