Help - Tips For Stinky Dog!

[brightstar123]

Hi everyone, just wanted to see if anyone has recommendations for a pretty stinky labrador. She's 1.5yrs old, fear aggressive (a whole other story...) and desexed/wormed/fully vaccinated. Fully vet checked - recent bloods all normal, dental and oral exam normal with very minimal plaque removed. 1-2hr walk/day, mainly indoors. Recently adopted so only had her for approx 1-2 months.

Problems are:

1) Yeasty smelling skin, especially paws. Typical corn chip smell. Not swimming at the moment so I was hoping it would have improved. Have tried Malaseb but was looking for any other recommendations, especially natural remedies. Has anyone tried tea tree products or other herbal rinses for this? Always dry her off carefully/thoroughly.

2) Yeasty waxy ears. Have to use epiotic and surolan fairly constantly to control this - they work well with clean ears and no odour. Really foul odour when not using these products - no head-shaking or pain but moderate dark brown wax and odour. Would love to hear about any other solutions that have worked for people. Don't really want to use surolan for ever!

3) Unpleasant breath at least 50-80% of the time. Not rank but not nice! I'm trying to encourage her to drink more - if she's anxious she won't drink (obviously we are addressing the anxiety/fear as a separate issue!). Any tips to encourage dogs to drink more? I was thinking of trying a drinkwell fountain as she enjoys water from the tap. Also could flavour the water. Dental exam normal, no oral masses, lesions or other abnormalities. No regurgitation or vomiting. She was previously fed Optimum dry food, I've changed her to Black Hawk Chicken and Rice, no improvement yet but it's still early days. Purchased toothbrush and toothpaste and started brushing too! Anyone fed any treats/chews that actually help? Any food recommendations that have helped with stinky breath? I was keen to introduce bones and transition to a least a partially raw diet but even when really gradually introduced any bones (dinosaur bones, chicken wings etc) cause profuse foul diarrhoea. Likewise for any tinned wet food, raw meat etc. Lots of flatulence too! She can handle very small amounts of tinned fish eg tablespoon of sardine mixed with kibble. Not sure where to head with the diet, would love her to have occasional bones but don't like the results much! Has anyone tried any plaque removing products and can comment on those?

Probably left things out but that's most of it. We love our new dog but would love her to smell a bit better :) Any tips/ideas/recommendations welcome! Thanks.

[Loving my Oldies]

A couple of threads on here talk about Calendula tea - do a search for them. Lots of advice there.

Good luck.

[Yonjuro]

I think Labs do have a particular smell.

+1 on the Calendula tea, also;

DoL member Steve has some shampoo, conditioners and cologne that use natural ingredients and essential oils that will probably help with the immediate issue.

[kelpiecuddles]

Internally both garlic and turmeric can be good dietary additives to help with skin and fungal issues

[Yonjuro]

Internally both garlic and turmeric can be good dietary additives to help with skin and fungal issues

Oh yeah, turmeric is brilliant stuff!

[Boronia]

You may also be interested in this video about yeast infections and non-pasteurised apple cider vinegar http://healthypets.m...like-crazy.aspx

[tdierikx]

I'm thinking food allergies or some sort of food intolerance could be the issue... especially when you mentioned that beefy bones give her the squirts...

Upset gut flora can cause stinky breath too. Then there is the almost constant yeasty infections in ears and feet.

Have you considered allergy tests?

t.

[RuralPug]

I have often found that yeasty dogs respond best to a two-pronged attack - (a) modify the diet and (b) boost the immune system. At the end of this post I have given you a home recipe for a yeasty ear cleaner which really works!

Diet: Every dog is slightly different, but in my experience yeast overbloom responds best to a diet where there are no grains and minimal sugars and starches. Give the new kibble a reasonable go, it may be enough if the yeast strain doesn't respond to the rice.

Some have had success with adding unfiltered apple cider vinegar to meals every third day or so, but not every yeasty dog responds well to ACV. Buy the type that is marketed for horses/greyhounds, I have found that it generally has the most punch.

Severe diarrhoea even with gradual introduction of raw meaty bones etc is not usually associated with yeast overbloom and I wonder if a course of probiotics would re-establish the normal balance of intestinal flora? It is worth a try and would make your life much easier if it works. If it doesn't, you may need to consider a veterinary investigation.

