# This Dachshund stinks!



## Entwine (Jan 14, 2009)

My mom is watching my sister's Dachshund, blah blah blah, I already posted about his aggression/fear problems in the General Forums, blahblah.

While he's with my mom, we've been feeding him Wellness Core in hopes that it'll convince my sister's husband to switch him off of Pedigree. She always complains that he stinks, etc, but her husband won't agree to change his food because he's of the mindset that "it don't matter what you feed 'em, dogs stink". 

My sister took him to her vet's office to be groomed for $10 (just a bath and nail trim, apparently) before she brought him to my mom. Well, he already stinks to high heaven again. It's only been a few days.. And we were hoping for a miracle that the Wellness would improve his stench quickly. Unrealistic, I know, but we were hoping.  

Regardless, he smelled HORRID today when I went to visit. I bathed him thoroughly, cleaned his ears (found a TON of stinky gunk in them), brushed his teeth with Petz Life Oral Gel, and expressed his anal glands. He definitely smells better, but he still has that lingering "dog odor" that comes from poor nutrition. 

Is there any chance that in the next three or four days that he'll get the "Pedigree funk" off? I know it's doubtful... 

Another problem that I think contributes is that he's overweight now (he looks to have lost some weight since my mom's had him because of the Wellness--it's the reduced fat formula--and I've been exercising him). Does the food get stored in fat cells? Am I right in assuming this could make the smell linger longer?

And my final question:

Is there anything besides what I have already done (anal gland expression, teeth brushing & gel application, bath, cleaned ears) that will help his lose the stench?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Sounds like you are on the right road to getting rid of the odor. I assume he is "healthy"..no thyroid issues, dental plaque buildup, or skin issues? If that is the case, and the food is the culprit (which could very well be the case) then its just going to take some time...might even take a few months unfortunately.


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## Entwine (Jan 14, 2009)

Graco22 said:


> Sounds like you are on the right road to getting rid of the odor. I assume he is "healthy"..no thyroid issues, dental plaque buildup, or skin issues? If that is the case, and the food is the culprit (which could very well be the case) then its just going to take some time...might even take a few months unfortunately.


He's healthy to my knowledge, although he does need a dental in my opinion. But there's no way in you-know-what my sister would take him in for one. One-they don't have the money, and two-they don't think his teeth are that bad. His teeth are not as bad as they could be, but at four years old (3 or 4, I can't recall) he does have some tan and GREEN plaque build-up on his back teeth and a tiny amount of tan build-up by his gums on his canines. Other than the plaque, he doesn't seem to have any other issues.

Yeah, my mom and I are afraid that if his smell hasn't improved within the next few days when my sister and her family gets back that they'll use that as a reason to keep feeding the Pedigree and not even try finishing the bag of Wellness. Sort of a "see, it didn't make a difference" ideology. 

I do have to add that my mom became fairly upset when she watched me cleaning his ears and the entire cotton pad was covered in stinky brown gunk. She said she knows for a fact that my sister never cleans his ears and to see that much wax come out at one time upsets her. Maybe she'll mention something in that regard.. shrug.


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## Entwine (Jan 14, 2009)

Just to update:

My mom let my sister know that I did everything to Nacho (cleaned him up), and she got defensive and said that he didn't need it done as he'd "just gotten it done at the vet's a day before she brought him".

Can wax build up in a dog's ear enough to fully cover a cotton pad over a period of six days? One ear, one pad. And can the anal glands be expressed and liquid emerge even if it's just been done a few days before?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Yes, ears can get that bad, but usually that is because they are infected..if there is not an "issue" in the ears, they won't be that yucky in a month...much less a few days. Anal glands, same..if there isn't an issue, they won't be full enough to externally express in a few days. However, its unlikely that the vet's expressed them unless your sister specifically asked them to. Regardless, it seems your sister is not open to any help with her pet, and though unfortunate, there isn't much you can do. :-(


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Ears can cause a lot of stink. But hounds also have a naturally houndy odor to them. I don't know if that would accound for his high stink, but it might be part of it. Keep cleaning the ears out, that should help.


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## Entwine (Jan 14, 2009)

Graco22 said:


> Yes, ears can get that bad, but usually that is because they are infected..if there is not an "issue" in the ears, they won't be that yucky in a month...much less a few days. Anal glands, same..if there isn't an issue, they won't be full enough to externally express in a few days. However, its unlikely that the vet's expressed them unless your sister specifically asked them to. Regardless, it seems your sister is not open to any help with her pet, and though unfortunate, there isn't much you can do. :-(


His ears don't seem infected--they're a normal, healthy pink and aren't swollen or painful. 

