Hi there!

I am looking for advice in dealing with my 6.5 year old female husky and her lovely summer essence. Where I live we have a wonderful off leash dog park filled with hiking trails and an adjacent pond and ravine that flows through it. Whenever we come home she ends up smelly so foul for days, even AFTER I bathe her (I bathe her usually once weekly due to how dirty and ripe she gets). I have tried every dog shampoo I can get my hands on, I use 3 towels to dry her off (although it does take her hours to fully dry off), however, the sour smell still lingers. We go to this park almost daily for her to have enough off-leash exercise time so it feels it's a battle I can't win. It's the same when we go down to the lake or up at the cottage, she loves the water (only waist high), but her lingering odour is extremely difficult to deal with. My gf has a short haired dog who goes in the same water with zero smell after she's dry (which is relatively fast).

Does anyone have any tips? I know shaving a husky is a no-no, but has anyone heard of shaving only the under belly (the part she gets wet daily and what stays wet for hours), is this possible?

So if shaving a husky is a no no someone should tell squirt to stop getting dreadlocks. But really i do shave squirts legs and butt and this time her tail accidentally. She has a crazy triple coat and gets dreadlocks on her legs and belly. I try not to shave her down to the skin but she is an unwilling participant and its hard to clip a dog that is running or squirming and have it look nice.

Have you ever tried mane and tail.

@andyxoxo I not too sure about this ... let's go with I have two Siberians who would be water dogs if they could be. Every once in a while I take them to the nearest pond - which is also used by the range cattle so it has a distinctive odor and, of course, they do when it's time to come out and go home. After a half hour ride in my Jeep (hardtop) with the windows open they're outer coat is dry and we're working on the undercoat. After we've been home for an hour the mud has dropped off, their coats are clean and there is no odor.

Before you start considering shaving any of her, I'd suggest a visit to a vet who really knows Huskies and have her checked for any of the things internal and external that might be causing her to have an odor. The first thing that pops into mind would be a skin fungus - since you're bathing her so often, I wouldn't be surprised to find that the cause is contained in her skin and fur.

See if there's a Husky group around who can recommend the right vet. Most vets think of Huskies as just another dog - in some senses they (and other northern breeds) are but they also have their own unique problems that the normal vet won't see.

For those who know I have three dogs - Avalanche wants *NOTHING* to do with water except to drink it.

My guy gets that swampy funky odor from our wet swampy areas. Once he dries off, I sprinkle him with Walmart brand corn starch based baby powder ( keeping away from eyes, mouth and nose.) I rub it into his fur, wait a few minutes and brush it off. Corn starch seems to absorb the odor and the baby powder scent is one we both like.

thank you all for the replies! i did think that because of how long she stays wet it could be causing some kind of fungal/yeast infection, which is why i was potentially inquiring on trimming her belly hair to keep it shorter and therefore ideally dry faster lol.... does anyone have any experience with medicated shampoo? i'm waiting on a referral for her to see a dermatologist specialist ...

i take her to the groomers about twice a year and they are the only ones who are able to get the smell out (i'm assuming it's because of the high-velocity blow dryer that gets her dry fast)... when i bathe her i use either an oatmeal-based dog shampoo or skout's honor probiotic shampoo...

i should also mention that for the past 2-3 years she's been having unknown aeroallergens (potential diagnosis of canine eosinophilic allergies) which has caused several ear infections and her nose can also get scaly during the high allergy seasons... she was on oral steroids but has been moved to Flovent (inhaler/puffer) because she would periodically cough up mucousy phlegm... and it seems to have helped...other than her nose and ears she hasn't displayed any signs of skin allergies like itchiness or dry irritated skin... it's always soft pink under her coat and she doesn't scratch it more than what i think is normal here and there...

You also may be bathing her too much, her natural skin old don't get to recuperate. And I'm guessing the pond water may not be best for her ears?

Allergies? Ugh, I don't envy you.

So if its fungal pyoben shampoo is what i used on my horses (and myself when i got something from a horse)

And to piggyback amymeme if you make a paste of olive oil and cornstarch and put it on white areas let it sit a few mins then brush it out. Olive oil is a natural antimicrobial and good for hair and skin and the cornstarch makes the white even whiter.

I have 4 dogs and shadow is almost 7 and has never had a bath, spider is 5 and has had 2 baths squirt is almoat 8 and gets one about twice a year but does go swimming alot. And splinter gets one about every few months.

The worst smell is when squirt goes swimming downstream of the hot springs. She comes out smelling like rotten eggs and sulfur. But thats her favorite swimming spot and the mineral water makes her super soft so i put up with rotten egg smell the hour drive home.

My husky frosty developed a skin condition a couple of years ago and to treat the skin, I had no choice but to take of her coat completely down to an inch.
Last year she developed painful spurs on her spine so once again as advised by the vet, the coat on her back was taken off to the same length to be able to administer laser for her pain management.
Now... the coat is so damn thick I'm unable to brush her coat properly!!! Forget the furminator,even a rake wont get in !!!!! Any advice on what I should do now ? She screams if I try and attempt to brush her but it needs to be done : (

OOps ! sorry. Since it was my first post, I forgot to change the subject ! my apologies

@frosty your message is reasonably on-topic, you have to get WAY off topic before we call foul.

I have an old girl (say 13ish) who's always had a heavy coat ... the only way I can brush her is with a rake and then it's in steps, a little now and a little later. 'Course I'm never done but it's easier on her legs and my back.

... and what you wanted to do was to click on the "New Topic" button at the top of the page.

Wide tooth comb. Spider gets like that on the back legs i rub coconut oil on before i comb. Squirt gets dreadlocks so i just chase her around the bathroom with the clippers. Tomorrow im taking her to the hot springs, so hello rotten egg smell and super soft coat.

aljones wrote:

I have an old girl (say 13ish) who's always had a heavy coat ... the only way I can brush her is with a rake and then it's in steps, a little now and a little later. 'Course I'm never done but it's easier on her legs and my back.

.

Al... You ain't seen nuttin'!!!  Here's some coat to get through

And I'm right there with you on the back ..

Wow and i thought spider was fuzzy

Our dog DID get some kind of skin infection (yeast? fungal?) after he was boarded. Apparently it was a rainy week and they went out a lot, and there was no doting owner to towel him off when he went back to his kennel. Anyway he smelled quite bad for a few weeks, so bad that people would literally get up and leave rather than sit near him.

The vet prescribed some kind of antibacterial /antifungal shampoo and we bathed him every weekend for three weeks. Then the smell was gone. But I don't think they would recommend using a strong shampoo like that every week year-round!

If it's not a skin infection, could you put a few towels in the place where your dog likes to lie down? On rainy days, we put some towels on his bed so after he comes in, he lies down on them eventually and 'blots" his tummy dry while napping.

It sounds like a fun time for her, I hope you figure it out!

Hmm, I just checked and the medicated shampoo says:
2% Chlorxylenol
2% Salicyclic Acid
2% Sodium Thiosulfate
Antibacterial / Antifungal / Deodorizing

I just remembered that at his appointment, the vet kind of looked in his fur and also took a skin scraping and looked in his ears too (sometimes the bad smell is coming from an ear infection).