[shermans mom]

I have 2 dogs. Sherman is a 9 month old Basset and Greenlee is my Collie who will be 2 soon. Sherman has very smelly feet no matter what I do his feet stink. Once I give him a bath after a couple of days his feet start smelling bad. I have tried wipes, and sprays but nothing seems to work. I am not sure what to do. Greenlee does not have this problem yet they play in the same place and eat the same food. His smell is so bad that my entire house stinks. I need help!! My husband wants me to get rid of him not just because he smells.
He has a list of issues. He chews on our deck. He has been eating the wood right off the deck. I have given him toys and bones but they do not last long with him. If the toys have filling he tears them up, if there are not sqeaks in the toy he really won't play with them. He seems to be very destructive.
He will not mind no matter what. I know they are hard headed but he is out of control. He potties in my house right after he had been outside. he is an out of control basset. I love this little guy. I adopted him last september from Paws he came from a breeder they could not sell him and dropped him off there. Any help would be greatly appreciated i really need some right now...
Thank You!!!

 

[Soundtrack]

He sounds like a normal Basset puppy to me.
Bassets often have a "houndy odor". There is a term among basset lovers - "Frito Feet" as the smell is often described as like a corn chip. Sometimes switching to a corn-free food will help.
Do not leave him unattended on the deck. The only way to stop the chewing is to catch him before he starts and redirect him.
Since you KNOW he is going to pee when you bring him in, you need to either supervise him (which you should be doing anyway at all times while he's loose until he if fully reliable), ot he should be in his crate where he can't get into any trouble.
He probably needs more exercise. Putting him in the yard is NOT exercise, I mean taking him out. Obedience classes would also be beneficial. Bassets are intelligent animals (and a hunting breed)and need their minds and bodies occupied.

 

[vonny01]

He sounds like a typical teenage hooligan

Diet can make a difference to behaviour and the smell.
Try an additive and wheat free diet on him.
Also lots of exercise and activities.
Clicker training is good and will exercise his brain as well.
Re the House training go back to basics and praise him when he goes in the correct place.

Good Luck

 

[Mr. Woofus]

Once again my favorite line "We are talking about a basset....right?? Nothing to see here"
Typical puppy behavior, just start training him. Relate it to a kid. If you don't give them a direction in life they'll do the same thing.

 

[Fledge]

Agreed with all the other posts, sounds just like our daisy at 9 months. She chewed a hole in our drywall behind the garbage can cause there was an old piece of cable. She chewed our deck and would pee in the house right after peeing outside. For the chewing we used a firm "NO" with a scowl and when she stopped we praised and presented a treat. The next day we brought her outside on the deck and presented her with a Nylabone and that was the end of the deck chewing. Housebreaking was tougher puppy pads by the door and bringing her out hourly and a ton of praise. The odor is normal make sure to clean between those toes and we occasionally we will still wipe her down with a puppy wipe between baths. Hope this helped. Sounds like normal basset behavior just remember patience and diligence they are a stubborn breed. Your husband if a dog person will grow to love the little guy!

 

[CatherineM]

We have an 8 month old, and everything in our house is in storage bins or above 6 feet tall. Those adorable faces come with baggage.

 

[bubbad]

It sounds like no one has ever taught him how to behave,what is acceptable and what isn't,usually taught at a younger age than he is now. The problems are regular things bassets will get into if not supervised.Don't leave him alone.You need to learn how to deal with himon his level.Soundtrack said it Obedience school.

 

[CatherineM]

We got Gandy when he was 6 months old, and he was way behind on training. We'd like to go to obedience with him, but we need to conquer the car sickness issue first.

 

[klm42005]

I have an 8 month old baby bassett also...everyone here is right on target...Woody did go to obediance classes and they helped alot....but he is still not perfect...the chewing issue is always an issue at that age....trust me I have gone thru lots of flipflops and aqua shoes this summer...he did try to chew on wood stuff too (tables, moldings benches) one thing that really did help is a large knuckle bone...keeps him entertained for hours...he even carries it around (which is hilarious since it is so big for him) and try to bury it in the couch behind the throw pillows (had to chuckle when he "nosed" it right over the arm rest and onto the floor).

