The Secrets to a Sweet Smelling Dog

You are walking from one room to the next trying to figure out what that smell is.. It's not the kitchen trash..It's not the dirty laundry..

You realize it's following you in every room.. What could it be? Is it YOU?You hear a sneeze, turn around and it's your dog following you.. Could it be him?

PHEWWWW!! Sure is!

You give him a bath and scrub all the filth off of him. He's as good as new!But tomorrow you realize his smell is right back to being well.. Less than desirable.What can you do? Keep reading this post!

I've had some people ask me how I keep my dog Hank from smelling like most dogs.. And though I do know what works for him and what doesn't, I usually don't go into too much detail because I don't want to feel like I'm bombarding them with loads of information that they wont remember as soon as they walk away.. So here are some tricks that I do with Hank that are geared towards coat health and smell!

DIET

It's like everything else dealing with appearance or outside health, you have to start from within. I feed Hank a biologically appropriate carnivorous diet made up of raw meat, bones and organs, along with some supplements. This diet keeps Hank's insides working at its best at all times. A dog on a poor diet will be one of those dogs that sheds constantly, has an overly oily coat, and has a constant strong odor. If you don't feel comfortable feeding your dog a PMR (Prey Model Raw) diet like I feed Hank, I would recommend at least researching it yourself to get an idea of what it entails and the real true benefits it has for not only the outside of your dog, but the inside as well. If you decide you just can't do it, the next best thing is to feed him a well balanced, holistic, grain free kibble. Grains are just fillers to dogs. Corn, Rice, Wheat, they're all not a neccesary part of their diet. And unfortunatley, every "cheap" dog kibble has fillers in it. It makes your dog full, but doesn't give him the nutriets he would need to thrive. I wont list specifics, but a really good website to see where your dog kibble stands against the rest out of a 1-5 star rating is dogfoodadvisor.com

SUPPLEMENTS

Even if you feed your dog a high quality dog kibble, or even a lower grade one, you can still give him supplements that can help his coat health. Some of these include Fish Oil, Coconut Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). I personally don't give Hank supplements of Fish Oil because he eats real raw fish as a part of his diet, and I also give him Coconut Oil and ACV a few times a week, which for him, is plenty to keep him looking (and smelling) his best! With fish oil tablets/pills, you can look up the proper dosage for him based on his weight online. Or, you can find a fish oil liquid made just for dogs at a local pet store or online. Those you just give your dog orally (by mouth in his food usually). With Coconut Oil, you can give it to your dog orally or rub some on his coat. I haven't felt the need to apply it to Hank topically, but it doesn't mean I never would. Lastly Apple Cider Vinegar you can give your dog orally or topically. You can put it in his water, in his food, and spray it on his coat. I've noticed a huge difference in Hank's itching and smell since I've started spraying him with ACV. I spray it on his coat before a bath (avoiding scratches/cuts, and eyes) and brush it through his hair. I let it sit for a few minutes, then bathe him. I then dry him off, and spray it on his coat and brush it through again. Surprisingly the vinegar smell doesn't stay on him too long like I thought, which is nice because some people wouldn't want a dog smelling like vinegar either (I do mix a little water in the spray bottle so it's not straight up ACV, but that has no benefit other than watering down the smell so that's up to your personal choice).

ROUTINE

I give Hank a bath once a week. Friday is bath day! If I skip it and the time gets closer and closer to two weeks.. I notice a dramatic difference in his shedding and his smell, even with all of the things I do! I also try to brush him every day or at least every other day. Depending on your dog you may be able to go a bit longer, or you may need to do it more than a week.. Though I really wouldn't recommend it because then you're starting to strip the coat's natural oils and it will want to overcompensate with producing more oil, and that oil is what makes your doggie smell! So don't bathe too much. Also of course make sure to rinse all the soap off. You could also find a doggie conditioner (or make one yourself!) to put on after, but if you spray him with the ACV and/or rub some Coconut Oil on his fur, he really shouldn't need it.

So that's it! Those are my little secrets to keeping Hank smelling his best. Since this was a random status and I didn't necessarily plan to write this as a blog post on Tumblr, I figured it would be a nice little "secret" Note for those of you who follow me on Facebook. It's my little way of saying "Thank YOU!" for Liking me and getting my page out there!

Like always if you have a dog related question or a topic you would like me to write about, Please contact VIA Facebook or the "Ask K9SavvyGirl" section on the Home page of the website. I would love to know what your feed back is as well!

Thank you,

K9SavvyGirl

#dog #smell #help #diy #diet #supplements #routine #k9savvygirl #advice