My dog smells, what to do?

Being a dog parent is not always a bed of roses, and your dog does not always smell of roses either. Every animal has its own specific odour, but in some cases there is more to it than that. Maybe your four-legged friend would benefit from a visit to the vet. From unkempt teeth to skin problems to farts, here are the most common causes of unpleasant dog odours.

The most common causes of unpleasant dog odours

1. Unhealthy teeth

The most common cause of a smelly dog is neglected teeth. As many as 80 percent of dogs older than two suffer from plaque: a sticky layer of saliva proteins, food particles, and biofilm (a mass of bacteria) on the teeth. [1]

Brushing helps, and it needs to happen often, daily if you can manage it. Skip it too long and plaque hardens into tartar, which a vet can only remove under general anaesthetic. Better to brush than to cure. Give your dog a Chewy&Cheesy chew regularly too. Pick one hard enough to actually reduce plaque, not just a high-calorie snack in disguise.

Diet plays a role here too. A 2023 crossover study in beagles found that a black soldier fly insect-protein diet, the same protein base behind IMBY's Insect-Based Vitality Dog Food, reduced the sulphur-producing bacteria behind bad breath and raised levels of Moraxella, a bacterium linked to a healthier mouth, over 50 days of feeding.[6]

2. Ear infection

Does your dog shake its head, scratch, or rub at its ears? The poor animal probably has an ear infection. That means pain for your dog and an unpleasant smell for you.

Ear infections show up more often in long-haired dogs and breeds with long, floppy ears, but a short-haired boxer can get one too. Bacteria, yeast, and ear mites are the usual culprits. [2] Your vet can identify the cause quickly with a cotton swab and get your dog back to normal. Easy does it.

3. Skin problems

Another possible cause of foul smells is inflammation between the skin and lip folds. Heat and moisture drive it, and it shows up often in breeds with extra skin, such as the English bulldog. [3]

Once the skin's natural flora gets disrupted, bacteria, fungi, yeast, and mange move in fast. Keep your dog's skin dry and support its skin flora with Sheen&Shine, a shampoo built on healthy probiotics.

A balanced diet with the right nutrients helps from the inside too. Immune&Tune is packed with vitamin B, omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA), and zinc, which keep skin healthy from within.

4. Blocked or inflamed anal glands

If your dog has ever had a problem with the anal glands, you already know the smell. Dogs with blocked or inflamed anal glands drag their bottoms across the floor and lick under their tails, which releases a sharp, unpleasant odour. [4]

Blocked or inflamed anal glands are fairly common in dogs. In most cases the vet clears it up quickly by expressing the glands. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

5. Smelly fur

You've probably heard the phrase "it smells like wet dog in here." It's not an unfair comparison. Dogs with a wet or dirty coat smell bad, plain and simple. You should wash your dog as little as possible, but after a plunge in a dirty creek, a bath earns its keep.

After a wash, most dog shampoos need about seven days for the skin to recover. That's why we built Sheen&Shine, a pH-neutral shampoo that does not strip your pet's skin. It carries only mild ingredients, no sulphates, and it's microbiome-friendly.

Keeping the environment clean helps too, with friendly micro-organisms or probiotics such as those in a pillow or fabric spray. These leave a layer of good bacteria that crowd out the bad bacteria responsible for odour, and they keep breaking down dirt for days after cleaning, so the effect lasts.

The result: odour removal that lasts, not just masks.

6. Smelly farts

If your dog passes gas often, check with your vet whether the diet is right for them. [5] Is there diarrhoea too, or vomiting? Call your vet for that as well.

So, if an unpleasant smell hangs around your four-legged friend, there could be several reasons, and not all of them are harmless. If you suspect a medical problem, call your vet. Then you can cuddle your buddy without holding your nose. Good luck.