Smelly Puppy--how often to bathe?

[Kristen and Chewbacca (Chewy)]

We've had Chewy for only one week, and already our house has a really strong doggy smell (like we have 5 big Rottweilers living here) even with daily cleaning. I bathed him once already and it has helped temporarily. How often do you bathe your doodles? I'm also wondering if his scent won't be so strong as he gets older--I think it's mostly coming from his breath. What has been your experience?

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

Please don't try to clip the ear hairs. Take him to the vet or a professional groomer. You shouldn't remove ear hair unless it's necessary.

[Kristen and Chewbacca (Chewy)]

He would not sit still for me, so I didn't go any further. The vet will have to do it. Thanks!

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

What food do you feed him? Could be related to that. Also quite possibly and ear infection - does he scratch or shake his head a lot?

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

Good question Kate.  Yarrow shook her head and scratched at her ears a lot and it was irritation due to food sensitivities... but she didn't smell.  Maybe we found the right food for her before it got bad enough.  If it is Chewy's ears, Kristen may be able to tell by sniffing at his ears directly.  Still, I think a vet would be the best one to figure it out once and for all.  Just don't fall for a sales pitch on the 'vet recommended' food, they're not all that their cracked up to be.  Anything that includes corn or chicken meal is not good.

[Kristen and Chewbacca (Chewy)]

It's his breath not his ears. He has not had any irritation with his ears at all, and I've used the ear solution twice now to keep his ears clean. I also bathed him again today-2nd time this week. It's definitely his breath--that's the only part of him that smells consistently. I'm currently feeding him Annamaet Salcha which is a high quality food (what his breeder fed him). It seems like the smell has started to diminish just a bit (or we're starting to get used to it-one of the two). We have another vet appt soon so I'll be addressing the breath issue and see what she says about all of the hair in his ears. Thanks for all of your responses--they have been very helpful :-)

[Julia Janzen]

I wonder if it's a stomach problem instead of a dental issue?  You know sometimes when people have GERD it can cause bad breath.  Do you think it could be the same for dogs?   As for regular doggie odor when we had Havanese somebody recommended a product called Silk Spirits by Chris Christensen and it smells AMAZING!  It makes their coats so soft too.  We've been using it in-between baths and it works so great.  

[Kristen and Chewbacca (Chewy)]

Thanks for the recommendation. He has a vet appt on Monday. He's been so healthy other than the odor coming from his breath. We met a woman the other day who has raised several dogs, and instantly she recognized the smell as "puppy breath" :-). I'll check with the vet though.