One of the most common dermatological complaints is that a dog’s skin smells bad.
What's the cause?
By far, the most common causes of offensive smelling skin are overgrowth of yeast or bacteria. Yeast and/or bacteria may overgrow for many possible reasons, including underlying inhalant/contact allergies, flea bite allergies, as well as food allergies. Hormonal diseases, including hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease may also cause bad skin odor. Localized inflammations including allergic hot spots on the skin may also cause unpleasant odor of the skin.
Some breeds, most notably the hound group, have more oils in their coats than other breeds. The specific oil is called Sebum, it collects on the hair shaft and follicles to protect a dog’s skin from dehydration. When the dog gets wet, like after a day at the beach or a bath, the oil and the water together create a bacteria which causes the unpleasant odor. The dog needs to be properly dried to avoid smelling like a… well… a wet dog.
Prevention/Treatment
Treatment and Prevention of a smelly dog is a common question and yes, there are solutions! Using anti-bacterial shampoos and treatments are a great way to help treat bacterial and yeast infections - but often times there are more complications that come along with the smell - read more about skin conditions and how you can prevent and treat them here:
From a maintenance standpoint, there is a way to prevent the stench of your beloved furball, and it involves proper drying. Toweling off the dog isn’t enough; a towel can’t get all the way down to the skin. Even dogs with extremely short coats need more. The heat and force from a blow dryer penetrates the densest of coats and is a start to getting to the root of the problem.
Bathing
Most veterinarians recommend bathing a dog every couple of weeks. Bathing a dog too often could result in dry, itchy, flaky skin. Wash the dog with a high quality shampoo and rinse well. Shampoo left on the skin due to improper rinsing will bring on skin issues.
There are thousands of dogs who have anxiety attacks at the slightest provocation. A hair dryer may cause a dog to have a heart attack. Luckily there are several quiet dryers available on the market that would work for the nervous pooch. Use a quality brush wile drying to get the under coat.