Stinky Beard

[Terri]

Hi all,

I've searched for this topic and tried a bunch of different things. I've tried soap and water face wash. I've tried a deodorizing shampoo face wash. I've tried baby wipes---different smells. I just tried the vinegar/water thing. None of these really help my doodle's beard. It isn't teeth or ears. I've checked into both of these. It is definitely the fur around his muzzle. I tried a deodorizing spray...combing it through after a good face wash. But that just smelled like stink + perfume. Any other ideas that I haven't mentioned. He eats good quality food (Solid Gold) and not a lot of treats. No bully sticks or anything of that nature to make his face stinky. HELP!

Terri

[Terri]

Thanks! I will check again for mats. I have been checking and so far, nothing. I really think its just dried food and water kind of caking up in the hair and getting stinky. BUT, thank you for letting me know what could happen! I'll definitely keep a watchful eye out for mats.

Terri

[Karen]

Ditto - mine are on a raw meaty bone diet with the occasional can of Blue Buffalo Wilderness thrown in for a little variety. Bo's beard something gets stinky, and lo and behold I can pull out a hard, crusty piece of meat, wash him up, and that seems to solve it. I guess the bottom line to ending the stinky beard syndrome is to just keep those susceptible dogs trimmed up and washed a bit more. My Rocky has no such problem -- go figure!

[Nancy Cavanaugh]

I agree - keep the face as dry as you can. Try trimming the beard so it is a little shorter - dry with a microfibre towel - they really soak up the water - dry and comb his beard completely every day - maybe at night - this way it will be dry throughout the night. I use corn starch and comb it thru after I have towel dried as much as I can. the corn startch absorbs whatever dampness is left. Even a little blow dry - if it is still damp. my mom bred shihtzus - and they are notorious for 'stinky face'. She swore by the corn starch regimen. good luck.

[Terri]

I'm trying hard to keep it dry. I'm going to try the microfiber towel thing. I don't have any of those, but am thinking about ordering "ShamWows", which might be great for this. I also was watching the main page slide show today and it seems like Cooper has a much thicker beard than a lot of doodles. I wonder if I should get some of those thinning shears...would that make his beard a little less bulky? Inquiring minds.....

Terri

[Mommy2Max]

Let us know how the Shamwow works. I bought a box a few weeks ago because Max was transitioning from crate to more feedom around the home. That was my way of saying, he was having a few accidents. However, I haven't had a need to use them because he started using the Poochie Bells. If I had known that, I would have purchased the Shamwow months ago! ;)

~Danielle

[Cynthia Mulcahy]

I absolutely love the shamwows and could do the tv add myself. My doodle Isobel swims daily and her curly wool coat is prone to mats. I find if I dry her with the shamwows by compressing, not rubbing they soak up a phenomenal amount of water and keep her from matting. Isobel also gets "stinky beard" from time to time and washing and drying with the smaller finer shamwows (the blue ones) helps to keep her beard smelling clean. Doodlekisses is awesome I found the shamwows in my local CVS

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Sham Wows do NOT work. I thought it would be a great thing but they don't work well on dog fur. Ours are going in the rag bin for the cars.

[Janie]

Washing the beard with vineger and water helps a lot.

[Terri]

Update on the stinky beard: I tried everything under the sun and I still couldn't stand the smell....so this last time we had him groomed, I had them trim the bottom of his beard very short. Its still shaggy on the sides of his muzzle. It is SOOOOO much better. I really think he'd drink then take a big ol' bite of his food and it would cake up in his beard. I'm going to keep his beard short even when his summer cut grows out a little. :-)