No Bath Required: How to Make Your Dog Smell Good Without a Bath

After bathing your dog, it’s a dream to keep them smelling so good for as long as possible. Plus, so many dogs are resistant to baths. With that in mind, the question becomes, is there a way to make your dog smell good without a bath?

In this article, Acme Canine provides tips and tricks for deodorizing your furry friend and keeping them smelling good between baths.

Why You Might Need to Deodorize Your Dog

Before getting into the methods, it’s essential to understand more about your dog’s body and what causes them to emit the typical dog odor. A lot of it comes down to sweat.

Dogs don’t sweat in the way that humans do. They don’t sweat from their skin pores at all. Instead, they emit it in other ways, including through their hair follicles, creating their unique smell.

Dogs also produce oil as a necessary part of their healthy skin and hair, producing its own scent. But your dog’s smell will worsen when bacteria and funguses infest them or when your dog has particular health issues, such as the following:

• Ear Infections: Some dogs are prone to ear infections, which is a bigger risk if your pooch has either hairy or floppy ears, but it can happen to any of them.
• Dental disease: Dental issues cause bad breath at best and health discomfort for your dog at worst. This is a common source of an unpleasant pet smell.
• Issues with anal glands: Sometimes, your dog’s anal sacs become blocked, resulting in the glands becoming swollen and leading to your dog scratching and licking their rear ends excessively, which opens the glands up to further infection and abscesses.

Regular grooming is the way to minimize health risks, and it should be one of your priorities as a dog owner to keep your dog smelling fresh and clean. Focusing on this will prevent countless other issues, such as the ones described above. To solve this, here are a few grooming options for this purpose.

Ways to Deodorize Your Dog Without a Bath

• Brushing and Grooming: You don’t have to bathe and dry your dog to brush and groom them. Brushing removes what dogs pick up on their adventures and minimizes odors and health risks. If your dog has dry skin, sensitive skin, or even a skin infection, you can use gentler grooming methods for which there are specialized products available.
• Using Dry Shampoo: There are plenty of dry dog shampoo products available that will allow you to remove the bad odor or wet dog smell from your dog without the hassle of washing them. This is great for cleaning your pooch up between baths.
• Spritzing: There are also numerous spritz products available for your dog. Usually, spritzing is a demonized punishment method for your dog, but in this case, it’s all about neutralizing odors and addressing health issues like infections. Browse a little, and you will discover various purposes such as detanglers, products to address ear infections, etc.
• Commercial Dog Deodorizing Products: There are numerous other commercial dog deodorizing products on the market, too, such as spray bottles, wet wipes, dry shampoo, dog toothpaste, and even dog cologne which can be used to keep the bad smells at bay.

Tips for Maintaining a Pleasant Dog Smell

If you use these tools and techniques to groom and brush your dog regularly, you will maintain the “fresh from the bath” smell that is so lovely and smacks of a healthy dog. There are other steps to take along with this that will extend it even further and keep your dog’s health intact as much as possible, too.

For instance, keeping your dog’s bed and toys clean is essential. Your furry friend loves to play with their toys, but neglecting them can cause them to become dirty and more at risk of carrying parasites, leading to a higher risk of infection.

Your dog’s diet is also hugely important, and this applies to both main meals and treats. Research before shopping around, and you will find healthy treats and meals. Finding something your dog loves might take trial and error, but once you hit the motherlode, you will decrease the risk of pet smell or a foul odor from your dog’s skin, fur, or coat.

If your dog has any underlying health issues, these are important to address directly, too.

Conclusion

Maintaining your dog’s health and hygiene between baths is essential as it will minimize the risk of further issues in the future and keep your house in good shape by eliminating unpleasant odors. Your dog’s quality of life (and your own) are tied up in this, and it is a great thing in and of itself to stay on top of.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I deodorize my dog?

Every two weeks is recommended. It’s advisable to bathe your dog every three months (too much can dry out their skin), but deodorizing can be done more often.

Can I use human deodorizing products on my dog?

No. You should not use any human products on your dogs. Some of our favorite human food is terrible for dogs; the same rule applies here.

What should I do if my dog’s odor doesn’t go away?

If, after regular grooming, your dog’s odor remains unpleasant, it’s time to talk to a professional. You might consider taking your pup to the vet to begin with.

How can I prevent my dog from getting too smelly in the first place?

Craft a high-quality diet, groom them regularly, wash their bedding and toys, brush their teeth (important!), and take your pooch for regular vet checkups. As much as your dog will hate some of that, it’s for their own good as well as yours.