Dude

HI, This is my first time using this site and I hope someone can help! I have a 2 year old basset called Dude. He is a great dog (arent they all). He is brilliant with the kids, is really chilled out and has all the traits of this great breed. But he has a really bad smell all the time which is only getting worse and it is now at the point where he cant be in the house that much due to the over powering smell. We have tried everything over the last year. Washing, Grooming, Anal Glands expressed, Ears cleaned etc etc. The smell is a real musty, stale smell (like old socks & gone off eggs). The smell is very overpowering for us and visitors nearly get sick when they smell it. My vet and groomer dont know what else it could be. I dont know what else to do at this point. He is such a great dog but is not getting the love and attention he deserves. There must be other bassett owners who have experience to this. Please advise and any help or comments would be greatly appreciated by Dude and the family

jaleely

Sounds like he has a yeast infection on his skin. I would ask a vet, but I had a rescue dog once that had this and the solutions were,live with it (BLAH!) shave them and apply a vet approved medication to the skin until well, or daily baths with olive oil soap...it could just be his own skin oil glands producing too much oil, in which case washing him and letting his skin be dry would make it worse. You can also apply oatmeal lotions to his skin, under the fur.
Also, you could try changing his diet. Do mostly protein based foods (no bi-products or corn and gluten etc.), and even include parsley flaks in his food.

Maybe one of these will help!! Good luck! poor little guy!

Vik12

Please keep us updated on this OP as we want to know Dude is ok and to have a solution in case somebody has this problem. Thanks. I have fed my basset high quality food her whole life and unless it is just me, but I can put my nose right into her fur and not really smell anything, although I know bassets are known for their musky smell.

Go to a better vet if his/her best answer is I dont know.

christie

Dear Dude's parents,

I am not quite sure what his smell could be from but why not try a tomato juice bath like they do when animals get sprayed by skunks? I am not sure if this will help but maybe it will lessen the smell? Typically basset's have oily skin and that can start smelling if they havent had a bath....so I dont think that would be it? Typically they smell from bad ears or a bad tooth...

mikiesgirl

Have you had his teeth checked out? Our boy Chuck who passed away in July had the worst smell during the last year of his life. At first I thought it was due to bad breath, however, no matter how many times I brush his teeth a day, the smell just would not go away. It smelt like a dead animal. We took him to the vet, and it turned out that he has two rotten teeth, and the condition was so bad that part of the bones that were in the sinus area were rotted away as well. The vet removed the teeth, and even after multiple surgeries, the gum tissue around those teeth would not heal, and thus leaving two holes which packed in food and hair all the time. We had to use saline solution once a week to flush out those holes; otherwise we would end up with dead animal smell in the house. Chuck's condition was due to the negligence of the first vet that we went to, who didn't find the problem, and therefore, delayed treatment for months. Also Chuck was a senior boy with deteriorating health and that was the main reason that his gum would not heal after surgeries. But once we have the bad teeth removed, and keep the holes flushed out, the bad smell went away.

Mikey T

Anyone that actual had a dog sprayed by a skunk knows tomato juice is vertually useless. The only think that has even a remote chance a reducing the odor is a strong detergent like dawn dishwashing liquid mixed 50/50 with a strong oxider that is dog safe. (bleach not being safe) like hydrogen peroxide.


Don't discount the posibility of lip fold pyderma and/or the odor eminating from the mouth.


Does the dog have dandruff? Sheborrhea is more common in the breed than generallym known. It can only be controlled not cured with antisheborreahic shampoos like selsun blue ( only the one the contain selinium oxide) left on for a minimium of 15 minutes an d bathed at least once a week. Some time a more powerful anti-seborrhic shampoo containing coal tar is need for control. The fortunate thing is most of the anti sheborrhic shampoos are helpful in controling yeast as well.