Fresh chopped parsley added to the drinking water bowls can sometimes help to freshen breath, and is not expensive to try. A few tablespoons of low-salt chicken broth (or other meaty stock, preferably home-made) can be added to the water bowl to enncourage drinking.

Immune System boost: Google to find the supplement that best suits your dog and your circumstances and give it faithfully for at least six months. For a yeasty dog, avoid any supplements that have a large amount of oil pressed from grain (e.g flaxseed oil) or added sugar.

Ears and feet: Dogs with yeast overbloom usually have fungi infesting their ears and skin folds, and between their toes. This home-made antifungal astringent lotion will clear the yeast infestations in ears and folds.

Ear and Facial Fold Cleaner:

1/3 cup Isopropyl alcohol (sold in chemists)

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup witch hazel

10 drops pure Tea Tree oil

Mix together and pour into plastic squeeze bottles. (You can recycle an empty clean bottle or buy those air travel ones meant for make up etc.) Store at room temperature.

Application: Ears - squeeze a small amount directly into the ear canal and massage for 30 to 60 seconds. Then wet a cloth or pad (cotton makeup removal pads are perfect) with the cleaner and clean the visible areas of the ear.

Skin folds/nose rolls/between toe pads - wet a cloth or pad with the cleaner and wipe the affected area.

To clear an existing infestation use 2 -3 times a day for 10 days, then one or twice a week after that will prevent a recurrence. (If there is no change after the 10 day course, then it is not a yeast infestation - see your vet.)

The Calendula Tea rinse (mentioned above) is extremely good for soothing itching related to allergies and alters the ph of the skin to make it less accommodating for opportunistic nasties to infest skin broken by the dog by excessive scratching or rubbing.(It also smells nice!)

Good luck with your new family member and keep us informed.

[RuralPug]

LOL I type far too slowly! Lots of other replies since I started my opus

[~Anne~]

As with T, allergies come to my mind. Dietary related allergies are often accompanied by recurrent ear infections and yeast problems.

[Canisbellum]

Probiotics helped enormously with my dogs yeast issues.

[sandgrubber]

Hi everyone, just wanted to see if anyone has recommendations for a pretty stinky labrador. She's 1.5yrs old, fear aggressive (a whole other story...) and desexed/wormed/fully vaccinated. Fully vet checked - recent bloods all normal, dental and oral exam normal with very minimal plaque removed. 1-2hr walk/day, mainly indoors. Recently adopted so only had her for approx 1-2 months.

Problems are:

1) Yeasty smelling skin, especially paws. Typical corn chip smell. Not swimming at the moment so I was hoping it would have improved. Have tried Malaseb but was looking for any other recommendations, especially natural remedies. Has anyone tried tea tree products or other herbal rinses for this? Always dry her off carefully/thoroughly.

2) Yeasty waxy ears. Have to use epiotic and surolan fairly constantly to control this - they work well with clean ears and no odour. Really foul odour when not using these products - no head-shaking or pain but moderate dark brown wax and odour. Would love to hear about any other solutions that have worked for people. Don't really want to use surolan for ever!

The 'yeasty smell' from the paws that smells like corn chips is a normal odor. It's a pheremone that, unlike most pheremones, humans can smell. Its function in dog to dog communication is appeasement . . . it reduces aggression in the other dog and tends to create a friendly encounter. I would expect it to be strong in a fear aggressive dog.

Ear yeast: yeasts require a high pH environment. In Australia, for some reason, vets don't recommend vinegar, but in the US, all the vets I've talked to are happy using a 50:50 vinegar and water solution to treat yeasty ears.

No recommendations about bad breath . . .

[Staff'n'Toller]

You might wish to try a totally different protein - Black Hawk fish or another fish based food. Royal Canin do a Labrador food that is specifically targeted to Labs with skin and ear problems. They also do a prescription diet with fish.

Fear behaviour is stressful and stress = low immune system = illness. So you may need to work out how to make her more comfortable in her environment too.

Some swimming dogs need their ears cleaned out after each swim, get something specifically from your vet for cleansing that will have a drying action as well.

[Erny]

Don't think of washing your dog as the "cure". It will freshen your dog up for a while, but whilst the cause for the "yeasty-ness" you describe persists, it will keep coming back.

