# Neck, head and ear area smell...........



## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

What would cause an oder around the back of the head, neck and ear area? It is almost a sour smell. Is this pretty normal in poodles?


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

I'd say one of two things. Could be a hotspot, Harry's smelled horrible. Seriously the worst smell ever aside from parvo. Or could be yeast infection in his ears. Smell the ears and if it's a sour smell it's probably yeast.


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

I would say NO, it is not normal to detect a sour smell around the dog's head in a reasonably clean dog. Now if they went out and rolled in something "special" that might be a different story lol 

Did you check inside the ears? That could be the problem and would cause you to be able to smell the dog when you got near the head. Also the mouth merits a closer look. I once had a grooming client who's whole head just reeked, with a nasty sour infection type smell. Ewww. I was certain it was the ears but I checked over and over again and they were clean as a whistle no smell. My bather just happened catch a glmips of something in the dog's mouth when it yawned and we had a closer look. Poor puppy had a stick lodged between his back teeth across the roof of his mouth. Gross.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

KPoos said:


> I'd say one of two things. Could be a hotspot, Harry's smelled horrible. Seriously the worst smell ever aside from parvo. Or could be yeast infection in his ears. Smell the ears and if it's a sour smell it's probably yeast.


A hotspot? Forgive me....

I was thinking the same thing maybe yeast. I have noticed it when he first came home though. It seems after a few days after the bath it gets worse. Here is the thing I am used to dogs that almost have no dog or outside smell, I have adjusted fine. I know that sounds terrible but dogs have different smell, you know.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

WonderPup said:


> I would say NO, it is not normal to detect a sour smell around the dog's head in a reasonably clean dog. Now if they went out and rolled in something "special" that might be a different story lol
> 
> Did you check inside the ears? That could be the problem and would cause you to be able to smell the dog when you got near the head. Also the mouth merits a closer look. I once had a grooming client who's whole head just reeked, with a nasty sour infection type smell. Ewww. I was certain it was the ears but I checked over and over again and they were clean as a whistle no smell. My bather just happened catch a glmips of something in the dog's mouth when it yawned and we had a closer look. Poor puppy had a stick lodged between his back teeth across the roof of his mouth. Gross.


He is very clean, and we do his ears, and checked the ears again today, but did not even consider the mouth........


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Olie said:


> A hotspot? Forgive me....
> 
> I was thinking the same thing maybe yeast. I have noticed it when he first came home though. It seems after a few days after the bath it gets worse. Here is the thing I am used to dogs that almost have no dog or outside smell, I have adjusted fine. I know that sounds terrible but dogs have different smell, you know.


Yes. A hotspot can be caused my numerous things. I learned all about it when Harry got his. I think his was caused by a bite of some kind that got an infection. It spreads and it smells nasty. Check under the hair for anything sticky or yucky because that's how Harry's started. If it is yeast you can do vinegar rinses. Look up online how to make a vinegar rinse for the ears and it will kill yeast. Just be sure to follow the directions.


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## wishpoo (Sep 12, 2009)

I would say ear infection or something !!!!! Take him to the vet ASAP ! Poodles have NO smell whatsoever - they smell like a fresh forest air (OK, maybe I exaggerate LOL), but seriously _ NO SMELL !!! 

Best of luck !!!!


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## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

three questions:
#1 is he usually air dried after bathing?
#2 is he matted
#3 are you sure- can you see his skin when you part his hair?

sometimes they will get a sour dish rag smell if they arent dried all the way or if they have some matts, the moisture will be trapped down by the skin and make them smell sour. 


funny(only not really) story

the first time I ever wrapped Kaden's hair I used spray conditioner on each chunk before wrapping, when I went to change the wraps he actually had mildew around the spots where the bands were and stunk like wet laundry. 
NOT COOL, he smelled like that everytime I washed him for about a month 
ewwww


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## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

I also wanted to add that I didn't want to imply that you dont take care of your dog, or anything like that. 

these are just a couple of things that I have learned that were not mentioned


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## Pooplapoodles (Oct 20, 2009)

We train our poodles to hunt so our dogs Ruffian and Hooligan get wet almost every day. Oddly Hooligan never smells - on the other hand, if Ruffian is not dried out thoroughly he can start to smell like sour milk around his ears, and mouth. Mostly we find this is when the humidity is high and he stays damp longer. Try at least force drying your dogs head if he gets wet -- and if he is a big sloppy drinker of water ;-) you might make sure his "flews" around his mouth are kept fairly short...also, as others have mentioned make sure you keep his ears cleaned out. If you like the look and he has good ear leathers you might also consider keeping his ears trimmed down with a 5 blade or shorter. Good luck!


