Eau de Border Collie?

[powerfulgazelle]

Hi, all....

 

Keep in mind that Sollers is a mix BC/?Lab. He looks like 100% BC, except someone stuck Lab ears on his head.

 

Sollers develops an, um, aroma, about 6 days post-bath. Not bad, necessarily, just very, very, very doggy. Our dearly departed guy didn't get stinky unless it had been months since a bath, +/- rolling in something icky outdoors. And he really only got the full tub and sanitary trim about 3x/year....he got brushed and feet wiped otherwise.

 

The only dogs I have ever known to get doggystinky so quick are hounds...with that lovely Eau de Oily Hounddog Coat smell. This is a bit different, but just as strong.

 

Do purebred BC's get stinky? Could it be food choice? We recently did a gradual change from Iams to Royal Canin (better), while we try to get to the one chain in town that sells Canidae....

 

It seems a bit excessive to bath him every other week....just wondering if the smell is usual.

[Liz P]

I've never known a purebred BC that smelled doggy unless it had been left damp for many days in a row (went swimming in a lake day after day but was not hosed off and dried). I know may who stink after rolling in something or wading through icky mud. That is one reason I like BCs, no doggy odor.

 

Did you check his collar? I prefer leather because I have found that they don't retain dog odor the way nylon collars do.

[BustopherJones]

In my limited experience with only one BC, I have never noted an odor issue. Annie gets a bath when her fur starts getting matted from being dirty, but odor has never been an issue. She does go to the groomer's about once every 8 weeks or so, but more often for a simple trim that for the bath. Annie is on IVD Intestinal HE food, so perhaps her diet plays a role.

[MrSnappy]

My dogs get bathed once a year IF I'm in the mood. They swim daily all summer long. They do not smell doggie.

 

When I get in a cheap-kibble-fed foster dog I can smell the doggie coming off it. It definitely can play a roll. And labs often have an odour, IME.

 

Check the collar, check the ears ... and bathe less. Every time you bathe a dog with shampoo you strip the natural oils out of the coat, and the body works hard at putting them back. Maybe too hard.

 

RDM

[Liz P]

When I get in a cheap-kibble-fed foster dog I can smell the doggie coming off it. It definitely can play a roll. And labs often have an odour, IME.

 

Good point. I have been feeding grain free for a few years. I got a free bag of Eagle Power Pack and mixed it in with the regular food and my dogs suddenly had foul breath. Went away when the EP was gone.

[silhouettestable]

No odour from Lightning, my BC/lab, or any of the others except occasionally from Noah, my very very rough coated collie. His undercoat grows so thick you can hardly part it to find his skin. If he spends too much time laying outside when it's snowing or raining his back doesn't dry well and then he gets smelly. Other than that no odours. I don't bath them unless necessary (if they get really dirty or roll in something smelly), but in the summer some of them like to play in a kiddie pool or swim in a nearby river. Also, one likes to jump into the horses trough daily.

[PSmitty]

My border collie and my bc mix don't have a doggy smell to them. My lab mix will occasionally smell like she needs a bath. Usually that's the only time the boys get a bath, when she needs it! Guilt by association...

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I think in the 3 years I have had Daisy, I've bathed her twice. Once when we got her, she smelled like a barn(and not a clean barn), and once she had the runs in her kennel.

 

I think my dog actually smells really good! I must be weird! Her fur tends to retain the smell of the last person that played with her, so she usually smells like me or my BF. Could be the food...I don't ever remember my yellow lab smelling, unless she found some fish remains, but of course EVERY dog just has to give it a good roll!!

[quicksilver]

Could it possibly be something needing checking like anal glands?

[Lewie'sMom]

I've never owned a dog that smelled really bad. Sure, some had a little more "musky" scent than others, but nothing I found offensive. My late mother, however, once owned a Springer Spaniel who was just a sweet as could be but that dog was !staanky! even after a bath.