Check diet. Simultaneously, and to get your dog (and yourself) through the "yeasty-ness", bath with Calendula Tea. The Calendula Tea is not astringent and therefore causes no harm to pH balance.

Agree - contact DOL Member Steve and/or visit her website Shalarm. As the MDBA Annual Choice Awards Gala Event is on this weekend, Steve might not be able to respond to your enquiries until next week though.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Erny

[brightstar123]

Wow, thank you, so many great suggestions and ideas. Rural Pug, thanks for taking the time to write your opus :)

I'm definitely going to add a probiotic as I do think her digestive system is out of balance. Any recommendations for brand/type etc? I could also add natural yoghurt to her food but I'm a bit worried about the lactose making things worse.

I'm also going to try the ear cleaning recipe, the ingredients make sense to me and a few people seem to recommend formulas containing some vinegar. I'll also try the Calendula rinse, I was thinking of making a tea tree rinse but not sure if that's ok to leave on the coat. I agree about the malaseb shampoo only being a temporary quick fix, obviously there are multiple underlying problems contributing to this. I'll also look into the immune supplements and herbal additives.

I do think she smells worse when she's stressed so that's interesting about the corn-chip smelling pheromone, I haven't heard that before. I have noticed the smell to generally be stronger in dogs that lick their feet a lot, causing that whole cycle of wet skin, yeast infection, smell and itching, more licking etc. She's not an itchy dog at all, which is interesting too.

Food allergy is possible, but her gut does settle down if she eats one brand of dry food consistently with no changes or additives (other than teaspoon of tuna, sardine etc with EVERY meal). I'm not sure if I should just keep feeding the raw food/bones and try and get through the diarrhoea, even if it lasts a long time? I've never had this problem before with other dogs, I've always been able to vary their diets slightly and gradually eg bones 3x week, some dry food, some home made.

Anyway thanks again, great ideas so far. Oh and I'll definitely try the parsley water and stock!

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

My dog is allergic to kikuyu grass which is in our lawn at home and at our favourite park - so her belly is covered in pink stain from her licking but I'm happy to tolerate that rather than a bright red rash. I try to get her to sit on a bed made of a tarp and a towel instead of the grass on nice days. That helps keep the rash at bay.

I could also rinse off with calendular tea but that's a bit of a hassle - trying to get it on then off and dry and what to do with the left overs and how long does it keep...

I sometimes use alloveen oatmeal goo (looks like vaseline but isn't) if the rash gets bad.

Diet - I had to change from one kind of dry kibble to another to stop her getting the runs. Has worked. Now she only gets the runs if she helps herself to something she shouldn't eat.

I feed her a couple of spoonfuls of ordinary yogurt - most of the lactose/lactic acid that causes allergies to cow milk is modified to something less allergy causing by the yogurt making process.

I give her carrots or cow hoofs and the occasional green eucalyptus stick to chew on - cow hooves can get pretty stinky tho. I don't feed bones because she doesn't chew them up properly and the big splintery chunks or whole but slightly crumpled chicken wings tend to come back to haunt us - guaranteed the most inconvenient time.

Tea tree and eucalyptus oils - can be toxic to dogs in high quantities and a bit corrosive (burns). You'd want to dilute it a lot. Dogs also find the smell offensive / painful. I use these oils (couple of drops to 200mls water) to clean my kitchen counters to discourage counter surfing by evil hound.

[temperamentfirst]

I'd try a chicken frame rather than harder bones. It seems to help with stinky breath too. Apple cider vinegar is great for yeasty and immune problems. Make sure her food is wheat free!

Re her anxiety and stress - Dr Schuessler's tissue salts - Nerve Tonic Combination 5 will help her.

[VizslaMomma]

LOL I type far too slowly! Lots of other replies since I started my opus

Most informative opus as well.

THank you so much.

ps: Wonder if the lab's ears are OK?

[Erny]

I'll also try the Calendula rinse, I was thinking of making a tea tree rinse but not sure if that's ok to leave on the coat.

Yes it is and should be (i.e. left on the coat/skin, to dry)

[sandgrubber]

I can't find the article I read about frito feet and pheremones. I remember it as a credible source. anyone else seen it?