The title says it: our dog smells like mildew! Our 15 Month old has silkier hair and has always been a more courteous drinker, but our new 3 month old is sloppy, sloppy, sloppy and has fluffy, fluffy, fluffy fur. We keep his food and water raised. We try to wipe his chin after he drinks and watch the drool, but bathing him in bathtub several times didn't work to get rid of the underlying smell so we had him professionally groomed. He did great with them and looked and smelled wonderful after they were done. However, she told me that his smell was more of a mildew smell because he's always wet in his front. She did not, however, have much advice for me. Can anyone suggest ways to prevent this problem? I plan to get a dryer (suggestions for an affordable but effective one would also be much appreciated), but that doesn't seem feasible for every time he drinks water. Aside from wiping him with the towel which doesn't completely dry him, what else can I do? Are there products I could use? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks in advance!
Mildewy Stink
- Thread starter Brita
- Start date
Jeannie
Super Moderator
The smell comes from him being wet causing bacteria to form on his warm skin. You need to dry him completely. A K9 III dryer is a great investment. There are cheaper dryers but you will be forever drying him. You can try trimming the coat under his chin and into the folds of skin. You can also spray the area with Listerine or vinegar. These are also good to spray into the coat while drying after a bath. The wet areas can become a skin issue with sores in time.
Thanks so much for the helpful tips. How frequently should I dry him with the dryer so the bacteria won't affect him? I don't want to traumatized him by doing it every time he gets a drink but I also don't want him to feel bad for the other stuff. I'm going to look into those dryers today in any case.
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When my boy Taver was a baby, he was a sloppy drinker and had a love affair with his water bowl. Keeping him dry was a losing battle so I adopted the get him completely dry before bed policy. This got rid of the smells. I also spritz him with a listerene/water mix from time to time if what ever water he's managed to find isn't "nice".
Brandie&Maggie
New member
I would dry him a couple of times a day if possible.
You can also get a drool bib to help with some of it. It will keep it off his fur. You can change it a couple of times a day if needed.
You can also get a drool bib to help with some of it. It will keep it off his fur. You can change it a couple of times a day if needed.
Drool bibs, dryer (K9III is pricey...worth it really?), vinegar or listerine spray, toweling after drinks, dry before bed. I can do this! Thanks for the wonderful tips. Two last questions: is there a dilution ratio that works best for vinegar/water solution? And, I've also heard others use a spray bottle of diluted shampoo to spray on in between baths, any reason this would be a problem and or not help with doggy smells (the normal kind, not the wet related kind)?
Brandie&Maggie
New member
K9III is absolutely worth the price.
I would not spray diluted shampoo. Your dog should not really smell bad (except when the roll in something gross, get dirty, etc). The dryer will really help with keeping the dog much cleaner. You can use it when they come in from playing, etc. It's amazing.
Darwinsnewfie@1855
New member
I previously had a Boerboel who had the same problem. No matter how well or how often I groomed him, he smelled like mildew. It reminded me of clothes that were left in the washing machine overnight. When I took him to the vet, they gave me a chlorhexidine shampoo and the smell was gone. The vet said it was his skin that smelled, not his coat. However, this was a short haired dog, so I have no idea if this shampoo is safe or effective on a Newf. Here is a link, if you want to check it out, but I would check with the vet first.
http://www.amazon.com/Chlorhexidine-Shampoo-Dogs-Cats-Horses/dp/B003LREDXE
http://www.amazon.com/Chlorhexidine-Shampoo-Dogs-Cats-Horses/dp/B003LREDXE
