Doggy daycare is great and all, but when your dog stinks after daycare, it doesn’t seem as wonderful. That’s especially true when you have to give your dog a shower or bath nearly every day because your dog smells like pee after daycare.
If you’re struggling with this nuisance from dog daycare, you’re not alone. The good news is that there is something you can do about it.
Why Your Dog Stinks After Daycare
The fact of the matter is that dogs aren’t the cleanest animals. They love to get messy. Rolling around in the grass or dirt when something stinky is in it like a dead animal. Walking through another dog’s pee, and even stepping in another dog’s poop.
Not to mention when a whole bunch of dogs gets together, the mild stench of each of them creates a huge stench.
Even the cleanest doggy daycares have a hard time keeping the smell gone completely.
So, what should you do when your dog stinks after daycare?
What to Do When Your Dog Stinks After Daycare
The following are some ideas on what you can do if your dog stinks after daycare.
Request a Spray Down Before Pickup
Some doggy daycares will deodorize dogs before pickup to hide some of the smell that lingers on their canine guests. If yours doesn’t do that, ask them if they would be willing to give your pup a few spritzes before you pick up him/her each day. This can help with keeping your car from smelling like a wet dog every day.
Click here for some deodorizers you can use on your dog.
Consider Health Issues
There are many health issues that could cause your dog to stink after daycare.
Impacted Anal Glands
If the smell is new, you may want to consider your pup has a health issue. For instance, if the smell is fishy, it may be an anal gland issue. You may need to empty the anal glands yourself or have a groomer or vet do it.
You should also know that even if your dog’s anal glands aren’t full, stress may be a factor in why your pup smells. This is especially true if your dog is in a new environment. Stress can make dogs excrete some of their anal gland juices, which smell really bad. That could be what is going on with your dog, but still, get them checked out.
Incontinence
If your dog smells like pee after daycare, your dog may have some incontinence issues. The reason you smell it after daycare instead of while you’re with him/her is because of “nose blindness”. In other words, when you’re around the smell long enough, you don’t smell it anymore.
Older dogs are most susceptible to incontinence. If your older dog has been going to daycare for a while, this may be the cause of the bad smell.
Periodontal Disease
Periodontal disease is another possible cause of a dog smelling bad, especially if your dog has bad breath. You may only notice it after daycare because you’re closer to your pup since you’ve missed him/her all day.
Bad breath doesn’t have to be due to periodontal disease. It could simply be because of unclean teeth. Speak to your vet about your dog’s teeth, so you can find out if it’s time for cleaning.
Liver Disease or Kidney Disease
Liver disease and kidney disease are diseases that cause a foul odor. They are often accompanied by other symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, etc. They are serious medical conditions that require treatment. Speak to your vet if you believe your pup may be suffering from liver disease.
Consider Potty Training Challenges
Young dogs or puppies still potty training may soil their kennels while at the daycare facility. This means that they may get their urine or feces on themselves, which is a reason why a dog smells like pee after daycare.
Unfortunately, the only thing you can do in this case is give your young puppy a bath or shower whenever there’s a bad smell.
Speak to the Dog Daycare
It may be time to check in on the boarding facility even if it’s known to be a great daycare.
Communicate
Many of the dog daycares don’t know how bad it smells because they are “nose blind”. Letting them know in a polite way may help them improve their cleaning practices.
Inspect
Unfortunately, unkempt daycare facilities are red flags that they are not caring for their canine guests well. This could mean that the staff members may not be cleaning as well as they should or leaving dogs in play areas or kennels for extended periods.
No dogs, even young puppies, should have pee and feces around them – unless it just happened. We all know that we can’t be on top of what happens immediately, but if it seems as though they have been with their feces or urine for a while, that’s definitely a red flag. Pay attention to this if your dog smells like pee after daycare because it may be what is happening.
Inquire
A change in environment may cause some situations where a foul smell may be on your dog. For example, if there are new dogs, one of them may have bad breath. This means that if your dog is playing with the dog and the dog’s saliva gets on your dog’s fur, it could make your pup smell bad.
Ask the daycare if there are some new friends at the daycare. If there is, just let them know there may a health issue with one of them.
Pay Attention to Your Dog’s Behavior
A sign of your dog being cooped up in a kennel for extended periods is being super hyper after pickup. Dogs shouldn’t be super hyper because they sure are tired from a day of fun at doggie daycare. One of the many benefits of doggie daycare is to have your pup socialize in play groups, go on group walks, possibly play in dog parks, and receive mental stimulation. If your dog’s energy level is high when you get home, it’s likely because he/she has been resting all day.
Learn More: Dog Acting Different After Daycare
Walk-Through
You may want to ask for a walk-through of the boarding facility the next time you pick up or drop off your dog to check on the indoor environment. It should be visibly clean and smell like staff members have been cleaning throughout the day.
Identify and Resolve the Problem
As a dog owner, you have the right to figure out if the dog daycare center is causing your dog to stink. Don’t worry about your dog getting kicked out of daycare.
While it may be uncomfortable to speak to a staff member, as long as you do it in a polite way, it won’t be so awkward. A good daycare will be receptive to your feedback and be open to helping you fix the way your dog smells after daycare.
If it’s not the daycare, it could be something to do with your dog’s health, so find out by connecting with your veterinarian.
Just know that you’re likely not the only dog owners dealing with this, and by stepping up you won’t only be helping yourself but others as well.
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