Good luck and one bit of advise, they are worth the time that you put into them.... I wouldn't trade Woody Hayes for anything in this world.

 

[CatherineM]

Mine just dug one of those canvas folding chairs out from under our bed, drug it all the way into the living room, and unzipped the case. Then he drug the chair out of the bag and proceeded to chew on the aluminum legs. He is getting very good at zippers. He jumped up when we got home today and tried to undo my husband's fly. They can be a little perverted at times. Of course that wasn't as bad as the time he stuck his whole head up under the skirt of a nun. First time I've blushed in years.

 

[Hound Dad]

Check with your Vet

Frito Feet are common in breeds with big paws like bassets, it makes them very prone to yeast infections between their toes and other types of fungus and baterical infections which cause bad smells. One very common yeast and cause of frito feet in Basset Hound's is Malassezia it can occur in their feet and their ears which can cause a bad smell in both. Because Malasseziacan and will be present in most healthy dogs as well, there may be some doubt as to whether or not it is the cause of the smell. You should ask your vet to have a look and let you know. Fundamentally, it is usually very easy to treat with shampoos, etc.

The other problems sound like standard basset puppy behaviour, it sounds like it is back to puppy basics.

 

[Boomer's Mom]

Of course that wasn't as bad as the time he stuck his whole head up under the skirt of a nun. First time I've blushed in years.

Oh my...

What was the nun's reaction?

 

[CatherineM]

Oh my...

What was the nun's reaction?

She was unshaken. When he stuck his head down into her lunch bag, she got a bit more flustered saying she should know better than to put food down in front of a hound.

 

[cjdaisy]

Everybody is right on target...My Daisy Mae was horrible to potty train. I will take responsibility on my part and say that I was not training her correctly. I discovered the wonderful world of creat training, so I actually took a long weekend, armed myself with a lot of potty training books, an extra large crate, and by Monday I had her trained. I haven't had an issue since. *knocking on wood* Now, for chewing I had to (and sometimes still have to) redirect her to what is appropriate for her to chew on. In the very begining, after I firmly told her no, I actually had to physcially move her mouth/head from what she was chewing on, and then redirect her. If I didn't do that then she would just look at me while her mouth was just "resting" on the object she was destroying. I have to exercise Daisy daily. If I don't then it will be a very long evening. Bassets do have a particular odor that is specific to their breed. Diet, grooming, and exercising help their coat/smell a lot. It does get better and they are so worth it. I could not imagine my life without my little girl.

 

[JerseyGirlsMom]

Stinky feet or even stinky tears come from a yeast infection within the body due to eating a lot of grains in their dog food. You can 'google' yeast symptoms in dogs or however you want to search for it. They have lots of things you can give dogs with yeast but they recommend taking the dog off of any food that have glutein or grains in it and also corn. Hope this helps!

 

[bassetmom26003]

Mine just dug one of those canvas folding chairs out from under our bed, drug it all the way into the living room, and unzipped the case. Then he drug the chair out of the bag and proceeded to chew on the aluminum legs. He is getting very good at zippers. He jumped up when we got home today and tried to undo my husband's fly. They can be a little perverted at times. Of course that wasn't as bad as the time he stuck his whole head up under the skirt of a nun. First time I've blushed in years.

LOL!!!! You are right those adorable faces come with baggage!

 

[Mikey T]

There is a term among basset lovers - "Frito Feet" as the smell is often described as like a corn chip.

IMHO there is a difference between typical hound odor and that which is often caused by a low level yeast infection. The feet and other skin folds can harbor yeast and basset are prone as well to allergies and a skin condition know a seborrhea that is typical noted for oily coat with flaky dandruff though there is a dry from where the coat is dry and brittle with dandruff. Allergies and seborrhea are often accompainied by secondary yeast infection.


Control with anti fungal/ or anti-seborrhic shampoos can help this frequent bathing often needs to be once a week or more frequent and requres the shampoo remain in contact with the skin at least 15 minute. A shampoo need to be rinsied exceedingly well then rinsed again for the ridual not to cause additional problems.

