stinky chin

[Donna R.]

My blue chow drools quite a bit and the odor under his chin is terrible, I wash him constantly under his chin. What can I do to take care of this problem, I also have a red female chow, we do not have this problem with her

[wokman]

My old Male red Chow has had the chin oder problem all his life. His muzzle has more skin on the upper part which hangs down and seems to trap the drool allowing bacteria to grow there. The first Veterinarian to encounter him told me to wipe the underside of his mouth with mouth wash. I tied this for a short while but worried about the alcohol irritating his skin, it did no good anyway. I later realized that food and dirt from the floor was collecting on the wet underside of his mouth, so after each meal I now wipe under his mouth with a wet paper towel, seems to be the only thing that helps. Do not let tarter and plaque build up on the back teeth or other dental problems be mistaken for chin oder.

[bellachow]

I keep the underneath of Chumley's chin trimmed which helps some but doesn't completely stay clean.

[gebower]

Welcome to the Chow world. They have those jowls. Zeena gets a drink of water and then drools on the floor as she walks away. My first male Chow ALWAYS had a wet chin. Maybe sopping. I used those clean up wipes you get at the pet store. But, if they drool, you can't stop that. It's a Chow. My Max isn't too bad about that luckily. Chows may drool but, they're not "Hooch", the bull mastiff.

Gene.

[lweiher]

I agree with everyone...first a vet check to make sure no irritation or infection...then try to wipe with a dry cloth for drinks and maybe a "puppy wipe" type towel for food and other particles that collect. Do you leave a collar on all the time? I only have a collar on when we go out, not around the house, that way if I don't get a chance to wipe, at least its not collecting under the collar so much. Hope this helps!

[steph131]

Barney always had soggy fur under his chin; when he had his eye operation, the vet trimmed it all so when he wore his colar, it wouldn't be such a good breeding ground for bacteria and infection...best thing that could have happened! I keep it trimmed now, not too short, but just enough so he's not dragging up all the stuff off the floor when he walks (not sure whether it's a chow thing but constantly has his head down sniffing!). Would definitely recommend!

[Rory's Dad]

Bibs...going to invest in bibs specifically designed for chows.

[archeese]

We have the same situation with our Chow who is 6.5 and it seems there is no real solution. We keep a towel near his water bowl and rub his neck dry after he drinks (he loves it and looks forward to it now). We also have his neck hair shaved down when he gets groomed to minimize. Some Chows are just messy!

[JasonandNat]

Bandanas!!! We have over 300 of them. They are cheap at dollar stores. Each uses 1-2 per day, so that's 14-28 per week. Worth it though!