Dry shampoo?

[mrsbro]

We just got a new addition to our family the 1st of year. He's fabulous, 2-3 years old (a rescue so they are not too sure), pretty well behaved (needs obedience classes), and walks fabulously on a leash. However, he is a smidge smelly. We thought about giving him a bath but it proved to be a little too much for him - he cried and cowered away. We were thinking some dry shampoo maybe? Something that we could comb through and help his dog smell, while we acclimated him slowly.

Any suggestions? 

Oh and a prize for reading - Gavin in all his glory  Attachment Deleted

[cmeon]

He's so cute- looks very hound-y. Great that he walks well already, definitely do the obedience classes, and hopefully you can get him to a place where he can handle a bath here and there eventually. Congrats!

Not technically dry- but, we have a spray on shampoo by Pet Head that smells like Blueberry Muffins. You spray (or wipe) it on, and towel it off- pretty gentle. There are other scents of spray-on, there are wipes, and there are actual powder shampoos out there, too.

One thing that should probably help, though, is just getting him on a good diet. Shelters hardly ever have decent food, and it can make a huge change in "farminess". I had a fairly longterm foster once who came to me spelling exactly like a barn, and no number of baths fixed it. By the time she went to her new home (3 months later), she was so much better.

[mrsbro]

That is exactly what it is, a farminess smell. I will look for Pet Head.

His paperwork says he's a Great Pyr Lab mix. He's slowly realizing he's staying, he brought in the bone we gave yesterday. We thought this was huge!

[nomad100]

Another vote for better food. My 2 rescues (pit mix and boxer pointer mix), now that they are on better food (Nature's Domain Grain Free from Costco), have almost no smell. Well, unless you count the frito-y smell they get when they sleep all curled up.

And they were pretty smelly when we first got them home.

You can also try baby wipes. We used then on Cricket when we first got him since he hates baths so much.

[mrsbro]

As a newbie, I hope you don't mind me asking.

What constitutes better food? His foster had him on Wellness and we continued just to make it easier on his stomach. He had been with her about 3 - 5 days so he's been eating that less than a month. We can probably wait to see if this food helps compared to whatever he was eating before.

(sorry this is rambly)

[Deleted]

I recommend comparing dog foods at Dog Food Analysis. I wouldn't get a food that is less than 4 stars.

My dog eats Taste of the Wild and had Wellness Core in the past. Both are grain-free with high-quality ingredients. "High-quality" means real meat as the primary ingredient, not meat by-products. Also, good foods don't contain cheap fillers that dogs can't digest, such as corn and wheat. Other popular higher-quality dog foods are Fromm, Merrick, Orijen, Canidae, Nature's Domain. I would avoid the brands you can get at the supermarket, like Kibbles n bits (lol), Pedigree, Purina, Iams, Science Diet.

[cmeon]

Aww- I wondered, he looks like he has some bulk to him. Can you post a pic of him standing up? We have two Pyr/Lab brothers from an oops litter, genetically heavy on the Pyr side (mom was a 50/50 Pyr/Lab- who is now spayed, FTR; Dad was a Pyr) and they are just enormous teddy bears. We've only had dachshunds before these guys- it's quite a change.

Wellness doesn't have any truly awful foods (but, who knows what he was on before that)- you're fine sticking with that while you investigate other foods. That farm smell sure is special, though- it can take some time to make major changes with diet, hopefully you'll smell a difference soon.

[nomad100]

Jan 13, 2015 9:23:05 GMT -5 mrsbro said:

As a newbie, I hope you don't mind me asking.

What constitutes better food? His foster had him on Wellness and we continued just to make it easier on his stomach. He had been with her about 3 - 5 days so he's been eating that less than a month. We can probably wait to see if this food helps compared to whatever he was eating before.

(sorry this is rambly)

I know that the gas and funky smell took several months to completely disappear with our two.  

And a year for their coats to totally change to more soft and plushy.  Cricket, our pit mix, last winter needed a sweater on all the time and a coat for outside since his coat was so thin.  This winter, his nickname is Fuzzybutt since he has so much more fur (and I weep for spring when we will have 2 shedders in the house).