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Stinky Border Collie Puppy


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We've had Chloe for about 6 weeks - she's 3 1/2 months old.

I grew up with dogs and I know they can be stinky.  But Chloe is my first indoor dog and she can get real stinky. Even if we give her a bath, the day after we can start smelling a stinky odor that gets worse as the week goes on. 

We usually give her a bath every 9 or 10 days. Maybe it's the doggie shampoo we use and it doesn't clean her very well?  

Each day I take her for long walks/runs that last over an hour. Maybe it's just BO from the workout?  It's in the 90s here in Utah. 

What do you think?

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Congratulations on your new pup!

I don't know about the smell. Something is definitely off. Puppies should have a 'puppy smell' which many people crave. In addition, border collies often have self-cleaning coats when they are adults and generally don't need many baths. But puppy coats are very different, generally not as sleek as adult coats. So I can see it being a little more dirty, but not to the point of smelling bad.

With regard to the exercise you are giving your pup: it is too much. Please try and break it into smaller segments throughout the day.  A pup's bones and joints are still forming and are very vulnerable. In general, I  don't recommend repetitive exercise (like running) until they are closer to a year old.

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Have the vet check her anal glands, and take in a sample of urine for an infection check. Anal gland 'juice' smells to high heaven, and urine from a pup with an infection might be smelly.

The only other possibility that I can think of is it might be something stuck between her teeth. In any case, time for the vet. Puppies and dogs generally only smell 'doggy', not sweaty.

Let us know what you find out.

Ruth & Gibbs

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Our puppy stank too! It was awful, we did a couple of baths but the smell was back the next day. He's about five months now and it's gone. I couldn't say if it was anything that we were doing that made it go away except thinking back we stopped giving him cows milk because he was quite itchy (despite being deflead). 

Now sometimes he does smelly farts, but that is a different smell totally.

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I would have the dog checked by a vet if it were my dog. Just in case. Also, your idea to try a different shampoo is a good one. I swear by the shampoos made by Double X brand. This is my favorite:

Ultimate shampoo

It looks expensive, but it isn't because you dilute it 32 to one, which ends up being a lot cheaper than the kind of shampoo you get at a pet store.

I also suggest strongly that you not run such a young puppy (or even walk) for such a long period of time. It can do damage to their growing bones and joints. Maybe break it down into two, or even three sessions per day. 

Welcome to the BC Boards. :-)

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I agree that this doesn't seem normal for a purebred border collie pup. The only pup I've ever had in my home for a while that smelled "doggy" was one I strongly suspect wasn't purebred.

That said, I agree that it could be things like some sort of infection, the food, or even too frequent bathing. Bathing strips the naturally occurring sebum from their skin and then they may go into overdrive to produce more. I'd be inclined to try a diluted apple cider vinegar bath in place of shampoo to see if it makes a difference.

Re: exercise. Agreed that long walks on sidewalk or paved roads and running with you on any surface are definitely not good ideas at this time. But it's not clear from what you wrote if that's what you're doing. If you're taking a leisurely stroll through fields or woodland and your puppy's able to control the type and amount of running she's doing, it's probably not as problematic as the other type. But it's still a lot all at one time and you'd have to be very careful to watch her for any signs of overexertion or tiredness.

And BTW, we love pictures here. ;)

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6 hours ago, Journey said:

Curious..what are you feeding her? Her food could play a part in any odors she has.

Yes. Unfortunately, if the food you're feeding is inexpensive, it's likely not very good quality. 

I heard that the best things you can add to dry kibble to make it more bioavailable are omega 3s, probiotics, and digestive enzymes. I believe it was Dr Karen Becker who I heard that from. Maybe that would help? 

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16 hours ago, GentleLake said:

I believe it's also she who says that if you can add even 20% raw meat to kibble that it'll be a huge benefit.

That is really good to hear, because I believe what people say about the benefits of raw food and am not prepared to do it 100%. It would not be hard to add 20% to the other food they are getting. I am going to start doing that. Would it be OK if it were just lean beef and occasionally something like beef heart?

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11 minutes ago, D'Elle said:

Would it be OK if it were just lean beef and occasionally something like beef heart?

I don't think at that low level it would be critical to make sure it's completely balanced, i.e. meat:bone:organs ratio. I think just fresh meat would be fine. If I can find the original mention of it and it says anything specific, I'll be sure to update.

Considering that there's now this concern about heart failure in some dogs (it seems to be more of a problem in specific breeds and border collies aren't one that I've seen mentioned) being fed grain free kibbles containing legumes or potatoes, heart of any kind would be a great addition. In fact it's one of the things recommended to add because of it's higher taurine content.

 

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19 minutes ago, GentleLake said:

Well, it's not about raw meat specifically, but Dr. Becker's FB page just posted this:

I'd say that supports it's not needing to be completely balanced to be a beneficial addition, though I'm not a big fan of anything more than a tiny amount of veggies, or nuts.