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

I do that with Harry because he's got ears that are full of hair and we live in a humid climate. It's helped a lot with his ears and I like the look on a boy.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

wishpoo said:


> I would say ear infection or something !!!!! Take him to the vet ASAP ! Poodles have NO smell whatsoever - they smell like a fresh forest air (OK, maybe I exaggerate LOL), but seriously _ NO SMELL !!!
> 
> Best of luck !!!!


Agree we have an appointment, thanks


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

frostfirestandards said:


> three questions:
> #1 is he usually air dried after bathing?
> #2 is he matted
> #3 are you sure- can you see his skin when you part his hair?
> ...


We allow him to air dry right now, his hair is not realy long because the breeder had him short because of the surgery he had. But I can see that happening so I will check this in the future.

And Olie does have ears! And I love them!!


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Oh is he shaking his head more than normal? Usually when they have ear infections they shake the head a lot. Is he scratching the area more? He might have rolled in something outside? Dogs are silly they get into everything and like to roll in it.


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## Pooplapoodles (Oct 20, 2009)

One of my favorite trims is one where the tail is cut down with a five and the ears are cut down with a five. The legs are left a little full but the body is trimmed down with a five as well. Then the dog has a mane and topnot that is very sleek. Dogs with long earl leathers look GORGEOUS in it - my two with "mouse ears" look cute but not as stylish.

Since we work our dogs right now - none of them are in that trim - too much work with longer leg hair. But some day ....

Good luck with your odors! And btw - another thought would be to try a specialty shampoo that has an antibacterial in it. 

Claudia


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Don't some shampoos on the market help the drying process to be faster? I thought I'd read that some where.


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## taxtell (Sep 17, 2009)

Our Cavalier used to have a lot of eye discharge, and it stunk really bad all around his head/face.

But I agree with the vet appointment (of course!).


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I have also been checking his shaking of the head and I don't see that anymore than usual... 

But the shampoo that helps dry might be helpful so I can minimize the issue if it isn't an ear infection or something more serious.

He does have some eye discharge too. I am keeping an eye on that, no pun intended lol! Last night I trimmed his face close after his bath, I am taking sparatics pics today and wil send some soon. He is growing so fast! My poms just stay small, so this is new for me.

I will googel the shampoos unless you have a recommendation. THANKS for the help!


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## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

Petsmart sells quick drying shampoo I cant remember what its called but I have bought it before


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## Pooplapoodles (Oct 20, 2009)

Did you ever take your dog to the vet? What did you find out?


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Just today. And he has been doing better thanks to everyones little tips. 

Anyway no infections thank goodness. But the Vet gave us a solution to clean his ears once a week and we have been using the dry powder and blowing him dry around the ears and mouth area. He mentioned Olie had some ears, but he does have a good deal of hair underneath that we need to think about trimming.....any thoughts on that?


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

When Riley had some ear problems and i had his ears at a long length, i used to trim them underneith. I would shave under the ear like for the face shave, and i would shave up the back side of the ear. There was really thick hair there for Riley. I would shave only what you couldnt see when the ear was laying flat. I also shaved alot of the under neith ear leather. When you looked at him he looked like he had his full ears, but they were shaved under. Worked very well for us, and i did this all the time. Then we just went to short ears all over, and Love it (we did have quite a few years of full ears though, so now i am on a short ear kick)!


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Also truth be told, I also was not aware of how deap the one canal in the ear closest to the opening up against their face was.......I am not sure we were cleaning that well enough. SO we will do the cleaner and spray at least one to two times weekly. Poor guy. He's much better though.


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## wishpoo (Sep 12, 2009)

It is OK - you found out what to do and how !!! I was from the beginning sure that his ears are the source of the smell. Even if they do not have real infection, "stale" conditions are perfect place for bacteria and yeast to grow !!! Only when they really overgrow you can "see" infection - it does not mean they (bacteria) are not there and "loving it" ; ) LOL 

Yes - the best way is to keep that area "aerated", DRY, and clean. Use any means and tricks you can and all will be just fine


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