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Smelly Dog?

Contributed by a friend of LRR

Living on the water, our dogs swim almost daily from March/April until the end of the year. Their fur coats provide a great environment for bacteria, encouraged by hot weather, to thrive. Over a short period of time, the dogs start to smell. Then, any small insect bite or skin irritation will quickly lead to a dreaded hot spot.

We were reluctant to bathe the dogs with a shampoo every time they became odiferous, believing that in the long term this was also not good for them.

We seem to have hit on a low-cost, simple to apply and very effective solution. We hose the dogs down in fresh water and then saturate their cost with a solution of white vinegar and water (about 1/2 pint of vinegar to 2 gallons of water) We dry the dogs without rinsing the solution out of their coats.

The smell disappears immediately; their coats feel great to the touch; and there is no noticeable after-smell from bathing in the vinegar/water solution.

Give it a try if you have a stinky hound. It works great for us!