[Shasta220]

Shasta is about 6y.o. He never used to smell bad (other than an average “doggie” scent, of course!)… But the past few months, he’s had a constant odor. Bathing helps a little (I usually use Dawn mixed with some organic rosemary-mint shampoo, then follow w a conditioner so his fur doesn’t get flaky), but even if I let the shampoo sit for 5-10min, I can smell faint amounts of the foul smell. I also doubt it’s anything to do with his food, he was on dog chow back when he didn’t stink at all…now he’s on Diamond naturals and still stinks.

Are there any supplements that help with odor? We tried Brewers yeast, Fish oil, and raw eggs. None helped any.

I also can’t afford much to be honest, I already have 3 dogs, cats, a cow, a pony, chickens, and ducks to feed…not much wiggle room in the budget.

[theBCnut]

When he hasn’t had a bath for a while, does he feel oily or leave your hands greasy after petting him? I’m remembering another one of your posts where you said he got really itchy on NutriSource. That’s a food intolerance/hypersensitivity to some ingredient in the food. The smell could be a milder symptom of a food intolerance, maybe an ingredient he doesn’t react as strongly to, or the same ingredient in a much smaller amount.

[Shasta220]

This guy is actually a different one from the one who flared up on NutriSource. (Cassy is that dog) I don’t really think Shasta would have an intolerance, as it’s been fairly recent that he’s started to smell…and he’s been on really cheap foods before without having the bad odor.

He does almost always seem to have a greasy residue on his coat, yes. It takes about a week after the bath, then I will see the film on my palms after giving him a good cuddling. I really doubt I’m over washing him, he only gets a bath maybe once a month. (Sometimes every 3wks during the summer, but I use a much gentler shampoo for that)

[theBCnut]

The price of the food doesn’t matter if it is a food intolerance, the particular ingredient does. It is definitely not a case of overwashing, you could even wash weekly. It’s called seborrhea, and is often associated with allergies and other skin irritations. It is an overproduction of body oils. Try comparing ingredient lists of the foods that you know he did well on with those that you know made him stink. My dog reacts to chicken and many grains, those were easy to figure out, but he’s also reactive to tomato, that was a bit harder to figure out. Others have had dogs thay react to chick peas, peas, fish, potatoes, you name it. Some of the ingredients are found in better foods, but rare in the cheap ones, go figure.

[Shasta220]

Hm. That’ll be rather tricky to figure out, for sure! I’ll be sure to do my homework now, I guess… LOL! Sighs, if only I had the money/resources/freezer space to do a raw diet for the pooches. At least he’s not a horse allergic to grain…(and I do know of one!)

[JASTECH]

What breed is he? Is he brood stock? Is his bloodline prone to skin disorders? I would’not feed Diamond, this might be the culprit. Try a grain free or at least 4 Star rated food for him. If you are close to me then I could give you some food to try him on.

[Shasta220]

He’s a classic Heinz 57 (he has, without a doubt, at least 6 breeds, b/c I knew the dad, mom, AND grandma…all were 2+ mixes)… I’ve never bought a purebred dog, and I doubt I ever will… Too many great rescue pups out there…

I don’t think Diamond naturals is the culprit, honestly… His smell came on fairly gradually, when he was still on Nutra Nuggets lamb n rice (he’s been on it all his life and never had a problem until several months ago). DN is a 4-star dog food, and honestly we can’t afford anything over $1 per lb (3 dogs, chickens, ducks, cats, pony, and cow…food bill is pretty high as is).

I’m starting to think his problem might be combination between possible food allergies (I still just don’t understand why an allergy would gradually start…especially when he was fine just a while ago), and a couple other things.

[Shasta220]

And like I say – his problem is ONLY the smell/extra oil. He doesn’t get dry/itchy skin (unless, of course, I bathe him too often or use an irritating shampoo – any dog does that though.) Come to think of it, he’s always had a fairly oily coat I guess (his dad was half lab, so that would explain it.). But it has a somewhat sour smell to it nowadays. I’m somewhat thinking it might be his own fault – he’s with our Kelpie/Aussie in an indoor/outdoor kennel run, and he sometimes pees by his bedding (the bedding is wood shavings, so it’s easy to change…he only will go by the bed if it’s raining. He’s a fussy guy, lol!). I wonder if some of that smell gets on him, as it’s been rainy daily over here…so he will wet the bed within 10 minutes of me mucking it out lol!

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