I’m glad you posted this link. We like the idea of raw but not practical for us as in the summer we are camping out a lot with inadequate washing facilities. We get a good grain free kibble and with our last dog we would always add bits of this and that onto her food. Our current vet says we shouldn’t add anything to our pup’s kibble although he doesn’t see an issue with a few carrot and cucumber sticks. I really can’t see what the issue is with throwing in a bit of raw meat or an egg etc. so I just might start to do that. He’s 4 months old now and although he doesn’t get human food scraps or treats from the table I think a bit of variety in his kibble could be a positive thing! 

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Unfortunately, vets in the US get very little nutritional education in their curriculum and what they do get is sponsored by one or 2 of the big kibble manufacturers. With all due respect (and I mean that genuinely, not snidely) to all the very fine vets out there (and here), that sure sounds like a conflict of interest to me.

The first person who told me this was a very close friend who's a veterinarian. . . . 35 years ago! She told me she refused to sell the then only brand of "prescription" dog food on the market because she'd investigated their ingredients and couldn't believe how lacking they were, not to mention that she just wan't seeing the results she should have been seeing in the animals on them. As someone who was and is careful with her own diet, limiting processed foods in preference for whole, fresh foods, she said the highly processed pet foods just didn't make a lot of sense to her. She never got completely on board with raw feeding because she didn't feel many of her clients would take the time to educate themselves sufficiently, she always supported clients who chose to feed raw and always included fresh foods in her own pets' diets.

I'm really happy that there are vets now who are publicly encouraging people -- including other vets -- to think beyond the status quo.

To bring this back to the original topic, my dogs don't smell bad, and I think it's in large part because of their fresh food diet. I was just about blown away the other day by the putrid breath of a Lab I was dog sitting. It was enough to make me not want to pet her. My own raw fed dogs' breath isn't offensive at all.

ETA: There's even an international Raw Feeding Veterinary Society now. Maybe things will finally begin to change.

Edited by GentleLake
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3 hours ago, GentleLake said:

....... being fed grain free kibbles containing legumes or potatoes, heart of any kind would be a great addition. In fact it's one of the things recommended to add because of it's higher taurine content.

 

I read that organ meats and sardines can be used to supplement for taurine deficiency.

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On 8/12/2018 at 1:05 AM, jami74 said:

Our puppy stank too! It was awful, we did a couple of baths but the smell was back the next day. He's about five months now and it's gone. I couldn't say if it was anything that we were doing that made it go away except thinking back we stopped giving him cows milk because he was quite itchy (despite being deflead). 

Now sometimes he does smelly farts, but that is a different smell totally.

That's good to know.  Maybe she'll out grow it.  Thanks.

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On 8/12/2018 at 8:32 AM, D'Elle said:

I would have the dog checked by a vet if it were my dog. Just in case. Also, your idea to try a different shampoo is a good one. I swear by the shampoos made by Double X brand. This is my favorite:

Ultimate shampoo

It looks expensive, but it isn't because you dilute it 32 to one, which ends up being a lot cheaper than the kind of shampoo you get at a pet store.

I also suggest strongly that you not run such a young puppy (or even walk) for such a long period of time. It can do damage to their growing bones and joints. Maybe break it down into two, or even three sessions per day. 

Welcome to the BC Boards. :-)

Just took your advice and purchased the shampoo you recommended.  I hope it makes a difference.  

Actually, my walk with our pup consists of walking over to a local high school track field.  The walk over is about 3/4 of a mile and then when I get to the track I take her off leash while I walk/run around the track several times.  While I'm doing that, she races and romps around the grassy field chasing low flying birds then we head back home the long way.  It takes about an hour.

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On 8/12/2018 at 10:19 AM, GentleLake said:

I agree that this doesn't seem normal for a purebred border collie pup. The only pup I've ever had in my home for a while that smelled "doggy" was one I strongly suspect wasn't purebred.

That said, I agree that it could be things like some sort of infection, the food, or even too frequent bathing. Bathing strips the naturally occurring sebum from their skin and then they may go into overdrive to produce more. I'd be inclined to try a diluted apple cider vinegar bath in place of shampoo to see if it makes a difference.

Re: exercise. Agreed that long walks on sidewalk or paved roads and running with you on any surface are definitely not good ideas at this time. But it's not clear from what you wrote if that's what you're doing. If you're taking a leisurely stroll through fields or woodland and your puppy's able to control the type and amount of running she's doing, it's probably not as problematic as the other type. But it's still a lot all at one time and you'd have to be very careful to watch her for any signs of overexertion or tiredness.

And BTW, we love pictures here. ;)

She's a purebred Border Collie.  I have the papers and pedigree and saw her parents.  I'll try the apple cider vinegar bath.  How much should I dilute it?

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