I'm on holidays now out in "farmland," away from the city, and there's a few other people in this town who have labs. My lab and I are staying at my brother's place, and so far, all of the people who have come over to visit are amazed at the fact that she doesn't stink. I don't think too many people realize that if a dog stinks, it's NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE A DOG! They couldn't believe that I haven't bathed her in months, either. I think this is a pretty important issue, and one that I only became aware of after coming to this site. Sorry, I'm ranting, but I just thought I would post this so that people will remember how important this is, and realize how many poor stinky dogs are being misunderstood.:rolleyes:

Living conditions does play a part in the way a dog smells, but most often it is the food they eat. Some of the food will make dogs give off quite an odor and simply changing brands will eliminate this. I do know that people are suprised that we have a 3 dog house and they don't find it doggy smelling, unless it is really damp. Those of us that are natural feeding homes will agree that there is far less doggy odor on our dogs.

I totally agree with this. I am a firm beleiver in you are what you eat. I feed my girl Innova, and she doesn't smell at all, her breath isn't bad, her coat is soft and silky. The other night some friends were over and one began petting Luca Bella's back. The first thing he said is "Oh, did the pretty girl get a bath today?" I told him that she hadn't and actually hadn't had a bath in months (maybe Aug/Sept) He couldn't believe it and commented on how much softer and shiny-er her coat was than his brother's dog. I told him its all in the food, and firmly believe it.

My neighbors have two labs that are fed the biggest, cheapest bag that is on sale at the grocery store that week. They stink to high heaven, and they slobber smells like crap. When they wrestle with my dog, and she gets their slobber on her, it stinks terribly.

I do occasionally use a product called Miracle Coat on her, to get rid of the neighbor dog's slobber stink after she comes back in form playing with them. I just spray it on, rub it in a little, then brush her out after it dries.


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