bad odor

Question
My 4 month old Golden Retriever has a subtle bad odor on his coat and breath.  I changed his food to that of Nutro Brand made of chicken, rice, oatmeal which helped reduce some of the odor.  However,  some still remains.  Is there anything I can do to rid of the odor?

Answer
Hi Bernice,

Thank you for writing to me about your Golden puppy. I apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience.

A 4 month old dog would be too young to have gum disease so the bad odor must be coming from within.  The first thing to do is to have a full blood workup including a thyroid panel.  I would also ask the vet to do an allergy panel.  It is not uncommon for a dog with thyroid disease and/or allergies to give off an offensive, unhealthy odor.

It is estimated that 10 to 15 percent of all allergic skin diseases in dogs is caused by food allergy.

Common Ingredients

Dog food is made up of a combination of ingredients. The most common ingredients that can cause problems in a dog include:

beef
chicken
corn
eggs
fish
lamb
milk
preservatives
pork
soy
wheat
whey

Symptoms

Itchy skin is the primary symptom a dog suffers from food sensitivities.

Other symptoms may include:

anal itching
ear inflammations
hair loss
licking front paws
loss of appetite
face rubbing
head shaking

These following symptoms may manifest but are rare:

asthma like symptoms
behavioral changes
diarrhea
flatulence
seizures
sneezing
vomiting

Steps of Prevention

Be sure to eliminate all the foods in the dog's diet that match the list above, and feed your dog a human grade preferable organic commericial or homemade diet consisting of ingredients your dog has never eaten before.

The homemade diet should consist of two parts starch and one part protein.

Although duck, salmon, venison, and rabbit are suggested for the protein; and rice and potatoes for the starch; rice is not always a safe substitute.  You might want to use quinoa or millet instead.

I generally recommends fish)and potato based foods for dogs.

You may be able to select a special commercial dog food blend that suits your dog's needs.

Whatever diet you choose for your dog, it should be the only food your dog ingests during the elimination period.
This means no table scraps, dog biscuits, dog bones, rawhide chews, vitamins, minerals or chewable heartworm pills.   This elimination diet is only temporary and once you find out what your dog is allergic to you must
start to add other ingredients to make a complete meal for your dog.

If symptoms begin to improve during the elimination period, you can then re-introduce each of the eliminated food items one at a time. Each food should be tested for a week before another is introduced. This will allow you to pinpoint which foods may be causing problems if symptoms resurface.

Once the offensive food is discovered, then reading dog food labels should help you pinpoint a food that meets the needs of your dog. Although there are many hypoallergenic dog foods on the market, be sure to read the labels carefully.    

**How to grade your dog's food: Start with a grade of 100:

Subtract for the following:

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer�?¢â�?¬â�?¢s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn�?¢â�?¬â�?¢t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn�?¢â�?¬â�?¢t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

Dog Food scores:

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C
Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+
Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B
Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C
Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+
Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+
Diamond Performance / Score 85 C
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+
EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+
Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C
Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C
Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+
Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C
Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+
Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A
Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+
Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+
Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+
Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B
Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A
Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+
Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A
Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F
Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+
Solid Gold / Score 99 A
Summit / Score 99 A
Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+

I always recommend making your own dog food. At
least that way the food is fresh and you know what has gone into it.  A helpful book is Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Dr. Pitcairn.

There is a site on dog health which includes great information about allergies and the best way to feed your dog.  I urge you to spend some time studying the information that this wonderful site has to offer.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/animals.htm

You might consider having a consultation with Dr. Kruesi (http://www.crvetcenter.com/drkruesi.htm).  He is located in Vermont but does phone consultations.  He may ask for additional tests in order to evaluate the reason for your dog's condition. He helped my own dog tremendously when it turned out that she had thyroid disease, heavy metal poisoning and severe allergies.  He turned her health right around!

Try adding omega 3 or 6 fatty acids, antioxidants, zinc and trace minerals, to your dog's diet, as well as Prozyme (J&B Wholesale Pet Supply).

The anal glands can become clogged and cause discomfort and irritation. Occasionally these sacs full of smelly fluid are emptied in frightful or stressful situations. "The anal sacs have no useful function in the dog. It is believed that in the past the sacs'contents were used to mark territory. Today it seems their only purpose is to cause
problems. Make sure that your dog's anal glands are expelled by your vet.

It is also possible that your dog had a bad reaction to his vaccinations which can effect the immune system. Until your dog is in tip top shape, you might want to hold off on further shots.

I do think that because your dog's condition improved when you switched his food, I would recommend that you persue the protocol for allergies as well as adding the oils and nutrients and I bet that your dog's condition will improve dramatically.

Best Regards,
Shelley Davis