Why Does My Dog’s Skin smell Bad?

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One of the most common dermatological complaints in the veterinary clinic is the grievance that a dog’s skin smells bad. By far, the most common causes of offensive smelling skin are overgrowth of yeast or bacteria. Yeast and/or bacteria may overgrow for numerous possible reasons, including underlying inhalant/contact allergies, flea bite allergies, as well as food allergies.  Hormonal diseases, including hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease may also cause bad skin odor. Localized inflammations including allergic hot spots on the skin may also cause unpleasant odor of the skin.

In my practice I have often found that animals on poor processed commercial pet food diets often have a lot of allergies and bad skin odors. In these cases, I find that placing animals on naturally preserved diets including Petguard, Wysong or Nature’s variety can be helpful in improving coat health and skin odor over time. Ideally, I recommend evolutionary suitable home prepared raw meat based diets that are low in processed carbohydrates as the best way to go toward not only improved skin and coat health, but overall health of the client in treating and avoiding disease.

I also will recommend Omega 3 fatty acids, such as Be Well, as well as digestive enzymes including NaturVet Digestive Enzymes as nutritional supplements that may help with bad skin odor. Western and Chinese detoxifying herbs also may be helpful in those animals on poor diets. Treatment of bad skin odor may include medicated or prescription based shampoos. I often choose natural tea tree based shampoos when yeast or bacterial infections of the skin occur. Diagnosis of the cause of bad skin odor is best made by veterinary exam and visit and particular treatment is best identified by a conventional or holistic veterinarian.

Skin and Coat