Expert: Laura Murphy - 7/11/2007

Question
Laura,
I have a 1.5 year old cairn terrier. I love my little guy to death, but he smells really bad. I understand that cairns are not supposed to be bathed that frequently, but I have to bathe him 1-2 times a week just to keep him so that he is tolerable lol. I used another one of the experts on this web site to ask what the problem may be, and she told me it may be his food. You, being a canine diet and nutrition expert, will hopefully be able to suggest something for me to feed my little guy to get him smelling better. Thank you in advance for any advice/insight you can provide on this matter!!

Bobby

Answer
Hi Bobby.

Okay, tough one, but here goes --

My first comment is that the skin is a reflection of the overall health of the organs and immune system. I totally agree with the other expert who directed you to a diet. The first and most important thing you can do is feed the best diet possible. In my opinion, that's a raw diet, with homecooked next best. But there are some good quality commercial diets if you're not able to go that route. My favorites (and being a raw feeder, I use that term loosely) are:

Dry Dog Food - Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, C&P's Organix, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon formula, and Wellness CORE formula.

Canned Dog Food - Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Innova EVO, Nature's Variety Instinct formula, and Wellness.

All of these use good meat protein sources and few, if any grains. Grains are extremely difficult for your dog to digest and put a lot of strain on the liver and kidneys. This can cause toxins to build up in the system and come out through the skin in the form of rashes, scaling, and body odor. So if you have a source of natural raw food, or if you are willing to cook for your guy and add some supplements such as bone meal and vitamins, that would be the way to go. If your schedule doesn't allow, then I would go with one of the canned foods above, or look for some of the freeze-dried diets available from those companies. They are excellent. Last in line would be dry food -- it's the hardest to digest and the least likely to solve your problem.

There are a couple of excellent natural supplements for body odor. Green foods such as barley grass, chlorella, spirulina, wheat grass, and alfalfa come in powdered form and are excellent for cleaning out the system and improving overall skin and coat health. You can try one or two from a health food store or online, or check out the links from my site below. For a little guy like yours, you would only need about an eighth of a teaspoon twice a day.

Another good overall supplement is digestive enzymes and probiotics. A good digestive enzyme for dogs is Prozyme (available online or below). It contains four different enzymes and helps him fully digest anything he's eating. This cuts down on waste products and puts far less strain on the organs. You will even notice smaller stools as he will be utilizing more of the food he ingests. The probiotics are the beneficial bacteria usually present in the intestines. I usually use lactobacillus acidophilus (which is the probiotic in yogurt). It's available in any grocery store vitamin aisle.

The other thing that goes a long way toward skin health is fatty acids. The best ones for your dog's skin are salmon oil or even plain old fish oil. The generic fish oil capsules are very inexpensive and dogs usually love the taste. This will help his skin immensely.

If you want to go the homeopathic route, there are a couple of remedies that are great for a good liver detox. One is called Thuja Occidentalis and is available at a natural pharmacy or online from a company like www.abchomeopathy.com. A vial of pellets usually costs less than $10 and one or two doses in a 12C or 30C strength would be good for him. Keep it around the house, though, cause it's also great for immune support before and after vaccinations and works wonders on warts (for people, that is). Another good liver detox formula is from Newton Labs at www.newtonlabs.net called Detoxification (from their pet line). I also carry this on my site. You would give it for about 2 weeks and it's like going to a detox spa for dogs. Downside is loose stools for a while, but you'd be amazed at what it does for their overall health. If the other suggestions don't work, this might be a good fall-back plan.

If you find you need to keep bathing him in the meantime, I would use a product such as MalAcetic Shampoo for Dogs and Cats. If he has any type of yeast in his skin this will kill it. To make the bath even more effective, give him a final rinse with a solution containing two tablespoons of vinegar in a quart of water.

I hope this helps you get this cleared up before he loses all his friends due to B.O.!

Good luck.

Laura Murphy
Pets by Nature

Link to information on green foods:
http://www.petsbynature.com/Green_Foods.htm

Link to information on enzymes and probiotics:
http://www.petsbynature.com/Digestive_Blends.htm

http://www.petsbynature.com/Green_Foods.htm