# What to put on a dog to get rid of smell?



## Godog (Jun 2, 2011)

I'm looking for some advice on what to put on my dog's coat to make her smell nice. _I know_ giving her a bath does the trick but I can't bathe her often as it will irritate her skin. Hopefully any stuff around the house that I can put on her and maybe brush in? Her smell isn't that bad, it's just not that nice after petting her and I have a dirty smell on my hands, so would prefer her to smell more pleasant!


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

I don't know what you could put on her, but do NOT ever put a perfume (even those made for dogs) on here. We brought Roonie to petco (or petsmart?) once to be groomed and they put a dog cologne on him and it ruined his coat, this was over a year ago and he still has dark spots on his back where the fur looks burnt which means it not only ruined the current coat but ruined the hair follicles that makes new coat, it is hard and wiry.

I wonder if there are any dry shampoos for dogs...

Also, I wouldn't put anything to strong on her, dogs noses are way more sensitive than ours are and it will irritate them.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

KodiBarracuda said:


> I don't know what you could put on her, but do NOT ever put a perfume (even those made for dogs) on here. We brought Roonie to petco (or petsmart?) once to be groomed and they put a dog cologne on him and it ruined his coat, this was over a year ago and he still has dark spots on his back where the fur looks burnt which means it not only ruined the current coat but ruined the hair follicles that makes new coat, it is hard and wiry.
> 
> I wonder if there are any dry shampoos for dogs...
> 
> Also, I wouldn't put anything to strong on her, dogs noses are way more sensitive than ours are and it will irritate them.


 Hmm, that's a little odd...I worked at petsmart for almost 2 years and never saw our cologne "burn" the coat. I've seen the cologne make dogs itchy, but a bath with hypoallergenic shampoo always fixed that. In fact, my own poodle is allergic to doggy cologne. I would wonder if there was some other cause for your dog's ruined coat....I seriously doubt that the cologne would cause that kind of temporary damage, much less permanent damage. How old was your dog? If he was a pup, it could be that the "new" coat is his adult coat. 

As far as something that will smell nice on a dog, you could definitely try a waterless shampoo. That will clean the coat and skin some (it's not good for the skin to be dirty for long periods of time) and make her smell nice. 

I personally would look into the reason behind her stinkiness though. Is it just from her rolling in the dirt, as in she smells like the outside? Or is it that really strong "doggy odor" that everyone is always complaining about? If it's the latter, I would a) have her to the vet for a check up to rule out any medical reasons and/or b) change her diet. What are you currently feeding her? I've fed my dogs a lot of different diets, all the way from completely raw to Dog Chow...the Scottie my family had when I was little was fed Ol' Roy. Poor thing, no wonder he was itchy all the time. Hey, live and learn. Anyway, I've found that with a good diet, almost all odor disappears. I own four dogs now, none of them stink. Two of them stay outside about 50% of the time and take swims in our neighbor's pond. The only thing I can smell on them when they come in is an occasional whiff of nasty pond water.  When we had our now deceased hound mix on Dog Chow, she smelled...and was very oily. After being switched to first raw and then Blue Buffalo (raw became too time consuming) her odor and greasiness went away. And this dog was always dirty....I bathed her once every 2 wks or so, the water was always black. A good part of her time was spent digging around in the dirt to find a cool spot to lay, so it makes sense. But still, no odor. Just good ol' dirt.  All that to say, I would figure out the why behind her smell, not just cover it up. Hope that helps you.


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

I think it was Petco and he was a few years old when we did it, so it wasn't a new coat coming in and every time we get him clipped for the summer the black spots are there as noticable as ever... I have to think it was the cologne because we asked the groomer right when we picked him up "what are those dark spots on his back" because they weren't there we brought him there. The groomer said that they were just the spots from the cologne and they would dry. 

It was so strong that we bathed him right when he got home because the black spots were still there and we didn't suppose he liked such a strong smell right in his poor sensitive nose. We tried dish soap (because thats what they use on the oil covered birds), regular shampoo, human shampoo and a multitude of other soaps and nothing would get the black marks off. I assume it ruined the root because his hair grows really fast and the black never went away and even the new hair is rough and itchy feeling.


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## hast (Aug 17, 2011)

I too wonder why the dog 'stinks'? 
I switched my girl's food and she suddenly became really smelly ... I didn't realize there was something wrong until I had given her a bath (again!) and the next day it was bad enough for me to want to give her a new bath again. I found her normal food and already after two meals I noticed her smelliness decreasing drastically.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

I look more in to the reason of why she stinks. Food problem is my first guess.


KodiBarracuda said:


> I think it was Petco and he was a few years old when we did it, so it wasn't a new coat coming in and every time we get him clipped for the summer the black spots are there as noticable as ever... I have to think it was the cologne because we asked the groomer right when we picked him up "what are those dark spots on his back" because they weren't there we brought him there. The groomer said that they were just the spots from the cologne and they would dry.
> 
> It was so strong that we bathed him right when he got home because the black spots were still there and we didn't suppose he liked such a strong smell right in his poor sensitive nose. We tried dish soap (because thats what they use on the oil covered birds), regular shampoo, human shampoo and a multitude of other soaps and nothing would get the black marks off. I assume it ruined the root because his hair grows really fast and the black never went away and even the new hair is rough and itchy feeling.