Yes, I know she's not.. We know now for sure. Oh well. He's their dog and they can deal with the stink if they'd like. We've also noticed that it looks like one of his back legs was broken and healed incorrectly at one point. It juts out at an odd angle and seems limp when he runs. We commented on it before, but she says it's supposed to be that way because that's how Dachshund's legs are. :\ Apparently, we just don't understand that dogs all stink and misshapen limbs are normal. 



> Ears can cause a lot of stink. But hounds also have a naturally houndy odor to them. I don't know if that would accound for his high stink, but it might be part of it. Keep cleaning the ears out, that should help.


He didn't seem to stink near as badly today when I visited, so maybe that's a good sign. And I don't expect he'll have NO scent, as even my Chihuahua has her own scent on a great diet/hygiene routine, but he stinks so much that if you touch him the smell is on your hands for hours. 

Oh well.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Is he neutered? My grandpa's Lab always stunk, BAD, and I thought it was because he was intact....though I've known intact dogs who didn't stink like that. And right now I know a neutered dog who stinks pretty bad. I think it's a mixture of diet and individual chemistry. Also how often their beds are washed....phew!


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

A $10 bath and nail trim...... you'd pay more than that here for just nails. I'm betting it wasn't a quality job for that price. Many places dilute the shampoo to almost water, dump some on, rinse off and call it a bath. When I worked in a boarding kennel saw lots of dogs 'groomed' that were still gross. 

Try bathing him with shampoo diluted with vinegar and water, to help get the smell down. But if he's still getting rid of the crappy food stored in his system, and has icky teeth, he's going to smell. Maybe get your sister a bag of the good foof to help her through this rough time..... people like that annoy me. We have a neighbor with a dog, way underwieght, on old roy, still shedding out winter coat and not brushed... I mean look after the dog or give it to the shelter to find a good home!

Lana


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## Entwine (Jan 14, 2009)

Willowy said:


> Is he neutered? My grandpa's Lab always stunk, BAD, and I thought it was because he was intact....though I've known intact dogs who didn't stink like that. And right now I know a neutered dog who stinks pretty bad. I think it's a mixture of diet and individual chemistry. Also how often their beds are washed....phew!


He's neutered. And he has a towel that's kept in his crate.. Which is actually smaller than my Chihuahua's crate. Go figure.



> A $10 bath and nail trim...... you'd pay more than that here for just nails. I'm betting it wasn't a quality job for that price. Many places dilute the shampoo to almost water, dump some on, rinse off and call it a bath. When I worked in a boarding kennel saw lots of dogs 'groomed' that were still gross.
> 
> Try bathing him with shampoo diluted with vinegar and water, to help get the smell down. But if he's still getting rid of the crappy food stored in his system, and has icky teeth, he's going to smell. Maybe get your sister a bag of the good foof to help her through this rough time..... people like that annoy me. We have a neighbor with a dog, way underwieght, on old roy, still shedding out winter coat and not brushed... I mean look after the dog or give it to the shelter to find a good home!
> 
> Lana


I know it wasn't a quality job. And I'm still baffled at why anyone would think that they'd get a good FULL groom for $10. I'm also baffled as to why someone would even bring in a short haired miniature Dachshund for a groom. But, hey, to each their own, right? :S

I already bought the bag of Wellness Core and we're feeding it to him right now. She can have it--I feed raw and my mom feeds the senior formula. My guess is she'll refuse to take it/will take it and finish it off and just go back to Pedigree. She and her husband have this "pride" issue and whenever someone tries to help they view it as an insult to their capabilities and intellegence. 

Thank you, everyone, for all of the advice. I'm going to try the vinegar solution tonight when I visit.


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## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

I feel your pain....my brother is similar with his pug. It's hard, I know...(sigh). But I also know that some dogs do not smell at all and I have four of them. Not one of my dogs have an odor. But, on the other hand, they get groomed often. They eat great kibble and canned food and also get some supplements. I will admit that Stella sometimes has a smell when she gets urine on her back leg fringe (yuck) and she then gets what I call her "sitz bath" hahahaha. Then it's back to smelling like the diva she is LOL!


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