# My Lab Stinks!!  UPDATE; MAYBE SOLVED! See last post



## SGADawg (Jan 8, 2015)

My 4 year-old yellow lab had a skin infection about 2 years ago.  The vet prescribed antibiotics and it cleared up and has not returned.

About that time she began to develop a strong acrid smell, sorta like puppy smell but much stronger and more offensive. I don't know if it's related or not.  Her coat also has a greasy feel to it, if you rub her for a while you can feel it on your fingers.

She is an outside dog except nights like last night and normally only gets bathed once a month or so, she goes in the pond most days.  Last night I brought her in, bathed her twice and she still smelled the same.  There was little or no detectable odor on the towel I dried her with!  The smell doesn't linger on hands, clothes etc.

I have changed her food 3 times with no effect.

Ideas?  We love her and would love to have her in the house more but can't at this point.


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## SGADawg (Jan 8, 2015)

Bump for the night shift.

Anybody have any ideas or suggestions?


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## Curlydog (Jan 8, 2015)

Are you sure the smell is her coat? Have you checked her ears or teeth.


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## creekrunner (Jan 8, 2015)

I put cedar chips in my dogs house for bedding this fall and now he smells like a cedar closet, which is better than he did before


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## Farmer Black (Jan 8, 2015)

I would guess it is her ears


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## SGADawg (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks guys, she came in a while ago and I checked her ears and breath. Neither is the problem. Being thoroughly bathed last night, she smells better now than after her bath last night when she was still damp. Her coat isn't greasy feeling tonight either. She still smells, just not as bad. A nightly bath might would work, but I'm too old to wrassle a 110 pound dog every night.


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## PappyHoel (Jan 8, 2015)

they advertise dinovite for this on the radio????  http://www.dinovite.com/


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## Hooked On Quack (Jan 8, 2015)

Could be a infected anal gland ???


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## hobbs27 (Jan 8, 2015)

Is there a pasture nearby, maybe she's wallowing in stuff you wouldn't want to be rubbing on your hands


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## SGADawg (Jan 8, 2015)

Thanks guys, I may look into the Dinovite.

While there is a horse pasture she goes through to get to the pasture, after a lifetime in the ag. field I recognize the smell of most all domestic animals, lol.

HOQ, how would I recognize an infected anal gland? She shows no discomfort and I mostly notice the greasiness of her coat on her head and upper back. 

 As I was typing this she stood up, stretched and laid back down.  'Bout knocked my head off and no, she didn't pass gas. I know what that smells like too.


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## Hooked On Quack (Jan 8, 2015)

SGADawg said:


> Thanks guys, I may look into the Dinovite.
> 
> While there is a horse pasture she goes through to get to the pasture, after a lifetime in the ag. field I recognize the smell of most all domestic animals, lol.
> 
> ...





I really don't know, I know 'bout once a year, or so my female Black Lab has to have hers punctured.  My vet does it .

Might be able to Google it and find out some more info ??


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## CartyKid (Jan 9, 2015)

May want to have Carter or Wills, whoever you use, take a look. It could be a yeast infection on the skin or anal glad (or something else, just the two I’ve had to deal with). I had an old porch hound (he didn’t care for hunting) that was the same way. Baths three times a week and had him on Purina. Took him to the doc and ended up being anal gland. After that he was back to just lazy instead of lazy and smelly. Hope you figure it out. Please keep us posted with what the outcome is.


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## shirttail (Jan 9, 2015)

Have you tried changing her food?  The food you give her can make a big difference in her coat.


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## willsmon (Jan 9, 2015)

Are there scabs or sores on the dog, accompanied by lots of hair falling out?


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## TAS (Jan 9, 2015)

We keep getting cats in our backyard...our dogs role in their business and stink.  Pretty much have gotten tired of washing them


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## redman2006 (Jan 9, 2015)

Ears, skin, teeth, anal glands.  

If you have greasy skind and odor, allergies, seborrhea, etc. are a consideration.

Yeast infections have a very distinct odor.


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## Crickett (Jan 9, 2015)

Hooked On Quack said:


> Could be a infected anal gland ???



I bet this is what's wrong with our lab too! He smells awful!


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## 7Mag Hunter (Jan 9, 2015)

Hooked On Quack said:


> Could be a infected anal gland ???



 X-2...Had a Shih Tzu who developed
a bad smell.....
Vet expressed anal gland, and 2-3 weeks later, all was well....


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## Day trip (Jan 9, 2015)

The greasy feel to the coat is seborrhea (aka dandruff). The increased oils in the skin is a great media to grow bacteria and yeast.  The combination of oily skin and possible secondary infections cause the smell.   

Now seborrhea can be the primary problem or can be secondary to allergies ( food or environmental).  Changing foods only helps if the dog has food allergies and you choose an alternate protein source that it is not sensitive to.  Environmental allergies are typically seasonal so you must be patient while managing this to see if you discover a distinct seasonal pattern.  If food and seasonal allergies are ruled out then it is likely primary seborrhea.  

