Diet Affects a Dogs Body Odor – Take the Dog Odor Survey

Last Updated on 2022-07-10 by Admin

Diet Affects a Dogs Body Odor. I noticed that Annie’s odor changes when fed certain foods. With some foods, Annie smells fresh and pleasant. But on some foods, she may have a doggy odor. I’m convinced that doggy odor is the wrong term. It is the food they consume that changes their odor.

Many dog owners have dogs with a bad odor. And in some cases, the dog downright stinks. Therefore, many of them will resort to scented odor elimination products to remove the scent. That, however, is not a solution that fits everybody. Even bathing the dog may not address the root cause.

Fragrance Sensitivity, Asthma and Dog Odor

Fragrance-sensitivity is a condition that affects a lot of people. That is why many public offices and workplaces have rules about wearing or using scented products. For people affected by fragrance-sensitivity, being around scented products can trigger all kinds of negative symptoms. The symptoms can be watery eyes, headaches and skin reactions, to mention just a few. Here is a link to fragrancex.com, where You can find out more about fragrance-sensitivity.

Then there are Asthma sufferers. For them, scented products can trigger severe asthma attacks. My wife would be in that category. For that reason, we can’t use air fresheners or other strong-smelling cleaning products in our home.

Fortunately, there are other ways to deal with a stinky dog.

Health Issues can Change a Dogs Odor

Ear infections, dental issues and other health issues cause a dog’s smell to change. It is wise to bring the dog to a wet for a checkup for unexplained changes in a dog’s odor. Here is a link to a site that covers various medical reasons why a dog may smell bad. https://www.thesprucepets.com/why-does-my-dog-stink-3384322

The observations that follow are from a healthy dog. The odor changes were observed on the dog as a whole, not specifically the ear or mouth.

Natural ways to Change a Dogs Odor

My latest experience was when I noticed that Annie’s body odor changed. She went from smelling fresh to having a strong Doggy odor. Or bluntly put, she stinks. Her bed, blanket and toys all had that smell. It was noticeable when coming into the house after a walk outdoors with Annie. And I was concerned that maybe something was wrong with her.

One evening I mentioned my observations to my wife. She also noticed the change. She also said that she gave Annie some kibble as treats for about a week. That was all the explanation I needed.

We had bought a bag of kibble for backup. Just in case we could not get fresh meat for Annie during the Covid-19 Lock-down.

Probably the most natural way to deal with doggy odor is to modify the dog’s diet. What follows are my observations with Annie, being fed different foods. Based on Annie’s experience, the scent can change so that the dog smells pleasant.

Feeding Kibble

Whenever Annie gets fed kibble for a week, she starts to stink. She gets what most people think of as a Doggy odor. Maybe it should be called Kibble odor. Everything that she laid on will smell the same way. When fed kibble Annie also gets terrible breath. Interestingly I don’t even have to feed her kibble as a meal for her to stink. It is enough to give her kibble as treats over a few days.

Regular readers of my blog know that my dog food attitude is liberal. What works best for the dog is important, not what the dog owner believes. I fed Annie Kibble, Home Cooked food and Raw food. So this is not about Kibble bashing.

But for the last few years, Annie gets fed raw about 90 % of the time, the other 10 % of the time, she gets home-cooked. I do that because this is what works the best for Annie.

Feeding Raw Food

When Annie gets our home-made raw meat diet, she smells Fresh. In this case, Fresh is a mild odor of an animal that is mild and pleasant. That is the odor Annie has most of the time. No matter what meat I feed her.

But there are specialty raw foods that change her body odor to something very different.

Specialty Raw Food

I’m a firm believer in exposing Annie to as many different foods as possible. So occasionally, I buy pre-made raw dog food. That particular food is from grass-fed beef containing Tripe, Tongue, Heart, Liver, Kidney, Lung and Spleen. The tripe in that mix is uncleaned, referred to as green tripe. https://www.naturaw.ca/index.php/product/free-range-beef/

That dog food stinks, and it is best fed outdoors. Annie is crazy about that food. But after she is on that particular raw food for a few days, she will smell like a barn. It is so strong that when you come into the house from shopping, You wonder if You are in a barn full of cows. Standing beside Annie, one wonders where the cows are. The odor is that strong.

With this particular food, I can associate the strong smell of the food with Annie’s smell.

Feeding Home Cooked food

Annie also is fed home-cooked food, which happens when I buy ground meets. I never provide bought ground meat raw to Annie. There is very little difference between Annie’s home-cooked and raw meat diet. She gets vegetables, liver or other organ meat and some starch like cooked oatmeal or rice in both cases.

When feeding Annie home-cooked food or home-made raw food, I do not notice a difference in her odor. It doesn’t matter what meat she is fed. Even feeding Annie Lamb for a week won’t change her odor.

Why Does She not Smell with other Foods?

That makes me wonder, why does Annie not smell like a turkey when I feed her turkey. Or when I give her raw beef and liver. Why does she not smell like beef and liver? Unfortunately, I could not find the answer via my research.

Because of curiosity about this issue, I created a quick survey. I would appreciate Your feedback. Should You take part in the survey how your dogs Diet Affects a Dogs Body Odor, You get to see the summary of all entries after completion.

Conclusion

Many dog owners have dogs with bad odor issues. And in some cases, the dog downright stinks. Many dog owners use scented odor elimination products to eliminate the odor. That is not a solution that fits everybody.

A natural way to deal with Doggy odor could be modifying the dog’s diet. That would be a solution for people who react negatively to scented products. It can eliminate the need for Air fresheners.

I know many dog owners who take doggy odor as part of being a dog owner. Most of them never had to deal with a dog that has a sensitive digestive system. Annie had many issues in the past with her digestive system. And I noticed that changes in the dog’s diet change the dog’s odor. A healthy dog can smell fresh.

I still am curious about how a dog’s odor changes based on diet. Please contact me via the contact form or comment section if you know the answer.

Resources:

Wikipedia on Dog Odor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_odor