Why do Labs smell so......
My partner has a Lab. He's not the best dog owner, he didn't choose to have dogs but the ex wife has dumped them on him (she didn't even discuss dogs with him, just bought 2 randomly) and is now living where she can't have dogs. The dogs are left while he works for 8 hours and have no proper set food/ walk routine. They are barely house trained. I was at his house babysitting at the weekend and woke up in the morning to find... you can guess.. Lab toilets in the house. Now, I know poop is stinky, but this poop ACTUALLY made me gag. Something about the smell just got to me, seriously, I could barely clear it up. I've never, in my whole LIFE smelled anything that made me gag persistently like that. Ru's poop stinks, don't get me wrong, but not like THIS  Here's the thing though, the smell of that dog is SO bad, even after a bath, that it makes me feel sick just being in his house. I have to wash all my clothes when I get home because they stink of this dog, no I mean it.. REALLY stink. It's affecting my relationship because I'm mad that he won't pay to take him to the vet or for any kind of doggy deodorant (which I think would barely make a difference) I could walk the dogs myself but I can't bear to be that close to the Lab. Is it just me? He has some hair missing & is always scratching (the dog, not the partner..) so could it be a medical thing? I have always said the smell of Labs puts me right off them... now I'm dealing with a nightmare situation!!!! What should I do? (Apart from dump the boyfriend) |
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| Hi Cassie, is it an old dog? I know old dogs do whiff a bit. summer has whiffy days, her feet mostly, but I know my sister in law has a black lab and that used to smell terribly, it was sort of on your hands and on your clothes. Last time we went though it wasn't noticeable. The dog had lost a lot of weight and had changed food. |
One of the "big" boss' labs, lab has since passed on, used to stay at the office, we were sort of the unofficial doggy day care I guess.  I gather he stunk too because one day I came across several spray cans of doggy deodorants left over in a desk drawer  And one of my co-workers told me she used to take him to one of those self-wash places and bathe him when things got really bad. He was apparently very fond of water and used to find ponds and ditches to frequent in his free time, which is what she attributed his supreme stinkiness to. He would also shed all over the place (he was older by the time I met him, sweet dog, and no longer a regular visitor) I always thought whatever they were feeding him contributed. He was housebroken, thank Dog, so I never experienced that side of things. Maybe suggest a food change just to see if that would help? And politely tell him you're not visiting his place again until a serious effort has been made at housebreaking?  Perhaps offer to help him come up with a plan to facilitate this? Kristine |
I cannot speak for all labs but when I had my two they did not stink...well if they found something wonderful to roll in  Maybe this dog has a skin infection?? maybe a dietary change?? The dogs deserve better. Dogs , especially labrador retrievers, need exercise and obedience. I love the breed but they can be the most unruley, butt ,tucking ,slobbering machines around (I love the latter but like labs that are somewhat obedient) Labs mature slow or are just puppies at heart. I would try to get him to have a vet visit. and keep us posted I am curious now  |
| I don't think I've ever met a stinky lab. I did have neighbors once who owned one and they had NO idea what they were getting into with the huge hyper not trained not walked lived in their garage! dog that he became. it was so sad. anyway..... I think he should return the dogs to the EX who bought them and let her figure out what to do with HER dogs. I'm sure she's not paying him dog support, so unless it's in writing that they are his.... I would give them back! jmho  |
| Years ago when we got our first basset, we got him from an older gentleman who was no longer able to keep his dogs. He stunk. I took him to the vet and they said he smelled like dog, well he didn't. I'd bathe him and as much as I wanted him I couldn't stand to be near him so back we went. They finally listened to me and took a skin sample, he had mange. Several baths with creosote and he finally did smell like a dog. I would look into something like that also along with the food and environment. |
| yes, the missing hair is a possible giveaway to skin problems and possible odor problems. a vet visit is in order to start there. |
| Yeah, doggies can stink..........I pray mine are not offensive to others. Pyroderma is a bacterial infection of the derma-skin. Yeast infections - ears, skin, etc Seborrhea-excessively oily skin due to metabolic problems Dental problems. I remember a terrier......big guys like Brick...?? who stunk up the whole house rather like the lab above. I cringed when I walked into their house. And yeah, some foods make the guys stink. I don't know if the dog has an allergy to the food or what.....but sometimes changing the food really helps. Let's not forget our favorite topic..........anal glands |