 

I supposed dogs are like people; we all have our own personal scent. Some good, some bad, depending on your personal preference.

[Guest SweetJordan]

I have a BC and a lab. Neither of them smell. And both of them get dirty quite frequently and usually only get rinsed/wiped off.

[Redbirdie]

My mixed breed dogs, one a hound mix, used to have a smell before I threw out the kibble and started feeding raw. Now they have an indescribably nice smell. It is so unique I can't figure out what it is.

 

The foster dogs had bad breath when I picked them up a week ago. Now they don't. Their fur smelled dusty and that hasn't changed yet.

 

Robin

[Samantha J]

and bathe less. Every time you bathe a dog with shampoo you strip the natural oils out of the coat, and the body works hard at putting them back. Maybe too hard.

 

RDM

 

 

Totally agree with this in Holly's case. In fact her coat feels horrible when she has had a bath. I have not given her one now since last summer, i actually can't remember when, perhaps it was nearly a year ago. Her coat is really good without baths and does not smell. She would love to be able to go in the sea everyday but it is an hour or so away from us and has been way to cold to go lately. However when we go on holiday she is always in sea and her coat is at its best then. I often wonder if the sea salt is good for them as she never has a bath or wash after the sea and it is always looks really healthy after.

 

I agree about the anal gland, that is the only time Holly ever has a doggie odour. Unless she has been with my mum, then it is a sweet perfume odour

[theshine]

Neither my bc nor my shelties stink. The bc smelled when I first got him, like the shelter he was in, but not anymore. My previous dog, a spaniel mixed with maybe bc, did have a funk even a few days after a bath. At the time though I was feeding kibbles and bits and I now suspect it was diet related, although I've heard of spaniels smelling before.

[ZoZo]

My two BCs always smell pretty good and their breath is fairly pleasant too. Somebody on the board once mentioned that their dog smelled like sandalwood on a spot between and above the eyes and I've noticed mine also have that same smell there.

[mbc1963]

No offense to lab owners... but I've run into some labs have a "musky" odor. Kind of a sick-sweet, greasy smell. (After I pat them, I have to wash my hands, because even my hands smell!) I also notice it VERY strongly on my brother's springer spaniel and other spaniely types. And on a lot of the golden retrievers I see out walking.

I've also felt kind of an oily residue on my hands after patting certain dogs with that same smell.

 

I've always assumed this was kind of breed-specific, since I always notice it in spaniels, and never on my sister's Eskie or on my BC. (He gets kind of a stinky dog smell from time to time, but not that musk.)

 

I do know that anal glands can cause a stink, too!

 

Mary

[Anda]

Mine doesn't smell. Neither does he get washed unless he's covered in mud and there's no lake for him to rinse in.

 

But as other suggested, check the collar. Mine had a nylon colar he kept on most of the time, and with each trip to the lake, that collar would get worse and worse smelling. I tried washing it, but it still kept a nasty aroma. I finally got a new collar and problem was solved

[Bo Peep]

My car smells like dog alot lately. I just chalk it up to playing in the snow (wet dog syndrome) house smells fine. I bet it's the weather.

[Samantha J]

(wet dog syndrome)

 

 

Oh yeah i forgot Holly does smell of damp dog when she gets wet, when we go out and she gets wet from the rain then in the car on the way home after i get a damp doggie smell. Once she is home and dries off though the smell goes off completely and the car smell goes too. It is not a very strong smell though.

 

I agree about some breeds smelling which you notice more when you give them a fuss. I find it even more so with older dogs. Maybe there it is something to do with different breeds and different smells. I don't see an awful lot but i see a few BC's around to fuss and i have not noticed a smell come from any of them.

[Tranquilis]

At the farm, we sometimes have as many as 25 collies in one place. No stink. The sheep smell worse, frankly. And they don't smell bad, either.

