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  1. #1
    Puppy
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    Yellow Lab has body odor, please help!

    Hi, I have a 2 year old yellow lab. This past month I noticed he has an odor about him. In researching the issue I found that it can be caused by such things as ear infections, anal gland, or too much bathing. He does get ear infections periodically but that is nothing new. We live on the lake so he swims every day. Therefore, I use an ear flush and at times have been given medicine from the vet. However, the odor seems to be coming more from his body. He does get a bath once a week because he swims in the lake and goes to "doggy daycare" once a week where he is in a big play area with many dogs that love to slime each other all day long. Since the odor I have switched shampoo to oatmeal with a bit of olive oil mixed in. Doesn't seem to help. We also took him to the Vet last week. The doctor seemed to believe it was his anal gland and he cleaned it out and said everything else looks great; but he still has that odor. We walk every morning and play ball where he does get pretty sweaty, then come home and go for a swim. Could it be he is just sweating and has body odor compared to that of a teenage boy?! LOL Any suggestions you have would be much appreciated! Beau is an inside family member and it is quite embarrassing when we have unexpected guests and I haven't had a chance to "de-odorize"!

    Thanks so much!
    Scarlett

  2. #2
    Real Retriever 3ChocMom's Avatar
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    Could there be something in the lake that is making him stink? What does it smell like? If it was the ears, the odor would be just around his head and you would know. Same with anal glands, that's a very distinct odor. I do think you are bathing him too much, but I've never heard of that causing an odor. It can cause other issues like dry, flaky skin, but a bad odor seems odd. Try just rinsing him off with the hose after he swims or comes home from daycare and maybe do a full bath no more than once a month. Dogs don't sweat the way people do. They release body heat through the bottoms of their feet and by panting. That's what causes their feet to smell like Fritos. Have you checked his mouth? Sometimes it's their breath and it could mean he has a tooth issue.

    My Luke had bad allergies and that caused him to always have a funky odor. I would bathe him and within 2-3 days, he would stink again. I think it was his body reacting to all of the allergens. I would bathe him once a month and give him cool water rinses at least once a week. But like I said, the odor never really went away for more than 2-3 days. Sometimes, I would use a doggie deodorizing spray on him in lieu of a bath.

  3. #3
    Real Retriever brownietrout's Avatar
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    Sometimes it is caused by the food they eat as food allergies can cause ear infections. As long as we keep Tula on a grain Free food she has very few ear infections, foot licking and sometimes body odor, all the things that allergies can cause.
    You might try a different food.

  4. #4
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    My first thought was the frequent swimming and getting some odor from there. A plain water rinse after swimming should solve that. I agree, you are bathing too frequently. Mardi has had one bath in 2-3 years. Brushing is the key. Labs have a natural oil that helps waterproof their fur. Maybe the frequent bathing, stripping the oil, and then swimming lets an odor from the water "stick". Food can also be the culprit. I can bury my face in Mardi's fur and not get a doggy odor or any other odor.

  5. #5
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    The other thing is stinky collar. With swimming and other things the collar can get horrid. Took me a while to figure that one out. They make waterproof collars. Take the collar off him, give him a bath. Put on a new collar and then go back and smell the old one. If it stinks sour then it's stinky collar problem.

    Snowshoe might chime in as well, there are other issues with stink that can be medical.

    Ear infections smell musty, anal glands smell oh dear god do the smell, rotten metallic fish. Once you smelled Anal glands you never ever forget that smell. Stinky collar has a smell to it as well. Kind of like hot garbage.

  6. #6
    Senior Dog
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    I was going to say the same....stinky collar.

  7. #7
    Real Retriever SCDoug's Avatar
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    From time time, Lola has smell that can only be described as "doggie". It's hard to describe, but you know it when you smell it. It doesn't happen very often, and seems to pass quickly.

    I agree with the others, you might want to stop using shampoo so often. Lola goes swimming in the ocean or a local fresh water pond every week, and goes to doggie day care twice a week. We normally rinse her off with warm water once a week after swimmng, but not after daycare. We also have designated one her collars for swimming and riinse it off and let it dry in the sun after swimming.
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