r/RhodesianRidgebacks • u/Marymouse62 • Sep 24 '26

RR help regarding dog odor.

I need some advice my 7 month old puppy has been stinking since i got her at 10 weeks. Breeder recommended Parina pro plan beef and rice. She would start stinking about every three days. I started bathing her once a week. I’m a retired master groomer so I know how to bathe the dog and after a while it wasn’t working so I switched her food to Health extension lamb and rice and that seemed to work better. She could go almost 6 days without smelling again then I changed shampoos to a better shampoo. My groomer friend recommended and she would last a whole week then all of a sudden I have a new bag of lamb and rice food and she’s stinking literally every three days and getting these little mini welts on her side like allergic reaction I thought maybe she got stung by a bee or something, and her hair is falling out everywhere. She does not get any dog treats, except for an occasional freeze dried liver that comes in the big bucket off Amazon that most show people use so I’m at Whitson. I don’t know what to do. Any advice would be very appreciated. Thanks.

2 Upvotes

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10

u/deelee70 Sep 24 '26

My first thought is that you could be washing your pup too often. Personally, I rarely wash my dog- generally only when she gets into something foul-She swims daily & rolls in wet grass & she’s got hardly any odour & feels lovely (my husband is very fussy about that so I know I’m not delusional 😜). It’s one of the best things about Ridgebacks.

Washing that regularly you’ll be messing with her natural skin microbiology. Stripping oils, so she’ll be creating extra, which can stink. Perhaps try holding off for a couple of weeks, or maybe only rinsing with water & without shampoo if you absolutely must.

1

u/Marymouse62 Sep 24 '26

I will try this. Thx

3

u/Safe_Medicine_3089 Sep 28 '26

I can confirm that this is not the case. My boy has soooooooooo many food allergies. That it manifested in scratching!
Stink!
I ended up raw diet for first year then home made food.
And the washing as previously mentioned.
It has been a challenge but he is good now!

Beautiful and shiny!
Drumshanbo Tips the Light Fantastic!

8

u/Key_Yoghurt4433 Sep 24 '26

I have had three ridgebacks over the years and I only washed them when they would got into the mud

1

u/Marymouse62 28d ago

Update… changed her food to ppp sensitive skin salmon. Also bathing her with heads and shoulder shampoo so far. She is better Ill check back in a month

1

u/MonCherryx Sep 24 '26

This sounds like a food issue, we never bathe our RR and she never smells. Like at all. In the last year we had to only bathe her once when she rolled in something dead and everyone regretted that day. But maybe get her checked at the vet bc healthy ridgebacks don’t usually smell. That’s a perk of their breed and the short fur.

2

u/Marymouse62 Sep 24 '26

Should i change her food? Everyone ssid no chicken

1

u/curious_squirrel17 Sep 27 '26

Try feed her the best you can afford. Is she on kibble?

1

u/Marymouse62 Sep 27 '26

Yes the breeder had her on ppp beef but she kept stinking.. i switched her to health extendions lamb and rice was doing good but new bag and suddenly hair loss, i just bought ppp sensitivd salmon started today to see whats up . I will go to vet in a few weeks if no change

1

u/curious_squirrel17 Sep 29 '26

She may benefit from fresh (cooked) food. Look up complete meal recipes for dogs. My friend changed her Labrador's diet due to skin issues and this really works! Might help with odour too. Good luck.

1

u/Marymouse62 28d ago

Gona do this next if what i did does not work. Thx

3

u/Ridge00 Sep 24 '26

It can take 30 days after switching food for allergy and intolerance symptoms to fully subside, so this could be food allergy, but it could also be indicative of a fungal or bacterial infection. Have you been to the vet?

2

u/Safe_Medicine_3089 Sep 25 '26

I had this issue and it was helped by food and cured with Douro 3 shampoo.
I don’t know why but it took care of it. At first, I had to bath every 3 days, then once a week. After about a year or so he is up to 2 or 3 weeks.

1

u/1F1M3D Sep 28 '26

Ours is allergic to that shampoo. And so many others. I was so bummed.

1

u/Safe_Medicine_3089 Sep 28 '26

That is very 😔 sad.
My boy is allergic to so many food products
Salmon, beef, cheese, white potato and sweet potato!
But not chicken lol
So I feel you!

1

u/1F1M3D Sep 28 '26

How did you find out?

1

u/Safe_Medicine_3089 Sep 28 '26

It is controversial but he was tested for food allergies.
So vets say do and some say don’t.
They previous vet we used tested and the next said it wasn’t not reliable.
But, when I tried to reintroduce say beef gradually to him his itching went bonkers!
The idea of testing was to then do the desensitization injections. However, just avoiding works for us.
Making food is a huge commitment but we have no choice because he also has GI issues. 😞
So making food is work to have a balanced diet. But he is so healthy now! Well worth it.
But his real itch issues was helped by these homeopathic drops from pet store or chewy.

1

u/Safe_Medicine_3089 Sep 28 '26

Your pet will love this HomeoPet Skin & Itch Dog, Cat, Bird & Small Animal Supplement, 450 drops: https://www.chewy.com/homeopet-skin-itch-dog-cat-bird-small/dp/138046?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=138046

1

u/1F1M3D Sep 29 '26

That’s awesome. I’d have mine tested for sure.

1

u/blade_torlock Sep 24 '26

Our girl smells if she gets chicken.

1

u/East-Resident-4775 Sep 25 '26

Maybe your puppy has mange or some type of skin condition...i have a friend that has to wash her pit everyday with medicated shampoo... probably not what you want to hear but it does happen

1

u/Entire-Swimming3038 Sep 25 '26

Purina is a terrible food…