[Shetlander]

I haven't noticed doggy odor in the BC's I know. I had a hound mix who might have had some lab in him and he had a musty smell. But he didn't reek. I would wonder about some sort of health issue, to be quite honest. It could be diet related or something else going on. I was just reading about skin problems caused by thyroid or other illness and how the dog can have a very strong odor.

 

Not that this is relevant, but my first Lhasa smelled faintly of sandalwood in his old age.

[urge to herd]

Shoshone has a very strong doggy odor, and a greasy coat. She has allergic seborrhea - that causes the oily coat and the smell.

 

In her case, I've done everything short of have her food blessed by the Pope. We did raw, we did home made, we did a vegetarian allergy diet, which interestingly enough made her coat really healthy, but gave her really soft stools. We've added fish oil and just a ton of stuff. A few monthe ago, I cleaned out my linen closet and found a grocery sack full of stuff that I'd bought for Shonie, none of it made any difference.

 

Samantha gets a sort of mild doggy odor, and gets a bit itchy, so she gets a bath maybe every couple months. If I had a place for her to swim, I probably wouldn't bathe her at all.

 

Buzz has the most wonderful fresh smelling coat. He hasn't been bathed in at least 3 years and his coat is soft, glossy, and abundant. His breath is pretty good, too.

 

They all eat the same thing, California Natural. It really depends on the dog.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[powerfulgazelle]

Thank you, all!

 

Sollers' smell isn't "funky" or bad....just very, very doggy...closest thing I can compare it to is "houndy", like my mother's Bionic Dachshund smells if it has been more than a half a day since his last bath. His coat is not particularly oily either... (And, yes, to those who mentioned oily Labs-which-after-petting-one-must-wash-hands, I know what you mean...it is not like that.)

 

I'll see what the food change does...

 

Oh, and BTW, Sollers has been getting biweekly baths, as we are still trying to get the Shelter Yellow color off his white parts. And, my bottle of White on White just arrived this week...thank you for the suggestion!

[SincereArtisan]

Labs have a bad tendency to get yeasty ear infections, which smell bad. Sometimes they can get yeasty skin infections, which stink bad too. Check his skin for any darkish looking, greasy dander...which is so much harder to find on a black dog, LoL. Clean his ears, once-twice a week. And feed good food, no nasty iams, kibbles n bits junk.

 

Rune has some allergy issues. She has to be bathed roughly once a week or so with a special shampoo, special diet, and allergy fish-oil capsules..

[Guest SweetJordan]

Thank you, all!

 

Sollers' smell isn't "funky" or bad....just very, very doggy...closest thing I can compare it to is "houndy", like my mother's Bionic Dachshund smells if it has been more than a half a day since his last bath. His coat is not particularly oily either... (And, yes, to those who mentioned oily Labs-which-after-petting-one-must-wash-hands, I know what you mean...it is not like that.)

 

I'll see what the food change does...

 

Oh, and BTW, Sollers has been getting biweekly baths, as we are still trying to get the Shelter Yellow color off his white parts. And, my bottle of White on White just arrived this week...thank you for the suggestion!

My mom's Dachshund stinks, and she eats a raw diet. There is nothing wrong w/ her healthwise it's just the way she smells. And when she heats up from laying under a blanket or something she smells even more. Though I admit her stink doesn't really bother me, and it doesn't seem to bother anyone else as everyone picks her up.

 

I think the oily feeling has much more to do w/ what you fed them rather than breed. I've known many people and friends who have had dogs w/ coats like that(where you had to wash your hands afterwards) and none of these dogs eat/ate a good diet w/ the exception of my brother's dog but his dog eats kibble rather than raw. So perhaps if he ate raw his coat wouldn't be like that, but who knows. I wouldn't be able to stand it if my lab's coat was like that esp. since he's always attached to me and sleeps in my bed. My lab/beagle/BC didn't have an oily, greasy coat either. She sleep up aganist me everynight. I don't think I could have done it if she had a coat like that.