What to do if your dog has body odor

Author portrait of Sarah Johnson

Sarah Johnson

Healthcare Technology Correspondent

What to do if your dog has body odor

Solutions to dog body odor:

1. Bath regularly. Dogs that have not been bathed for too long will develop severe body odor. Generally, you can take a bath once a week to ten days in summer, and once every two weeks in winter. You can also use a dog-specific deodorizing bath.

2. Pay attention to cleaning your mouth. Poor oral hygiene, oral inflammation, and dental calculus in dogs can all lead to bad breath in dogs. Owners can brush their dogs' teeth regularly, remove dental calculus, and give their dogs mouthwash.

3. Squeeze the anal glands regularly. There are dog anal glands near the dog’s anus, which need to be cleaned regularly. The secretions in the anal glands have a very pungent smell. If not cleaned in time, they may overflow or become inflamed at any time, which will cause the dog's body to smell fishy.

4. Adjust the dog’s diet. If the dog eats too much meat, the feces will be very smelly, or the dog food that is too dry will cause constipation and bad breath. Therefore, owners should plan the dog's diet reasonably, allow the dog to properly supplement some water and vitamins, and feed some probiotics to regulate the gastrointestinal tract.

5. Clean your ears regularly. Because a dog’s ears are covered with a lot of down and have poor ventilation, it is easy for them to harbor dirt and even get ear mites. It will cause the dog's ears to smell bad, which will in turn cause the dog's body odor. The owner should keep the dog's ears clean, usually once a week.