manvik's Blog

Dogs have a keen sense of smell. They don't see colors but they use their sense of smell to know of things around them. Also, dogs have natural odor secretions that are used to allow other species to recognize the dog, to mark territories, for subtle communication with other dogs, and even for sexual or reproductive purposes. These natural dog odors are intense near the anal areas, the ears, and the footpads of the dog. Dogs also have scent glands and anal sacs that are extruded when dogs defecate, when they are frightened, when they fight, when they are nervous, or when they are aroused.

The dog's behavior also determines or plays importantly on its odor as when they are preying, they sometimes roll on fecal deposits of the animals they prey upon. This can also be a communication method for other hunter members in the dog's pack.

While the foregoing are natural and should be no cause for alarm for pet owners, there are other non-natural scents of dogs that should warrant closer attention from the owners. Poor grooming is one reason for unnatural canine odor. When a dog's coat gets long and thick, and not properly groomed, the hair tends to be corded and matted, trapping dirt and various substances, and eventually trapping and causing unpleasant odors.

Poor grooming may also result to skin diseases that further aggravate the unnatural odor of dogs. Canine allergies are usually compensated naturally by an increase in the dog's apocrine sweat, which leaves a musty odor. This increased sweat production on the other hand causes skin infections as bacteria and yeast fungi set in. Altogether these conditions produce unnatural, sometimes offensive odors that owners need to watch out for as indications of skin or other disorders in their pets.

Grooming also play an important part in ear and dental odor and general health for dogs. Otitis in dogs is prevalent when yeast infections set in, due to bad or totally absent grooming. The accumulation of pus produces offensive odors. Anal sacs may become abscessed and when that happens, the infections produce odor. If an owner does not regularly groom his pet dog, these infections may sometimes reach untreatable levels before being noticed at all.

Dental diseases in dogs or mouth ulcers result to halitosis and bad breath. When pet owners fail to rinse their pets' mouth, introduce proper oral hygiene, brush their dogs' teeth and clean their gums, bacteria is accumulated in the mouth and produce halitosis and bad breath. Drooling can lead to mouth or surrounding area infections. The dog's odor is aggravated.

Good grooming not only prevents the onset of infections; it also prevents offensive odors and related disorders in pet dogs. Keeping hair free of dirt, regular shampooing and brushing, prevent odors from setting in because no infection will harbor yeast and bacteria production that will produce the odor in the first place. Brushing dogteeth, cleaning the mouth area and rinsing it regularly, avoids not only halitosis but also the onset of dental and mouth infections.

When your dog's odor gets too offensive for you, chances are, there is an underlying disorder or infection that you need to take a closer look at, if not your dog's veterinarian or grooming expert.

Author: Gegueta Hassan is a veterinarian.