How to Get Rid of Dog Smell?

The big problem you may have faced with your dog is his smell and the unpleasant smell in all around your home. Here we are going to know why your dog has the smell and how it can be removed from your dog and how to make your home smell-free.

Majority of dogs especially Labradors have a typical stinky dog smell. Where your dog goes, the smell goes and spread there. If you touch your dog, then you can also feel his smell from your clothes and hands.

This smell will also be unpleasant for guests and friends who visit your home. So, it is easy to remove that smell from your dog, than to remove it from the whole house and other things.

You can feel the smell of your dog from his body, ears, mouth, and urine. We should have to care for our dog in advance to avoid it. When you buy a new dog, for the first few days you will feel his smell and then you can’t, it does mean that his smell is removed. This is due to your nose receptors who can’t feel this smell anymore.

There may be many causes of a dog’s smell. We will go through all these. So, first let’s discuss do Labradors have the smell?

Do Labradors Smell?

The answer to this question is “YES”, Labrador have a typical dog smell. There is the difference among Labradors, some Labs have more smell and some have less.

The second difference is among their grooming. Some owners bath their dogs regularly with shampoos and check dogs for any abnormality which can give rise to bad smell. Their dogs have less or no smell as compared to those who don’t care for their dogs.

People who visit your home for the first time can easily tell you about the smell. An owner, his family members and other people who visit the home regularly, can’t feel the smell after some days.

Let’s move forward to Why Do Dogs smell?

Why Do Dogs Smell?

There are many benefits of owning a dog, but there are some problems too. The smell from a dog is the big problem, most of the owners have to face. This problem can be prevented if we know its reason.

If your dog has a more stinky and unpleasant smell, there may be some reasons associated with it. Here are the reasons for a bad dog smell.

1. Chemical scent:

Dogs don’t sweat like human beings but they perspire through paws and hair follicles, the chemical they release has a scent which may feel bad to owners and visitors.

2. Natural Oil:

Dogs produce oil which helps to keep their skin and hairs healthy. These oils produce more in heavy breeds like Labradors. Labradors have dual hair coat and hence more oil, so, they may smell more due to these oils.

3. Ear Glands:

The glands in a dog’s ear can also produce yeasty smell which may be bad and unpleasant. This odor can be easily controlled by bathing and proper grooming.

4. Anal Glands

There are anal glands present at the back of your dog which also release a small amount of secretions during defecation. These secretions have a strong musky smell.

5. Ear Infections:

Dogs which have long hairs in the ears are more prone to ear infections. Some bacteria and fungus (Malassezia) enter in their ears and produce strong smell there. In this condition, wash your dog’s ears with antiseptic and antifungal solution depending upon the causative agent.

6. Skin Infections:

The skin infection is common in dogs which has loose skin like bulldogs. This type of infection can also occur in other dogs, those who play a lot on muddy ground and dirty places. The infection gets severe when a dog scratches his skin to remove irritation. The bad odor may be present in your dog due to these type of skin infections.

7. Dental Infection:

Due to dental infection, you may feel a rotten smell from your dog’s mouth. The dogs may have stomach or intestinal problems like we have. They also have the gas problem in which they produce excessive gas which is released through mouth or anus. Gas doesn’t have a good smell, you already know that.

How to Get Rid of Dog Smell

First, you need to remove bad odor from your dog and later from your home. A healthy dog will have a normal smell like the other dogs, so try to keep your dog healthy and active.

  • Groom your dog regularly. Bath at regular interval is essential to keep a dog smell-free. The ASPCA recommends to bath a dog within 3 months period. Daily bathing can cause the dryness of skin and give rise to other skin problems.
  • Gently clean the ears of your dog with a swab. Cleaning can be done after one month when you bath your dog. If your dog has long and floppy ears then clean your dog’s ear after 10-15 days. Try to remove the hairs from the ears also, in long hairs dust can easily stick and cause infection.
  • Change the diet of your dog, some diets cause the dryness of skin, which in result may cause the excessive release of oils and also the dry skin is more prone to infections.
  • Examine the mouth of your dog, if he has a bad tooth, then it is better to be checked by the vet. Brush your dog regularly and also provide him chew toys.
  • A smell from dog can’t be removed completely but it can be controlled by using dog shampoo. Use shampoo during bathing, and also try to use light perfumes and powders.

Dogs always have a typical smell, however, it will be changed to stinky and unpleasant when you don’t care your dog. Healthy dogs who are regularly groomed has a lesser smell which doesn’t feel bad.

How to Remove Dog Smell from Your Home

If your dog is free from smell now, we can move to “how to remove the smell from your home”. Carefully examine your dog again, if he still has a bad smell, then there will be not any benefit to clean your home because the smell will spread again.

Washing:

First of all, take off the covers of cushion, bed, and sofas, and wash them in the washing machine. Also, wash your clothes and other washable things. Use a detergent which has fragrance in it because it will help to remove the odor easily.

Using Chemical:

If you have some non-washable stuff in your home, then try to use baking soda, believe that baking soda is an excellent odor absorber. If baking soda is not available then try to use any other safe chemical which can remove the smell. Baking soda can be used to remove odor from beds, sofas, carpet, and floor. If you want to enhance the effect of soda, then mix it with detergent and sprinkle it.

Vacuum Cleaning:

Use a suitable pet vacuum cleaner to clean the floor. There are some pet designed vacuum cleaners are available in the market which helps to easily remove dog hairs from the floor. Cleaning will helps a lot to remove odor from your home.

Using Perfumed Products:

There are some perfumed products available in the market which can be used to neutralize the odor. Use those products which are safe for animals. Some perfumes and air-fresheners are toxic for animals, avoid these products. Baking soda is the best option to remove the odor if nothing else available.

Other Solutions

You can also try other solutions to avoid dog smell like limiting the home access and a dog-free room for guests. A dog’s odor can’t be removed completely but it can be controlled. Keeping a dog-free room will help you to avoid guests and friends from feeling that smell. Also, you can limit the access of your dog to different rooms which can be later used by the dog, when he is completely free from stinky odor.

Potty and urine train your dog as early as possible after the age of 6-8 weeks and dispose of his feces properly away from your home. Concentrated urine has more smell as compared to diluted. So, allow your dog to drink more water.

VIDEO: HOW TO GET RID OF DOG SMELL

Conclusion

If you are tired of your dog’s smell in your home, then this article will help you a lot, when you implement all above-described methods. You will be unable to feel the smell of your dog after some days, but new visitors can feel it easily.

Regularly check your dog for any health issue. Dogs with dirt in his ears, paws, and haircoat have more tendency to get an infection. This infection in result will cause a bad odor.

If necessary, make an appointment with your vet, he can guide you better how to care your dog. He will also check the health of your dog, and treat if there is any problem.

Train your dog for potty and urine and keep disposible bags for potty in your home. Allow your dog to drink more water to avoid concentrated urine because concentrated urine has more smell.

Properly clean your home with detergents and sprinkle baking soda where necessary. Baking soda is the best chemical to neutralize the odor. Use pet designed vacuum cleaners to clean floor. If you have got the control over your dog smell, then appreciate yourself because you have solved one of the big dog problems.

1 Comment

  1. It worked really. I have 2 years old Black Labrador and he smells a lot. I tried these steps and now I am happy. Thank you

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