To manage this you must eliminate infections and control the seborrhea with medicated shampoos.  If the dog has scabs, red bumps, circular scales etc then an infection is present.  If its mild I would start with a sulfur based antiseborrheic shampoo.  Bath every 2-3 days for 10 minutes until the skin is completely normal (usually 3-6 weeks).   Then reduce the frequency of the baths until the oiliness and odor is controlled with the least amount if baths you can get by with.  If the oily skin comes back, you've gone too far between baths, then you have to start all over.  
Start the baths, consider a diet (protein) change and as time passes pay attention to the seasonality.  
Unfortunately this is usually a permanent problem and will have to be managed forever (unless the diet change works).    Good luck


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## Day trip (Jan 9, 2015)

And Dinovite will help.  It won't solve the problem but it will make it some better.


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## SGADawg (Jan 10, 2015)

Thanks for the replies guys!  Looks like it will be an on-going issue, but she is worth it.

If I find an answer that works, I'll let y'all know.


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## waterdogs (Jan 23, 2015)

go to jefferspets.com and order you a bottle of maximum chlorhexidine shampoo 4%. made by davis vet supply. it is for moderate to severe conditions associated with bacteria and a wide range of microorganisms. sounds to me its a yeast infection on the skin.


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## mtnwoman (Jan 23, 2015)

My daughter's pet golden lab is really stinky, too. Thanks for the info guys and gals!


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## Hooked On Quack (Jan 23, 2015)

Let us know when the problem is diagnosed !


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## SGADawg (Feb 3, 2015)

waterdogs said:


> go to jefferspets.com and order you a bottle of maximum chlorhexidine shampoo 4%. made by davis vet supply. it is for moderate to severe conditions associated with bacteria and a wide range of microorganisms. sounds to me its a yeast infection on the skin.



I ordered this shampoo and have bathed her twice so far, 4 days apart. It seems to help, but it is too soon to be sure. I plan to go 7 days before the next bath, that should give me a good idea if its going to work.  

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.


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## SGADawg (Feb 24, 2015)

Update:  The shampoo helped, A LOT!!  The day-to-day constant odor and greasy-feeling coat is much better.

We still had a problem of frequent, overwhelming stank!

Took her to the vet and had her anal glands checked.  One showed some infection and when it was expressed, the familiar odor came forth with the crud.  Hopefully a 10 day round of antibiotics will clear things up.

Thanks for the help everyone.


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## Hooked On Quack (Feb 24, 2015)

Great news, glad we could help !~!


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## 7Mag Hunter (Mar 5, 2015)

Anal glans should be expressed at least
yearly.....Some dogs have more chronic
problems (smell) and need to be done more frequently..


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## K9SAR (Jun 10, 2015)

I realize this is an older post, and we haven't been around in awhile, but as someone else mentioned about yeast on the skin, I thought I'd chime in. Most dogs who have a bacterial yeast overgrowth on their skin have an internal issue, not an external issue. Other forms of dermatitis can exist and can result from the bacterial yeast overgrowth. 

After spending tens of thousands of dollars on our dog's yeast issues with her skin, we did a complete overhaul with her diet and included probiotics and digestive enzymes in her food. Chlorhexidine shampoo only worked so long. Zymox shampoo and conditioner worked the best. 

Just because you switch your dog to grain free, low starch food and such - won't necessarily remedy the itchies and yeast issues. It's a gut/bacterial flora issue. 

And anal glands? That's a whole different smell: rotten tuna is what an infected anal gland smells like. Most dogs express on their own when they defecate, but those that need help...yeah...I let the vet's office do that.

Cheers.


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## pine nut (Aug 11, 2015)

Try a spray bottlle filled with white vivegar mixed half and half with distilled water. Might help if it is a yeast infection.  A product called Prozyme which is digestive enzymes might also help.  Vet can get it for you.  made by PRN Pharmaceuticals.  It is digestive enzymes which help to break down the food.  Heat treating of dog foods to aid shelf life destroys the natural enzymes, and putting this on the food resupplies them to the food.  If using this be sure to follow the directions fo start-up closely.  Might seem to be expensive at first but it takes so little it really is not too expensive.  Almost is a panacea for many problems.  I found it worked for many skin problems and musculo-skeletal problems.  Definitely worth a try. The Dinovite actually contains something similar according to label.


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## pine nut (Aug 11, 2015)

Try a spray bottlle filled with white vivegar mixed half and half with distilled water. Might help if it is a yeast infection.  Apply daily.  Also a product called Prozyme which is digestive enzymes might also help.  Vet can get it for you.  made by PRN Pharmaceuticals.  It is digestive enzymes which help to break down the food.  Heat treating of dog foods to aid shelf life destroys the natural enzymes, and putting this on the food resupplies them to the food.  If using this be sure to follow the directions fo start-up closely.  Might seem to be expensive at first but it takes so little it really is not too expensive.  Almost is a panacea for many problems.  I found it worked for many skin problems and musculo-skeletal problems.  Definitely worth a try. The Dinovite actually contains something similar according to label.


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