When you’re short on time, you’ve probably wondered how to make your dog smell good without a bath. The grooming regimen for your dog must include baths. A thorough bath helps create a healthy, hydrated coat and skin while keeping your dog’s fur clean and fresh. This leaves the issue of how to keep your dog smelling good between baths.
The best way to make your dog smell good is to wash them, but experts don’t advise doing it daily. Too many baths each week throw off the natural oil balance on your dog’s body and coat, leading to dry, itchy skin. However, maintaining your dog’s fresh scent might be challenging without one.
Rainy days, muddy walks, and roughhousing in the garden can all contribute to a musty dog smell. Whether your pet has a skin condition and can’t tolerate bathing, or you want to freshen up without water in the cold winter, it’s prudent to learn how to make dogs smell better.
- Tips for How to Keep Your Dog Smelling Good
- What Causes Unpleasant Doggy Odor?
- How to Make Your Dog Smell Good Without a Bath
- How to Make Dogs Smell Better by Cleaning the Dog Bed
- Make a Puppy Smell Good With DIY Dry Shampoo
- Groom Regularly to Keep Dogs Smelling Fresh
- Deodorize a Dog With Homemade Spray
- Eliminate Wet Dog Smell With Apple Cider Vinegar
- Baking Soda Freshens a Smelly Dog
Tips for How to Keep Your Dog Smelling Good
Every dog owner adores their canine companion, yet the smell they make and the dog hair everywhere are sometimes unpleasant. It pays to learn how to make your dog smell good without a bath. Whether you’re short on time or want to avoid fighting to get your puppy into the tub, deodorizing without bathing is a valuable skill.
A regular bath with quality dog shampoo is part of most seasonal pet care. Follow our method to make a DIY shampoo to clean your dog and keep ticks off. Knowing how to make dogs smell better if your dogs skin condition or another factor limits bath time doesn’t have to be tough. Find a straightforward home remedy to keep your pup smelling fresh year-round.
What Causes Unpleasant Doggy Odor?
Though we typically blame a dogs coat for the foul odor, there are often several factors responsible when your pet starts to stink. Dog odor may stem from your dogs teeth and bad breath, or your dogs ear due to an ear infection or waxy buildup. Be sure to follow our home remedy to clean wax out of the dog’s ears to eliminate this bad smell.
If you suspect issues such as a skin infection or impacted anal glands contribute to your dog’s smell, consult your veterinarian before beginning home treatments. Consider getting your dog a health check-up.
If your pet is healthy and struggling with typical dog odor or foul smells from playing outside, choose a remedy best suited to you and your pet to eradicate the smell.
How to Make Your Dog Smell Good Without a Bath
Although white vinegar can harm your dog’s skin and eyes, it helps eradicate canine odors, keep bugs away, and maintain a healthy skin pH when used in small doses. Your dog’s coat stays healthy, and smells are less likely to develop after their skin pH is balanced. Mix a simple spray to eliminate pet odor using white vinegar.
Shake and spritz lightly over your dog’s coat. When used appropriately, vinegar leaves your dog smelling fresh rather than vinegary. If you want the scent to last longer, add a few drops of lavender or rosemary essential oil.
In addition to helping your pet avoid pests, such as flies and fleas, these essential oils make them smell good. Only use essential oils in tiny amounts; never apply them directly to your pet’s skin or coat.
How to Make Dogs Smell Better by Cleaning the Dog Bed
Sometimes the source of bad odor is not your dog itself. If you find you are cleaning up your dog and the smell is returning quickly, the bedding may be to blame.
Smelly bedding harbors odor-causing bacteria, which return to your dog after you clean them and bring back the smell. Try laundering your dog’s bedding while you treat them with a suggestion from this list to achieve a pleasant aroma that sticks around.
Make a Puppy Smell Good With DIY Dry Shampoo
Skip the dog bath and break out this DIY dry shampoo when your puppy gets smelly. Dry shampoos are suitable if you don’t have time for a bath. They effectively deodorize your dog and clean dirt and debris between baths.
Dry shampoo is an excellent solution if your dog has dry, sensitive skin; it cleans without removing its natural oils. Dry shampoos don’t require water and are easy to use. Make your own dry shampoo at home.
Add the baking soda and cornstarch, then the essential oils. Secure the lid, shake the contents until thoroughly combined, and pour them into a jar with a shaker top (like an old salt shaker). Sprinkle on the dog’s coat, rub the powder in, wait a few minutes, and then brush it off.
Groom Regularly to Keep Dogs Smelling Fresh
Dog grooming is a valuable substitute to help with your dogs smell. Whether you own a cute golden retriever or a chihuahua, every dog benefits from brushing its coat, and grooming is critical to senior pet care.
Removing built-up hair, loose dander, and excess oils helps your dog maintain their coat naturally, preventing dirt particles from becoming trapped and causing a stench.
Choose an appropriate grooming brush at your local pet store and work gently and methodically through your pet’s coat. Grooming is a wise time to inspect your pet for issues like ear infections or impacted anal glands that have the potential to contribute to odor.
Deodorize a Dog With Homemade Spray
Keeping your dog smelling clean between baths is challenging, and the task is made harder because of the struggle to use safe products. Witch hazel can remove skunk smell suck to your dog and destroys odorous bacteria without being dangerous.
Lavender essential oil adds a pleasing fragrance and poses no risk to your pet when diluted and applied in small measures. Mix this simple lavender witch hazel deodorant spray for your dog and their possessions.
Shake the ingredients in a sprayer and apply them to your dog as needed. This spray works well on dog bedding, toys, and even furniture to remove the lingering odor of wet dogs and leave the spaces you share with your pets pleasingly fragranced.
Eliminate Wet Dog Smell With Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar has proven health benefits for canines and humans alike. This versatile liquid is safe for dogs and offers a cheap and efficient way to control doggy odor.
One of the best things to prevent a dog from smelling is apple cider vinegar. It eliminates yeast and germs and returns your dog’s skin and coat to its original pH. Make a quick dog deodorizer by diluting apple cider vinegar with water.
Shake vigorously until the apple cider vinegar and water are mixed, and spray throughout your dog’s hair. The vinegar gets to work immediately to neutralize foul odor. It has the bonus of repelling bothersome pests like fleas and ticks who hate the scent.
If you find the vinegar scent too heavy, add half a dozen drops of a pet-safe essential oil for a more pleasant fragrance.
Baking Soda Freshens a Smelly Dog
Baking soda is the star of multiple home hacks for cleaning and deodorizing, yet this product is so safe we use it in our food. The strong odor-absorbing properties of baking soda and its lack of toxicity make it an ideal solution to erase a bad smell from your pet without hurting them.
Chemical cleaning supplies and shampoos are inappropriate for a dog’s skin. Use baking soda as a dry shampoo to eliminate dog body odor and benefit from its deodorizing properties. Baking soda is a safe and unscented odor neutralizer.
Pour baking soda on your dogs fur, work it into the coat with your fingers, and brush it out for a quick and easy homemade dog deodorizer. To reduce cleanup, apply the dry shampoo outside. This deodorizing waterless technique makes it painless to give your dog a cleaner fragrance while traveling or when they’re not feeling well.
When you know how to keep your dog smelling good, you don’t have to worry about embarrassing encounters or your pet making your home and furniture stink.
Though bathing is an effective way to get rid of a smell on your dogs hair, it’s time-consuming and removes the natural oils from their coat. If your dog has skin problems and can’t take a bath or doesn’t enjoy it, use a simple trick to clean up its fur without bathing them.
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