Guest Anonymous Posted September 10, 2002 Share Posted September 10, 2002 i have a 9 month old retreiver mix with very bad hips. the vet said the best thing for her is swimming, which she loves to do. we swim her in the wissahickon creek in philadelphia every day. the problem is she stinks very badly even after one swim. she has a water repellent coat which you are not suppose to bathe more than once a month. we hose her off with regular water after her swims, have tried the herbal sprays, but nothing works. can anyone suggest anything? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolk9s Posted September 10, 2002 Share Posted September 10, 2002 Is it 'normal' wet doggie odor or is there something in that creek that might be dangerous? If it's not normal dog smell, I'd be concerned about her swimming in possibly polluted waters. Not just for her but you also. If it is just wet dog smell, perhaps rubbing baking soda into her coat, let dry, brush out. Does she swim every day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 10, 2002 Share Posted September 10, 2002 My main concern would be [i]Giardia[/i] or [i]Cryptosporium[/i]. Stagnant water and even fresh water can contain both of these and is not a fun thing to have (intestinal wise). [i]E. coli [/i]is found in all waters, but if the water is polluted with human fecal matter --- it could have an unusually high count colonies. You can check with the local Department of Environmental Quality to see if this creek is on the "impacted" list --- which means it's pretty nasty, environmentally speaking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aroura Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 I don't know about overseas, but you can find doggie hydrotherapy pools here in Australia. Maybe something like that would be your best bet. Also, contact a dog naturopath, they'll advise you on things that you can add to the diet to lessen the doggie odour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 I agree with everyone above that the water is probably causing the odor. Retrievers do have a certain odor, but it's not offensive or stinky. We are on the east coast, and 2 of my dogs have had ACL repairs and the vet suggested swimming also. Since we also have Copperheads in the area, I was not keen on taking them to a stream or creek. The vet suggested that I take them to a certain equestrian center that has an indoor pool for animals to use for rehab. Check w/you vet to see if one is in the Philadelphia area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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