ew! what IS that smell?!?!?

[luvdogs]

I have a 6 1/2 month old Basenji, and we have found out that whenever he is asleep, or has just woken up, he has a terrible odor.At first, we thought this was his food that was making him smell, so we swtched his food to a food that was sold at our vets office.Even that didn't work.
Even just an hour after his bath, he will get that terrible odor! :eek:

please answer, i will try anything!! :D

[Catchme]

All my Basenji's get major GAS and oder in the ears if I feed dog food, so I have switched to the Raw diet and by my suprise they are all doing great and NO more oder.. Yeah..
This was recommened by my breeder whom has been showing and breeding Basenji's for about 20 yrs.
It is great and no really any more expensive than a quality dog food.

[luzmery928]

Is the smell coming from his back (butt) area?

[luvdogs]

actually, he just reeks completly....
i dont think it comes out of just one place....

the last thing my family could come up with is that he hasn't
been nuetered yet... is this a possibility??

[tanza]

actually, he just reeks completly....
i dont think it comes out of just one place....

the last thing my family could come up with is that he hasn't
been nuetered yet... is this a possibility??

Neutering would have nothing to do with it... what exactly does it smell like?
I honestly have never heard that from anyone....

[tanza]

Just a another question, what are you feeding him?

[nomrbddgs]

And if you recently switched his food without giving him time to get used to it-that could very well explain the odor. He could also have a skin condition. What's his skin like?

[luvdogs]

we are feeding him digestive food from the vet
(he recently had diarrhea and vomiting). Stool samples @ Vet's office revealed no bacteria, worms, etc. Put on anti-diarrheal medicine.

Vet reccommended food is called royal canine digestive formula, low fat.

[luvdogs]

and as for the way he smells, i guess you could say he smells like
fish, dirty feet and B.O. all mixedd together :eek:

thank you so much for all the help!!

[MaxBooBooBear]

and as for the way he smells, i guess you could say he smells like
fish, dirty feet and B.O. all mixedd together :eek:

thank you so much for all the help!!

Poor little guy.........that odor you are describing sounds like it could be a description of anal gland fluid. I had one B whose anal glands would often leak fluid when he was asleep. But this started when he was middle aged. You may want to check is little rear end after he wakes up to see if the smell is strongest there.

[tanza]

Poor little guy.........that odor you are describing sounds like it could be a description of anal gland fluid. I had one B whose anal glands would often leak fluid when he was asleep. But this started when he was middle aged. You may want to check is little rear end after he wakes up to see if the smell is strongest there.

Yes, that is certainly what anal fluid smells like.. and no amount of bathing will fix that.... I would also check his "butt" ....

[Capt_Jack_our_Basenji]

TRUST ME...try smelling his feet, I know Jack was stinking REALLY bad recently and we noticed it while he was sleeping (whenever he moved or got up) and we thought it was gas and smelled his whole body and discovered it was HIS FEET...PEEEEEEEEEW!! i think i had to scrub them for days trying all different soaps...finally i bought a toothbrush and used his doggy apple smelling soap and just went to town on them (he LOVED it, like a foot massage) and it went away, but now every bath time we get the 2 toothbrushes out. one for the teeth one for the feet!!

[luvdogs]

It could be, but because he recently went to the vet, so i don't think thats it...
(they took his temprature at the.....other end...)

[JazzysMom]

Both Jazz and Keoki leaked a bit when they slept when they were very young; the smell reminded me of iron and there'd sometimes be a little spot where they were lying.
They both outgrew that by the time they were maybe four months old though, and neither has any problems w/it now.

[tanza]

It could be, but because he recently went to the vet, so i don't think thats it...
(they took his temprature at the.....other end...)

That would make no difference.... anal sacks are on the sides... temp taking would not show if they were full or not... typically you need to ask about them

[sharronhurlbut]

My boy did this...I started adding pumpkin to his food and it has stopped!
Pumpkin is cheap, won't hurt your dog, and most dogs love it.
I add a heaping tablespoon *more won't hurt him* to each meal.
Try it.
Oh, make sure you get the raw pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie filling mix.
Let us know how it goes.

[MamaofMany]

Our Kandy has the same problem - anal gland leaks.

I had the vet check her bottom to be sure it wasn't impacted (it wasn't, just leaks occasionally for some uknown reason).

It is a horrid smell! I use an unscented 'baby wipe' to get the odor off of her rear end. It seems to work and doesn't irritate her (these are the Huggie's brand, unscented for sensitive skin, as our youngest's skin is intolerant of most kinds of perfumes or wipes and these seem to be the most gentle and don't cause any problems with Kandy.) She hates when I wipe her bottom, but it is a quick procedure. We do have to get it fast so she doesn't have the chance to pull herself along the carpet on her butt and stink up the floor! (then its a major project to de-stinkify the floor with enzyme cleaner)

MamaofMany

[sharronhurlbut]

Oh, I know what you mean..the basenji butt scoot...
Not much appreciated by us carpet cleaners.
But the pumpkin seems to stop this.
Did you try it?
If not, what did you do?