Inbetween bath petwipes can help as well especial if they are antimicrobial like malacetic wipes from derma pet but you can you own solution as well using alcohol and distilled white vinegar , other have had good luck with listerine.

Antifungal powders if the dog does not lick its feet can help as well. If the dog is a foot licker it is even a stronger indication of an underlying fungal/yeast infection as yeast infection tend to be itchy.


From a forum like this no one can say whether the odor you are experience is normal and you happen to be sensitive ( over time most owners don't notice it) or the sign of an skin infection. If the smell really bothers you I would strongly reccomend a trip to a vet sepcializing in dermatology to rule out a skin infection

Find a Dermatologist

 

[Mikey T]

Keep in mind at ` 9 month he is likely in the middle of a second teething stage. Most puppies simply outgrow destructive chewing as the teething subsided even if you do nothing It is a matter of being patient.

 

[Cassidy]

As far as the wood-eating thing... we have door frames that have been gnawed, shelves missing chunks, etc. What I found that really worked to discourage Fergus was Vicks Vapor Rub. He hates it. I would just spread it over where he was chewing and that was that. Obviously, you can't do this for the whole deck, but if there's a spot he's particularly fond of- this should do the trick. Some folks had recommended cayenne pepper, but he just thought that was the bee's knees- the vapor rub freaked him out. PLUS, he didn't go back to it after one time of tasting that stuff.

Stuffing (or de-stuffing): Oh my god! Fergus probably ate 3 lbs of stuffing in the first few months. He would systematically remove and eat all stuffing from any toy. Our lesson: buy toys that are for BIG dogs and don't buy any with stuffing. Forget that he's on short legs- bassets are big dogs when you get right down to it. We were buying toys for small to medium dogs and he killed all of them. We have had a lot of luck with fleece toys (braided fleece) that he can get pieces off and eat, but it's less hazardous.

House training- you got lots of good advice already here.

Patience is what you need (or your hubby needs more precisely) and a good obedience class. That did wonders for us. Time was critical, too. I would never have believed that the dog we have today was the same monster (I say that most affectionately) we had 6 months ago. I keep pointing out his passed-out body to my husband and saying "See, I knew this would work out."

Agreed with the exercise too- nothing works as well as wearing their poor little souls down to the bone. Good luck! If you guys can make it, he'll be worth it.

 

[Mikey T]

Stinky feet or even stinky tears come from a yeast infection within the body due to eating a lot of grains in their dog food

There is no evidence of this. any human link to systemic yeast infection is to charbohydrates in general so given that the carbohydrate of one kibble is roughly the same as another without grain removing grain from the diet again does not help unless the dog has an allergy to the grain which is not a huge possibility but it does exist.

Also the reason IMHO this got started is equating a Candida infection which is fairly common in women and candida genus of fungus feed on sugars. However the vast majaority of yeast infection in dogs is from Malasezzia which feed on fatty acids exclusively.

the following from a web site that promotes the grains as causing yeast infections myth Yeast Infections In Dogs

Yeast infections in dogs are usually found in the skin and ears and are caused by an organism called Malasezzia pachydermatis or Malasezzia for short

It seams they do not not understand than all yeast/fungus is not the same.
How to diagnose and treat Malassezia dermatitis in dogs

Malassezia pachydermatis is lipophilic, ...

Interestingly, it has been demonstrated that atopic dogs have significantly greater carriage of M. pachydermatis interdigitally (especially when inflamed)​

Certain breeds seem predisposed to developing Malassezia dermatitis.
These breeds include the West Highland white terrier, dachshund,
English setter, basset hound, American cocker spaniel, Shih Tzu, springer spaniel, and German shepherd. 1,2,5,8,9 Many of these same breeds are commonly affected with one or more of the aforementioned diseases. In fact, one study hypothesized that predisposed breeds may have an inherited propensity for underlying conditions favorable to
yeast overgrowth or infection.8​

Lipophillic = fat loving

atopy is contact or inhalant allergy.


​