Doggie Daycare...Doggie Odors

[GregPDX]

Gracie (six month labradoodle) has now had her first two visits to an indoor dog park (also a doggie daycare for people who prefer to drop off their dogs for the day, etc,.  I stay there with her for one to two hours...she seems to have a great time. I find that I have to watch her (VERY) closely with some of the other bigger and more playful dogs, giving  her some time outs over in a quiet area before resuming play.  The big issue....her fur seems to "soak up" all those other dog odors.  Do any of you have what might be a "quick fix" for eliminating those odors on her once we get home, other than getting her into the tub for a bath?  

[Annie Hugie]

They make several types of 'enzyme' type sprays....I like one by "The American Kennel Club" called Body Deodorizer & Dander Remover.  I like it because it is not perfumey at all, just a clean smell.  Sure wish they had indoor dog parks near us....such a lucky doodle :)

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Wow, an indoor dog park has been my dream.... We don't have one in the Denver area. But I know what you mean about the smell. My boys go to a daycare from time to time, and even parts of the daycare are outside, they stink when I pick them up at the end of a day. I call it the "zoo smell". I used to just wipe them with a damp towel and spray them with a puppy perfume, but the Body Deodorizer that Annie suggested sounds like a great idea. Did not know anything like that existed.

[Chelsie]

We use Happy Tails Dry Dog and Buddy Splash. Both work well for extra smelly dogs without having to bathe them!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Our PetSmart day care offers an "exit bath" but of course when you add that onto the fee, it starts to get pricey.  I know the odor though-I think they slobber all over each other when they wrestle.  I usually wash his face and paws with doggie wet ones made by Natures Miracle.  

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

When I first read this discussion about Gracie going to an indoor dog park, I thought, 'we have one here in Portland, and its pretty stinky, too'. After checking out your page I see you are from Portland, and you must be talking about Fidos (I don't know of any others in the metro area).

I hate the smell there too, and have only gone for the dog park (not the daycare), and just the limited amount of time we're there the doods always end up carrying that awful smell home with them. I always have to put them in the downstairs walk-in shower and wash their feet using dog shampoo. Sometimes even that doesn't completely eliminate the smell.

For the past couple years I've arranged Doodle Kisse's 'Portland Area Doodles' group's Fall/Winter doodle romps at Fidos, and I really am hoping to find a different facility that doesn't have such a strong smell. If you aren't already a member, I hope you join the group, if not just for the notices of upcoming doodle romps.

[GregPDX]

Yes, we go to Fidos in the Portland area...it has quite the "robust" doggie smell.  I'm trying it out for the whole month of October...we are usually there for an hour or two in the afternoons. After three visits in three days,  Gracie seems to love the place, even though there are a few dogs that play a bit rough...I stay right with her the whole time.    I don't have a lot of experience with these kinds of facilities, and I've wondered if most (or many) doggie daycares have all those "call of the wild" smells. I would assume that most (or many) dogs would return home at the end of the day with some new canine odors attached to their bodies.   After having first posted this discussion on Oct. 1, I went back to dig through a small box that I had ordered from Costco about three months ago...dog shampoo called Trueblue (I thought it was "three" bottles of shampoo).     I've been using one of the bottles of shampoo (really like it), and just discovered that the third bottle is actually a "cleansing spray"...woohoo!!   It's advertised on the website as "the perfect between-bath product."   It uses "grapefruit (go figure!!)....and gives Gracie a light clean smell, while "masking" most of that doggie daycare center odor.   I only used the spray once so far this afternoon when we got home...a few misty squirts on her longish fleecy puppy fur (which really soaks up the daycare odors).   It probably is not the perfect solution (like a bath would be),  but I'll continue to use it the rest of the month while we continue to visit Fidos each day.  

Yes, I did join the Portland group...would like to hear about upcoming doodle romps...many thanks!  Are you aware of  another similar kind of facility somewhere in Portland that might host romps?  

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I'll be making inquiries and visiting doggie daycare facilities that do host breed specific romps. Wish me luck!

[Rita and Fazzy]

Debb, have you checked with Sniff Dog Hotel kind of up in the Pearl?  Might be worth asking them.  Or POSSIBLY Camp Good Puppy in Vancouver, see if maybe they would be willing to have one there - good PR for their daycare/boarding facility, which we LOVE.

[Wendy and Myla]

What great timing - we just went away for one night and had to leave Myla at a kennel and I was just telling DH that I would have to bath her tomorrow because she will have that "smell".  I didn't want to bath her tomorrow because on Monday we are going camping again and after she swims and plays while camping I will have to bathe her again and I don't like bathing her this often - so I am going to look into the body deodorizer!!!  Thank you!!!

[Julie and Charlie]

Ugh- Charlie's daycare has that smell (Lazy Dog Crazy Dog) in Portland. The good news is that he has fun, the staff is great, and they're always supervised (including someone spending the night). He comes home very stinky- he needs a bath and it's why he only goes once a week or less. I haven't found a place yet that doesn't stink.

Re: Fido's- I went there on a week day with Charlie while they had day care dogs, but only one staff member on duty. All of the dogs were in the front lobby, none were actually playing in the park. The woman told me to take a few of the dogs with me and Charlie- and somehow I became the "park ranger" or whatever they call them.

Yup, I love my "kid" and his friends and I think I'm totally trustworthy and mostly understand dog body language,  but I wouldn't be comfortable with someone else unscreened by me doing that with Charlie and those owners probably had no idea. In other words, I would never, ever, leave my dog there unsupervised by me [Someone please tell me if this is an inappropriate place to review this]

Debb-- maybe Everything Canine? I don't know what they will allow, though.

[Pat and Traveler]

I had a somewhat similar experience there--took Trav on a weekday when the 'park' was filled with big dogs and there was only one 'ranger' there--along with me.  It was actually scary, with all the dogs crowding around the newcomer--Trav.  He was scared too, and pressed up against my leg, snarling at the pack.  We left right away.  

 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Sorry to hear that, Pat. With Fidos being an indoor dog park, doggy day care and boarding facility there's always going to be an unexpected mix there in the play area. I think maybe they've bitten off a bit more than they can chew with the services they provide.