[MamaofMany]

I just use the baby wipe to take the fluid off before the scooting starts, but if I can use something cheap and simple like pumpkin in her diet to stop it, all the better! I'll try to remember to pick some up this payday and see if she'll eat it in her food.

She doesn't have this problem all of the time, and usually has it worse in the winter, likely because she is indoors much more than in summer and its easier to notice indoors because its so pungent. Kandy prefers to be outside all day in summer playing with 'her sister' Sammy, the kids and the new pointer pup, Jack, or just sitting under the apple tree observing the world. If she stinks & scoots outside I would never notice.

I'll have to get some pumpkin and try it. Whatever works! We'll know by winter anyway.

MamaofMany

[basenji3]

our 3 year old male has had anal gland issues. When he gets comfortable ,nice and cozy at night it would happen. Then its launder everything. We changed his dog food to a higher fiber and he gets rice added to it every other day . No more gland issues . It has worked great. He loves it and we love the smell free house. I don't think its all the dog food that helps because if he doesn't get the rice regularly it can happen again. So for us the cure is rice.

[MaxBooBooBear]

our 3 year old male has had anal gland issues. When he gets comfortable ,nice and cozy at night it would happen. Then its launder everything. We changed his dog food to a higher fiber and he gets rice added to it every other day . No more gland issues . It has worked great. He loves it and we love the smell free house. I don't think its all the dog food that helps because if he doesn't get the rice regularly it can happen again. So for us the cure is rice.

How much rice do you add to his dog food?

[nomrbddgs]

Like I said-the more fiber the better IMO.

[luvdogs]

Thank you so much for all the suggestions,
so far we have tried a diet of homemade food (some rice, ground turkey, and sliced carrots) and served it half and half with his regular dry kibble.

we thought this should help the smell, but didnt.

I am pretty sure he doesn't have an anal gland problem, he has never scooted across the floor, and i checked after he got up from a nap, he leaves no fluid on his bed.

I will check his feet for a smell, thank you! i never would've thought of that! :D

as for the pumpkin, it is a great idea, but my puppy has recently had diarria,
and the vet explained that it was because of a sensitive stomach, so we're not sure wheather or not to try that.

again, thank you so much for the help, i was so suprised that so many of you took your time to answer, thank you. :D

[nomrbddgs]

If you add rice-brown is better, AND he has no rice allergy it shouldn't bother his stomach. You shouldn't have to cook the carrots either.

[tanza]

Carrots are not always the best choice... one thing they have lots of natural sugar and can be a problem to many dogs... Brown rice is better the white...

Did you say how old your B is?... and also impacted anal glands do not always have to leak to smell and they will not always scoot their butts....

[sharronhurlbut]

Please, give the Pumpkin a try...add a little at first, but this stuff really does seem to cure a lot of issues with b's.
Again, just my opinion.

[tanza]

I did just look and seem you have said that he was 6 1/2 month... have you checked his breath?... it is totally possible that he is still cutting teeth... could also be that there is a baby tooth that has not fallen out that is causing the smell... breath when they teeth can really be nasty.....

[luvdogs]

alright, i'll give pumpkin a try this weekend. :)


i will also start using brown rice instead, i had'nt thought of that, so i'll use it when i make his food for the following week this weekend :D

its funny that you should mention that carrots are high in sugar,
because he will actually spit out the carrots from his meal, so we picked them out of the rest of his food. :D

He has lost all of his puppy teeth by now, and his breath doesnt smell, other than his normal "dog breath".

[lvoss]

While rice is great for easing an upset stomach the decrease in stool volume usually results in anal gland issues. If you are going to be feeding rice long term something like pumpkin or sweet potato can help to add fiber and prevent anal gland problems.

[felakuti]

i never hear anyone mention that basenjis have a very distinctive odor. musky...my husband and I are very fond of that smell, especially when they first wake up. I dont know any other breed that has such a distinctive smell. the two that we had before for 18 years both had that smell and it was on their collars and leashes after they died. and now the two new ones we have smell the same way...we just assumed all basenjis smell that way. the ones at the breeders all had that smell to. :)

[sharronhurlbut]

I think the b's when the toes are warm, smell like warm, corn chips.
My b's sleep in the bed and when Shasta puts her feet on my pillow, that is what I think about.
My dogs will p/u nasty smells, but mostly from rolling in items they shouldn't.
However, I have found if you put a bar of soap down on the carpet, or one of those perfume ad things in mag, open and fresh.. my b's will roll in it like a dead carp on the beach.
Kind of funny to watch!