# Smelly Dandruff?????



## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

SO i took Rosco to the groomers today and she told me his skin/dandruff had a funny smell to it. She said she tried shampooing him four times and his skin still had a funny smell????? 

Is this normal?


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

what does it smell like????


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

she didn't say....she just said it had a funny smell. and Rosco isn't here for me to smell it....

she said that usually when dandruff smells it means something is going on or wrong...


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## Coffee'sDad (Mar 10, 2008)

As long as it doesn't smell like Bama's back yard, you should be able to live with it!

Sorry guys.... wayyyyy tooooo many hours on this board; I'm prescribing a self-imposed time-out. c ya.

dg


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Nope, not normal. What's he eating?


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

when you get home.. see if his fur feels greasy or oily... and maybe you can describe the smell too, that may help


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

We feed him Nutro Natural Choice...and give him Salmon Oil probably about every other day.....

and then whatever my boyfriend gives him human food wise.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

If both the teeth and ears are fine, your dog may have a skin disorder known as seborrhea. This is usually characterized by flaky dandruff or an oily, waxy feel to the coat and a strong odor. Your hands may feel slightly greasy after petting your dog. The odor can be prevented by frequently bathing your dog with a medicated shampoo that your veterinarian can recommend.


*if its not apparant from the lack of spelling and grammar mistakes above, this was copied from a website lol


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

missmarstar said:


> when you get home.. see if his fur feels greasy or oily... and maybe you can describe the smell too, that may help


DO you think it'll be greasy and oily, considering he was bathed and groomed today??


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

Many times what we think is dandruff is really dead skin. It gets caught in the fur and smells horrible. Sometimes it is caused by scratching/allergies. Just something else to consider. Usually, antibiotics help with the smell when this happens.


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

He's been scratching ALOT lately.....i think he scratched himself for like 30 minutes this morning....i just figured it was because we haven't given him a bath in forever.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

nothing new in his diet?? odd... maybe the change in weather? something environmental causing an allergy reaction? just throwing it out there... dunno


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

Nope nothing new in his diet....that i know of....

David likes to feed Rosco, stuff he shouldn't be having....like skittles....beef jerky. Not alot...just sometimes....

I actually bought Natural Balance dog food today, the duck and potato (or something) i think it's the kind for Allergies......i wanted to try this and see if it helped. Because i know Nutro has grain in it.....


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

good luck hope that works out... i would bathe him more frequently and with a moisturizing shampoo... he may just be having dry skin issues and as Vern said, the skin flakes are just hanging around in his fur and getting smelly.


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

Rosco's Mom said:


> He's been scratching ALOT lately.....i think he scratched himself for like 30 minutes this morning....i just figured it was because we haven't given him a bath in forever.


I noticed the forsythia is starting to bloom. It is THAT time of year. Lots of mold spores and pollen. The resulting allergies are not far behind.


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

He just went to the Vet like in November.....and she looked at his fur and just said it was dry skin....

wasn't done with my post......

the vet just said to bath him more...which we haven't been doing...its hard to bathe a dog when all we have is a shower! (NO tub!)

the weather has been pretty dry, even my skin has been suffering.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

dry skin is one thing, but if its starting to smell, its a bigger issue. i'm interested to see if the grain free food clears up his dry skin (even though sam could tolerate rice and/or oats in his food digestively, he had really dry itchy skin until he went grain free).... and as i said, maybe bathe him more often with a really moisturizing shampoo


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

well rosco is home and i tried to smell him....but all i smell is shampoo that petco used.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

well thats good i guess, better that than stinky dog


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

missmarstar said:


> If both the teeth and ears are fine, your dog may have a skin disorder known as seborrhea. This is usually characterized by flaky dandruff or an oily, waxy feel to the coat and a strong odor. Your hands may feel slightly greasy after petting your dog. The odor can be prevented by frequently bathing your dog with a medicated shampoo that your veterinarian can recommend.
> 
> 
> *if its not apparant from the lack of spelling and grammar mistakes above, this was copied from a website lol


 
That was GOOD! lol
Additionally, have his ears been healthy? Sometimes an odor to the skin, along with the flaking, can indicate hypothyroidism. The first thing that I would do if her were mine woul be to rinse or mist him with the diluted Listerine. As an antispetic it will take care of anything that isn't systemic. 
If the bathing and rinsing doesn't help, I'd have him checked out, as any odor can be a sign of digestive issues or immune issues such as thyroid.

