People who, fortunately, can share our life with one or more dogs, develop, without being aware, a certain tolerance to the smell of dogs, being most of the time almost priceless.
However, those who do not live with dogs or who have simply been walking in the park, breathing fresh air and then enter a home where they live with dogs, can immediately appreciate a very characteristic bad smell, the classic dog smell.
All dogs emit odor to a greater or lesser intensity, so let’s see how to eliminate the bad dog odor and how to prevent our dog from smelling a lot. We will also explain how to get the dog smell out of furniture and rugs easily.
Index of contents
- 1 Why does my dog smell bad or too strong?
- 2 How can I eliminate and / or prevent bad dog odor?
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- 2.0.1 Home remedies to neutralize bad odor
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Why does my dog smell bad or too strong?
The intensity of a dog’s odor is due to various factors such as genetics, the dog’s hygiene habits, diet, and even the level of exercise the dog performs. Some diseases also cause the dog to smell stronger than usual, or its smell is very unpleasant.
Dogs emit odors through their fur, their hair, but also their paws, ears and mouth. A yeast infection in ears or paws can lead to a very bad and unpleasant dog odor as the infection proliferates.
Tartar can cause a very bad odor in your mouth, an odor that will spread throughout the home, obviously, as dogs often pant, yawn and lick. The best way to cleaning tartar from a dog’s mouth or to prevent it, is through deer bones and antlers.
Poor personal hygiene can also be caused by an odor that is too strong or unpleasant. At general levels, bathing our dog once a month is enough, but if our dog is one of those who loves to get into puddles, mud, dirt, etc … perhaps we should bathe him more frequently.
We must know well how to bathe our dog for the results to be good, it is not enough to wet it and let it dry by itself…. It is recommended to dry it with a towel and then with the dryer until it is completely dry. Very careful not to burn him, obviously.
The feeding of a dog is a key factor in the smell, a dog fed with poor quality feed will emit a much more intense and unpleasant odor than a dog fed with natural food, with BARF for example. Even the odor of your stools will be much lower, it is really surprising what food can influence in this field.
How can I eliminate and / or prevent bad dog odor?
There are no magic tricks to eliminate dog odor forever, but we can follow these tips and greatly reduce their intensity, even disappearing. Remember that these tricks are only for healthy dogs, if your dog has a bad smell due to illness, it should be the vet who diagnoses it.
- Give your dog bones to gnaw on them, or to chew and eat them. Dogs can eat bones but not all serve, we recommend you read: Dog bones.
- Bathe your dog frequently and dry it completely, or if it is a hot summer day, take a walk with it to dry quickly in the sun. Remember to use a specific shampoo for dogs (the human one works for us) and if possible, that is neutralizing the odor.
- Properly feed your dog, if you can not dedicate time to make your own food, how in the BARF diet … At least make sure to give a good quality feed, that is adapted to your needs.
- Check their paws and ears, infections by bacteria, viruses or yeasts produce an unpleasant and intense odor. If your dog has an infection in its ears or paws, you should go to the vet to prescribe medication.
- Wash your dog’s bed, vacuuming the house very frequently, airing the house at least twice a day, etc … What amounts to a minimum of general hygiene in the home, in this way we will avoid the dog smell being impregnated on sofas, rugs and furniture.
Home remedies to neutralize bad odor
We all know the classic home air fresheners, which slowly release a pleasant fragrance. Well, we should not use them because they are normally very strong for our dogs and can irritate their olfactory system.
However, there are air fresheners that do not emit an odor, but capture the odor. These types of air fresheners usually come in the form of a gel or foam and constantly absorb odors. This type of air freshener can be an excellent option.
Baking soda is a natural product that can help us absorb the bad smell of the sofa, spreading a little on it and vacuuming it after ten or fifteen minutes. We can also use a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar to wash the sofa cover, although the vinegar smell never ends completely … so it is not so recommended.