| There must be something a bit wrong with them. Food issues is what I would say 1st with the poop smelling issue. Some foods just make nasty poop. And I'm guessing they are stressed too - that would easily explain the uncontrolled and smellier than normal poop. I have found out a lot about varied poop smells, because I rotate foods....and some foods have gone on the "do not use" list based on the poop odor! The dogs themselves can smell from food - do you know what they eat? Is it a good brand? Or maybe it just doesn't agree with these particular dogs. Sounds like they have skin issues too. That will make a bad smell. We always have a lab - for the last 20 years we've had at least one. They don't smell any worse than any other breed of dog in the same situation. Now the hounds - that's a whole different issue....bassets have a smell if not bathed often (oily coat)...and many have skin issues too - not a good combo  In fact 2 senior bassets are on my list tonight! Chewie and Riley got done yesterday.... |
I have a few friends with labs and while they definitely don't smell as sweet at my Oscar  , they certainly don't reek. Sounds like a visit to the vet is in order, especially if they are scratching. Could be allergies causing yeast issues, or a bacterial infection. Either way, time to let the doc have a look.Laurie and Oscar |
| Would LOVE to send the dogs to the ex, but his 11 year old daughter would be heartbroken. I've BEGGED him to get rid of them, I think Alfie the Lab is stressed by Millie the Lhasa Apso. Then there is the issue that he has NOBODY to babysit the dogs (or his daughter- that's another huge issue) while we go out for the day. Everyone who did the babysitting was on his wife's family. Now even the ex wife won't take the daughter for a few hours- there is NO chance of her taking the dogs, she said she would pop in to feed them every day while we had a week away last month (no walks though), but it was obvious she had just tipped all the food out & left a few days of water. I would have cried if the smell wasn't making me sick. I digress.. So the itching has got worse and there is more hair missing. This must be mange. What can I do? I had to quit my job because someone assaulted me at work (another story) so I don't have the money to take him to the vets myself. I think I'm going to ask for this as my Christmas present from my partner  I have a friend who's dog had bad skin & he found a cream to use that was really good. Is there anything the vet can give him for Mange? Anything I can do? Oh, and can Ru catch it through me somehow?! The Lhasa Apso seems fine, although Ru doesn't come into contact with his dogs, I'm really worried. |
| Well I just called my partner and he was just putting Alfie in the bath, he's bleached all the floors and tackling the carpet on the stairs. He says he's been to the vet about it before, and got fed up with trying loads of different things but nothing worked. The vet says the other dog would have it too if it was mange, so it's just a case of figuring out what the [allergy?] is. I'll ask him about changing food. I reckon he's allergic to the Lhasa Apso I remember my partner asking me what could be causing Alfie to itch months & months ago, I will get him to try the amazing cream that my friend used for his doggy. I asked my partner to get me the cream for Alfie as my Christmas present, I'm going to bug him every day until he buys it. Then when I feel well enough, I'm going to help around his house with the cleaning. It's a shame he lives too far away, I could take his dogs out every day. |
| I have had several labs and lab mixes and yes they do reek if they are not maintained. First take him to the vet or groomers and have his anal glands cleaned. If he hasn't rubbed his butt in the grass or carpet they may be full. Also try a plainer diet as rich food (think puppy food ingredients) will make them stink. It's like eating burritos constantly for a lab. A chicken and rice based dog food will help this. Good Luck! |
| Maybe, it has something wrong with it? After having my sheepie, compared to her all other dogs stink. Even when she is "stinky" she isn't dog smell stinky. She almost smells mildly puppy-ish. Our wolf hybrid though, man can he get dog stinky. I HATE IT. I also hate the shedding but thats a completely different topic. |
| Seems like any dog who was a coat that's geared for the water stinks a bit more than non-water breeds. I think it's the oils in their coat. Retrievers, hounds, among others, all seem to smell a bit worse than non-water dogs. That said, this dog sounded like it had a medical issue. And being that this thread is 3 years old, I don't think we'll ever find out. |
CamVal1 wrote: And being that this thread is 3 years old, I don't think we'll ever find out. Resurrecting old threads seems to happen a lot for some reason? There have been several that I've started to follow and realize that they are 3,4, or more years old. |
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