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Some pets have all the luck. They breeze through life with barely an unpleasant whiff. But for almost all other dogs (and some cats), there are those smelly days and weeks that leave everyone saying ‘wow’. Often with eyes watering.
And while there are the occasional excuses like rolling in something gross or eating something rancid, that ruff doggy odour usually has one common (and surprising) cause.
In technical terms, their skin microbiome is out of balance.
Translation…There’s a party happening on their skin and everyone’s invited.
You see, their skin oils are like an invisible body armour. They not only provide their coat with that shine, the oils also act as a barrier to stop dirt, allergens and bacteria from getting into the skin.
However, if that protection gets washed away by lots of swimming or by bathing in shampoos that contain detergents (like coco-glucosides or sodium laurel sulphates), then that skin dries out and the bugs move in.
The result? Those bacteria (and yeast) that were in healthy numbers, multiply out of control. Especially when it’s hot, humid or their coat gets wet. Wet dog smell then becomes the more permanent doggy odour.
So what is that smell?
Brace yourself. Those bugs actually produce gases as they multiply. So that doggy odour you’re smelling is basically bacterial flatulence. The more they smell, the more the bugs are breeding.
So what can you do?
The key is restoring some balance on that skin surface. They should still be able to avoid odours even with an adventurous lifestyle. So here are the DO’s and DON’T’s of D.O. (doggy odour)
THE DO's:
✔️ Switch to a wash that cleans and preserves that natural protective oil layer. That’s why all my Drool washes work this way.
✔️ Look out for warning signs of skin sensitivities and allergies like foot licking, a red inflamed belly and irritated ears. Allergies often make odours a lot more severe.
THE DON’T's:
❌ Avoid masking those smells with perfumes or colognes. They only stress pets who would prefer not to smell like anything at all. Perfumes and colognes often just result in more rolling in stinky stuff to hide that foreign scent.
❌ Stop using detergent based washes containing SLS or Coco-Glucoside that wash away the oils. It’s why trying to wash away that odour with a bath often makes it worse.
Follow this fresh guide and they’ll actually stay smelling sweetly for so much longer. Your nostrils will thank you for it…
