My puppy is Stinky...HELP?

Question

Okay I have a shih-Tzu/poodle puppy, she is the worlds cutest puppy but she STINKS!! We usually bathe her with this oatmeal shampoo I don’t know the actual name of the product but it doesn’t seem to do the job! After we bathe her and brush her hair she still stinks! Should we switch shampoo? Or the method in which we bathe her (in a bucket) Or should we use a condition on her? She is only 12 weeks old.

Answer 1

i have been working with shih-tzu's for years now.
some dogs just have a smell but i have come across this only once while working with shih-tzu's. the dog was not taken care of properly. it's face was so matted. it's lower jaw was attached to the mats on the eyes and everytime it opened its mouth to eat, drink or even pant it would yelp in pain because the mats pulled at the eyes. you can image the rest of the body.
you can bath your dog at least once a week. thats not to much for a shih-tzu as long as you use a good moisterizing conditioner. if thats to much for your schedule then one to two times a month is fine too. even once a month is fine. it depends on you and the dog. but definitely once a month at the least.
other than that it's usually the eyes. secretions run out and get caught in the hairs. you should clean around the eyes daily. if you do this everyday you only need to use a wet cloth with no cleansers. but only if you clean everyday. if you skip days then you would be better to use a cleanser but be careful it doesn't get in the eyes.
the more the dogs nose is squished in the more often it should be cleaned.
if need be you can cut the hair away from the eyes at the bridge of the nose. if you do this it makes it easier to clean because the hairs out of the way. only do this if your sure of yourself because if the pup moves the eyes could be damaged. if your not sure you can do it yourself then bring her to a groomer.
i have noticed that females tend to need more cleaning than males do. i don't know why this is.
a good rule of thumb with long haired dogs is to brush them 'before' and after a bath. this helps to get cleansers right down to the skin.
and as uncomfortable as some people are with cleaning around genitals. this NEEDS to be done. the hairs and skin around the genitals should be washed the same as the rest of the body. the hairs NEED to be brushed other wise they get tiny little snarls and knots. so be sure to brush around all of the genitals to get the knots out. also under the legs and armpit area's.
some people get long haired dogs and only brush the top of the dog. they have hair on the WHOLE body. and it ALL should be brushed DAILY.
i hope this helps.
good luck.

Answer 2

It could be a skin condition. You don't need to spend extra money on a vet to get rid of it. There are so many products available to you at a pet store these days. Fist off, make sure your rinsing her correctly. No residue left in the coat from the shampoo, or it will cause a skin condition. Try Medi-Clean, made by Lambert Kay. Leave it on for about 10 minutes, then rinse completely. It's not too expensive. You can also try Bio-Groom Oatmeal shampoo. It has a wonderful smell to it. Leave it on for 10 minutes as well. If neither of those work, call the vet and tell him you need a shampoo called Chlorhexaderm. You can only get it at a vet, and yes, it is pretty expensive, but it works. I've had alot of success with the medi clean and bio groom. Use any of those up to twice a week. It's ok, you won't dry the skin out. As long as they are good shampoo's made for dogs, it's fine. Trust me, I've been doing this for 20 years. Follow through with a good conditioner on the hair, not necessarily to the skin just to prevent matting on your puppy. I recommend bio groom silk conditioner. Again, these products should be available to you in your local pet store. Good luck

Answer 3

You shouldn't use just any kind of shampoo or conditioner on a puppy, there's lots of things people can use that may not be good for a dog. If you go to a large pet supply store(ie: PetsMart) you will find that they carry lots of bath goodies for puppies and dogs like sprays for in between washes, which may be a better route. Do you frequently wash your dog's bedding like you do the dog, a clean dog should have a clean bed. Washing your dog too often strips their coat of natural oils that they need, hence the reason why you should use something formulated for dogs/puppies.

Answer 4

Puppies stink... that's their job! A lot of it depends on the food you're feeding her. The rest is going to be the shampoo you're using. I hope it's a shampoo for dogs or puppies and NOT human shampoo. Try a new shampoo and make sure you're getting her a good food... not Ole Roys but along the lines of eukanuba, iams, pro plan...

Answer 5

If you bathe her in a bucket and don't add fresh water you're bathing her in dirty water. Try bathing her in the tub and pouring fresh warm water on her from another bucket. You may want to change shampoos to a more 'flowery' one. The oatmeal ones don't have much smell and may not give her the fresh smell you want her to have.

Answer 6

She might have a skin condition. Your Vet should be able to recommend something for the smell. I use a tea tree oil based spray on my dog when I don't have time to bath her. Remember not to use anything on you puppy that isn't mad specially for dogs.

Answer 7

What are you feeding her? Often food that is too rich or innapropriate for her age will cause flatulence. After you bathe her does she smell right away or after she runs around for a while? Most dogs will roll in the first gross thing they find after you bathe them to "hide their scent". Walmart makes great doggy wipes that are premoistened and deoderizing.

Answer 8

check her ears and make sure the hair is not colored yellow or black dogs especially puudles if hair is not removed they get ear infections, i use baby shampoo and sray on conditioner, they also have sweet smellin puppy sprays at pet-co

Answer 9

condition her.. if that doesnt help consult the vet and they'll probably give you some type of special product to put on the puppys fur. good luck!

Answer 10

Pert Plus really works for a smelly puppy.