STINKY POODLE?????

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hi I have an apricot toy poodle she is almost two. I have heard that poodles don't have that "dog" smell like most dogs do. But for some reason my oor poodle stinks! I will give her a bath and then the next day she will smell. I have no clue what is happening to make her smell so bad. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate them.

-- Anonymous, March 11, 2002

Answers

Hey Ciera. I've just started posting on this board, so I hope my answer hasn't come to you very late.

One of the most common reasons for a dog to have an unusual smell is what they are eating. It makes sense. Have you ever met someone who eats a lot of garlic? The smell comes out in their pores. They smell, even if faintly, like garlic. The phrase "You are what you eat," comes to mind for me.

A lot of dog foods use recycled fat to make the food more palatable (tasty) for the dogs. Usually they get this recycled fat from fast food places. (Think of what they fry your french fries in.) The fat is sprayed onto the finished dog food kibble to ensure that the dogs will eat it. How do you know if your dog has been "eating McDonalds"? Most foods will not state that they spray fat on their product. Here's a tip: If your dog food has corn, wheat, or bone meal as one of the first four ingredients, it has probably also been sprayed with fat. Also, dog foods that contain brewer's yeast, or feeding a brewer's yeast supplement, could be the cause.

My suggestion would be to switch your dog onto a high quality, highly digestible dog food such as Innova, California Natural, or Wellness. These are all great dog foods with no added fillers, preservatives or colors, and they all use human grade ingredients. Not only will you notice a difference in your dog's coat, but your dog will produces less stool (and who doesn't like that idea, really?) Because the food is so digestible, the dog also won't have to eat as much of it. (This would mean you might have to cut back on the amount you feed to keep your little poodle from becoming a blimp!)

Also, try this: Don't bathe her so much. Talk to your vet, and see how frequently s/he suggests bathing your dog. I would suggest bathing her only once every few months, if that. Sometimes (depending on what shampoo you are using, the hardness of your water, and other factors), bathing will strip most or all of the natural oils out of the dog's coat. The dog's oil glands will then go into "overdrive" if you will, trying to replace them. Then you start to notice the smell of decomposing natural oil on the dog's skin and give her another bath, and a cycle starts itself.

Switch her food and try to bear the smell for a time. If you absolutely cannot bear it, try an all natural doggie cologne, such as those by Pet Excellence. (They contain no chemicals, only natural herbal and floral extracts, and they smell REALLY nice.)

If the smell doesn't go away, contact your vet. (You might wanna do this first off anyway.) She could have a skin infection of some sort that is causing the smell (yeast infections of the skin particularly will cause a foul odor).

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2002


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