Today’s topic… something that pet sitters and dog owners can relate to: dealing with a stinky dog! Maybe it’s after a muddy walk, a roll in something unmentionable, or just that classic “doggy smell,” we’ve all encountered moments where our furry friends could use a doggy spa day!
How do you handle the stink? Do you have any favoured grooming routines or products you swear by? Maybe you’ve got tips for preventing the smell from returning so quickly? Also, for the pet sitters out there, what’s your protocol when you’re taking care of a pup who’s extra stinky?
Looking forward to hearing any tips, tricks, and funny stories that you might have to share.
More than one person has told us that tomato sauce/ketchup is great for getting fox poo out of a dog’s coat (which smells hideous when they roll in it). Definitely going to try it if needed #tomatoketchuptips
@Cuttlefish funny you should mention fox poo My current sit, this poo is like perfume to this dog and every day at the park, she rolls in it. Now being an Aussie, I’ve never heard of fox poo, not something we have. Now with all my sits in the UK, I have found out about it very quickly and I have to say it is absolutely FOUL! A lady in the park told me there is a new shampoo specifically for this for dogs. But for now, unfortunately, it’s a bath in the tub most days Oh, and someone told me a use for tomato sauce also, tint blonde hair with it. Doesn’t work lol
@ziggy have also checked with the dog whisperer (my Dad) who is here in Turkey right now and he says for tomato sauce for both fox & badger poo - rubber gloves and a good shampoo session and you’re off my friend!! #everydayisaschoolday
One of my early sits involved a year-old puppy and a cat. The poodle loved to roll in stinky things, including running into a huge community compost pile that stank to high heaven. She was so joyful romping in it. I think partly because people tossed horse crap and maybe fox scat in there. It was in a huge community centre grounds, with sheep in a neighboring pasture.
I had to give her an unexpected shower with me. I used her regular dog shampoo, but had to do multiple lather, rinse, repeat till she smelled good again. Funnily, she loved being in the shower and looked quite proud of herself even after, when I took a photo of her wet self for her traveling humans. They thought it was hilarious, too.
On my most recent sit, my sit dog was a 13-pound character. She refused to walk EVERY time and would splay herself flat to resist, getting dirty in the process. She also had severe allergies and scratched a lot, which disturbed me in bed when she woke at various hours. I gave her a weekly bath with prescription medicated shampoo. She had a hairy butt and I saw poop hanging off it at one point, so she got an extra bath. Luckily, she was cooperative, though she didn’t enjoy it one bit. Immediately after, she barked, barked, barked in protest and demanded treats. She did that after each bath.
At home, we wash our dog regularly and he’s learned to stop resisting, partly because we reward him with high-value treats. Like he knows he gets a pup cup of whipped cream and a new toy each time. When we were training him to tolerate baths, we used a lick mat that suctioned onto the side of the tub, loaded with peanut butter.
Oh, during the pandemic, our mobile groomer halted services, so we learned to groom our dog. “Learn” is operative, because this is what happened on one of our first attempts:
When you get a cubist haircut because you tried to lie on your back and get belly rubs while your humans tried to give you a trim. Oops.
I watched a doggo in France once (his name was River and he’s in my top 5 favorite doggos) and he LOVED the fox poo. It was my first encounter and it was NOT love at first sniff for me. Thankfully he had good recall and I learned by his body language when he scented fox poo so I could call him back and get him on the lead. But when I missed the signs the park had a hose and I’d just hose him off there before going home so it didn’t have time to sink in.
My cousin’s dogs like to roll in cow/sheep poo when I’m walking them in the peaks so I take them home via a trough and they jump in and play around to get rinsed off then I hose them down again once home.
Hey @temba. I knew we had foxes but I had no idea to what extent until I looked it up today. I’ve never personally seen one anywhere, unlike them being common everywhere even in central London which surprised me. I’ve been sheltered from them in Oz though I accept that yes, they are there
Have seen numerous foxes in the Victorian countryside. Earlier in the year as I was driving into my home town in the evening, one crossed in front of me which took me by surprise.
Yes, I think definitely more of them visible in the countryside and acreage properties at home. I was really more commenting about foxes in built up areas in the UK, meaning we don’t have the problem in our residential streets and parks. Or do we Just surprised by the numbers in the actual cities in the UK. In London, every morning I would see the footpaths covered in rubbish from the foxes scavenging. Leaving rubbish in plastic bags on a footpath is simply asking for this to happen.
My dog likes to roll in kangaroo poop, probably not as stinky as fox poop but has to be washed afterwards. I use a weak tea tree oil rinse after I shampoo.
We were sitting in the kitchen having lunch at one housesit when the dog came in smelling strongly of … the food waste bin my son had just taken out to the compost bin! He had left the lid off and she’d had a good roll in it. We couldn’t find any dog shampoo, but Timotei had her smelling delightfully coconutty!
Maybe it’s after a muddy walk, a roll in something unmentionable, or just that classic “doggy smell,” we’ve all encountered moments where our furry friends could use a doggy spa day!
My current sit, this poo is like perfume to this dog and every day at the park, she rolls in it. Now being an Aussie, I’ve never heard of fox poo, not something we have. Now with all my sits in the UK, I have found out about it very quickly and I have to say it is absolutely FOUL! A lady in the park told me there is a new shampoo specifically for this for dogs. But for now, unfortunately, it’s a bath in the tub most days 
Oh, and someone told me a use for tomato sauce also, tint blonde hair with it. Doesn’t work lol
right now and he says 
for tomato sauce for both fox 
& badger poo 
session and you’re off my friend!! 
She did that after each bath.