Or you can just buy him some Hai Karate! (THAT aged me!...)


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

thats true.....stinky is not good....he was smelly before i took him to the groomers....but like i said it had been awhile since the last time we bathed him. 

I dont remember his coat ever being oily, its been pretty soft since i started the salmon oil...

and we do have problems with his ears...at least thats what the vet said...she said they're pretty dirty.


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

I had the exact same thing with my Newf Addie last year. Her's was yeast growth on the skin. 

So, yeast would be my guess. Try thoroughly dousing/rinsing him with Apple Cider vinegar and water.....and leave it in. Do not rinse out. 50/50 mix. Use a little leave in, spray on conditioner on the feathers so they won't mat after the vinegar rinse. But don't get the spray in conditioner on the skin. 

This is what worked for Addie. Only had to do it twice (a week apart) and the first time really "cured" it. I did it again just to make sure.

Then you need to address the yeasty problem. It sounds as though he's got a systemic yeast thing going on. The Vet can give you some medication for it, but you might want to try this. It does work:

http://www.nzymes.com/?gclid=CKbpkPiXkJICFRcfsgodslwa_w

Also...make sure the treats he's getting are also wheat, corn and soy free. No point in giving wheat free food if the treats are loaded with wheat (including table scraps like pasta, pizza, bread etc). People tend to forget about the treats!

Best of luck!!


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

That's exactly what I was going to say, a yeast infection. Does he smell kind of like sour milk in places? Like when you pet him by his tail, do your fingers smell sour?

Daisy had this really bad once and the doctor gave her antibiotics which cleared it up. She does have a tendency towards this but I've been able to take a preventative approach with anti-fungal shampoo. It's especially important in the summer when she's wet and hot a lot. 

My bet is yeast, Nicole. And that would also cause flakiness. When you get your fingers down to his skin, do you feel any little hard crusty bumps? Another tell-tell sign of a yeast infection.

Good luck!


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

Jo Ellen said:


> That's exactly what I was going to say, a yeast infection. Does he smell kind of like sour milk in places? Like when you pet him by his tail, do your fingers smell sour?
> 
> Daisy had this really bad once and the doctor gave her antibiotics which cleared it up. She does have a tendency towards this but I've been able to take a preventative approach with anti-fungal shampoo. It's especially important in the summer when she's wet and hot a lot.
> 
> ...


Yes with the bumps. I found some on him the other day around his shoulders.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

I keep mine on nzymes as Ardeagold mentioned above. It's one more natural, live food that I think is so beneficial for MANY reasons. (www.nzymes.com )... yeast, other skin issues, allergies, and digestive issues just being a couple. There are many articles which could be helpful for you at www.greatdanelady.com Linda Arndt is an animal nutritionist who is a former prof. at Ball State and is very well respected.


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

Thanks everyone for all your advice! i knew i could count on you guys!!!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

hope rosco gets his yeast infection cleared up soon


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

this may sound like a stupid question....but what color is his skin supposed to be??? in some places its white and other places its black....?


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

The black is often caused by yeast. (Unless it's "normal" pigmentation....some dogs have black spots here and there on their skin, but in this case.....it's probably the yeast causing it)

Look at the link I posted..........LOTS of pics there!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

It does indeed seem likely that what Roscoe has is a yeast infection. If after treating it it recurs, speak with your veterinarian about checking his thryroid levels, as recurrent yeast infections are one of the symptoms of low levels.


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

Okay, so i got Rosco a vet appointment today at 5pm! Let you know what she says!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

great, keep us updated!


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

I agree it sounds like yeast. Pippa had a huge problem with yeast when I first adopted her and she was eating Pro Plan which has grain in it. Once I switched to grain free food (Orijen) things cleared up. Although around the same time we found out she was borderline hypothyroid which probably added to the issue. She had a definite odour that came back right after bathing and after a couple days, if I ran my hands through her coat a few times my hand had a white, greasy residue. Definitely get onto the grain free food. Also, our vet suggested to me to bathe her with Nizoral shampoo.


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Whether its yeast, fungus, or bacteria, if you are bathing your dog to get rid of it then I might suggest you also wash his bedding and anything else he lounges around on too... also make sure you thoroughly wash between his pads and under his nails if he's been itching and scratching a lot. As far as allergies... it could be mold spores and pollen just as well as a food allergy... Vern made a good point... spring has sprung.

What'd the vet say?


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