What kind of dog is this?

I have tried MANY MANY different dog colognes. none have ruined either of my dogs coats. never had a problem. I have tried literally 100';s of different ones. Im a dog groomer, so always looking for good scents.


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

Tankstar said:


> I look more in to the reason of why she stinks. Food problem is my first guess.
> 
> 
> What kind of dog is this?
> ...


A schnauzer poodle cross.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

KodiBarracuda said:


> I think it was Petco and he was a few years old when we did it, so it wasn't a new coat coming in and every time we get him clipped for the summer the black spots are there as noticable as ever... I have to think it was the cologne because we asked the groomer right when we picked him up "what are those dark spots on his back" because they weren't there we brought him there. The groomer said that they were just the spots from the cologne and they would dry.
> 
> It was so strong that we bathed him right when he got home because the black spots were still there and we didn't suppose he liked such a strong smell right in his poor sensitive nose. We tried dish soap (because thats what they use on the oil covered birds), regular shampoo, human shampoo and a multitude of other soaps and nothing would get the black marks off. I assume it ruined the root because his hair grows really fast and the black never went away and even the new hair is rough and itchy feeling.


 I've seen lots and lots of schnauzers that get those black, different textured spots after they've had hotspot(s). I've seen it in one Bichon, too. I would venture to say that there was probably some sort of trauma to the skin, and that it wasn't the cologne. I'm assuming that his hair was fairly long, so you wouldn't necessarily have noticed anything different. I just find it very very unlikely that doggy cologne would have caused such a problem. Like I said, I've seen cologne used on many many dogs, and the only thing that it can do is make them itchy.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

KodiBarracuda said:


> I think it was Petco and he was a few years old when we did it, so it wasn't a new coat coming in and every time we get him clipped for the summer the black spots are there as noticable as ever... I have to think it was the cologne because we asked the groomer right when we picked him up "what are those dark spots on his back" because they weren't there we brought him there. The groomer said that they were just the spots from the cologne and they would dry.
> 
> It was so strong that we bathed him right when he got home because the black spots were still there and we didn't suppose he liked such a strong smell right in his poor sensitive nose. We tried dish soap (because thats what they use on the oil covered birds), regular shampoo, human shampoo and a multitude of other soaps and nothing would get the black marks off. I assume it ruined the root because his hair grows really fast and the black never went away and even the new hair is rough and itchy feeling.


I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. There is NO way a cologne spray can do this..its simply a cologne..Its likely the black spots were there, under the coat, and you never noticed them because he was longer. Many times when a dog is clipped down, there are spots and different "colors" underneather the longer coat. The groomer saying it was the cologne just shows how uneducated and ignorant of the ingredients in the products she was using, she was. 

To the OP, you aren't going to find a magic solution unfortunately, other than a good bath. Some dogs just get "doggie" odor faster than other dogs. Black dogs and hounds are well known to have a distinct odor and frequent baths help with that. If a bath is irritating her skin, then anything else you can "doctor" her up with is also likely to irritate her skin. Sometimes a good brushing can help loosen up skin cells, grime, and loose coat, and leave them smelling a bit fresher..but nothing like a good bath. Most dogs have no problems from weekly bathing if you are using a quality, mild pet shampoo, and rinsing thoroughly.


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Our dog hates baths so in between I brush, use pet wipes which have a mild pleasant odor, and use a waterless shampoo and a brisk rub down with a towel.

I hate perfumes, too. Can't get the daycare to stop spraying her before she leaves for the day -- they spray all the dogs. Really bugs me because I think the smell irritates her. And it definitely irritates me.


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## firehawk (Jul 31, 2011)

I'm really sensitive to fragrances so I avoid them. You could try using baking soda as a dry shampoo. It should take care of any odors.


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## hast (Aug 17, 2011)

My dog isn't even smelly when she's wet ... I suggest changing food.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

hast said:


> My dog isn't even smelly when she's wet ... I suggest changing food.


 I agree with hast.....I own two Schnauzer/Poodles and they have never smelled bad. I also bathe and groom them on a weekly basis with a mild tear-free shampoo......two weeks between grooms at the most. I don't know about your dog,.....but my two are pink skinned and need groomed just like a purebred Poodle does or I have mats galore! 

To make a long story short......my sister has a Lab mix that stunk so bad she couldn't even come in the house......changed from a 1 star dog food to a 4 star dog food......smell is GONE!


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## hast (Aug 17, 2011)

I changed mine from EVO to Instinct and for the first time ever she stunk even though I gave her a bath a week .... then I went to Orijen (which I fed before too) and she never smells whether she gets a bath or not. She's not had a bath in ... a couple of months *blush*


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