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I bathed our Chow yesterday and she still smells pretty bad after I dried her up. We used a recommended soap by PetSmart that supposed to help but it didn't.

Fluffy is 6 months old and she not spayed yet since the Vet that we tried to take her to a couple of weeks ago was not able to do it. She's going through her menstruation period and I am not sure if that's contributing to the smell.

She also likes licking herself down there and we thought that it was her breath the smells! But it's all over her body and my sister who has had many pets even smelled her and she agreed.

Is it the food? We give her Nutro Lamb and Rice like other owners do.
Is it her period? But she's always smelled.
Is it the bath? We give her a bath once a month and she's always indoors.

Help!

Hello there,
Did you Chow smell before she came into season?

If she didn't, I would suggest that it is her season. It can smell pretty strong - they say a dog can smell a bitch on heat from a very long distance.

If she did smell before and she keeps licking round her rear end, could be she has an infection or blocked *Censored Word* glands so I would suggest you wait until her season is finished - usually about 20 days from beginning to end - and then take her to a vet again.

Chows have folds in the skin at the corner of their mouths and they can get clogged and smelly so check there.

Other than these suggestions, I don't know. I would think a process of elimination and see what you come up with as Chows don't usually smell. They don't even have the doggy smell of some dogs.

Good luck and I am sure somebody on the site will offer some more helpful suggestions.

Have you ever taken her to a groomer? We're fortunate, we know of a groomer that takes Chows. We go every 6 weeks. Bruin smells so pretty and clean when she comes home. She's been going since she was a puppy and had all of her puppy shots.
I understand Some groomers can be very expensive. Ours is very inexpensive.

Good Luck on your decision.

Bruins mom

If her skin seems greasy, or has scaly patches, it could be *seborrhea*, an overproduction of sebum, (greasy secretion from sebaceous glands). The glands are affected by hormone levels, so being in season could affect sebum flow.

If she's always had seborrhea though, it could be genetically linked, could be a sign of hormone or nutritional imbalance, (for example, low biotin or zinc). Has the vet examined the skin?

Thank you for the responses. How oftern are they in season? I see that it goes on for 20 days. She never smelled this bad before. She smelled but not this bad.

I have to find a groomer in our are that would take Chows. Anyone from the Stevenson Ranch or Valencia CA area?

Thank you.

Chows also by nature have a 'musky' smell. It is different from a normal 'dog' smell.

Can you describe the smell? Our Cayenne smelled when we first got her home. Found out it was her *Censored Word* glands due to stress.

Mandy

If the "in season" smell is one you smelled before, I wonder if it is the *Censored Word* glands and a trip to the vet is in order to have them expressed. I don't know much about this procedure, but I do know that when Bones is fearful, he 'sets off his *Censored Word* glands' which releases a horrible smell worse than ummm, sorry, but poop. Bones has smelled like this about 6-10 times in his lifetime and the smell does go away after awhile - 15-30 minutes and the air and space around him smells really bad too.
Good luck. Debbie

I know of one in Chatsworth...little bit of a drive. Might want to call first to see if they will take her. I take my chow there, but, use the "do it yourself" tubs. They are very friendly there and have told me they do have a few chows they groom. It's called Dunkin Doggies, at 21425 Devonshire St (off the Desoto exit from the 118 West). Phone number is 818-407-4030.

Seborrhea has a strong rancid odor. The sebaceous glands are affected by hormones, so the odor would be stronger during a 'heat cycle'.

Excerpt: Seborrhea

"Sebum is a normal product of certain skin glands.  In seborrhea, excessive sebum is produced and appears as dry, light colored flakes in the hair coat or as greasy, waxy scales on the skin and hair.  Because sebum is a fatty material, it becomes rancid and causes a strong coat odor.
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Seborrhea may occur as a disease by itself (primary seborrhea) or result from an underlying disease (secondary seborrhea).   
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In some cases, surgical sterilization (spay or neuter) helps decrease sebum production."

http://www.uslink.net/~farnham/skin.htm

My wife and I just inspected her private and her *Censored Word* and the *Censored Word* is seems ok. The private part is somewhat redish and looks sore and maybe due to her so called 'season'.

Pet Assist of Santa Clarita recommended a vet in Sun Valley and I called them and they take Chows. The one is Stevenson Ranch was horrible and rude to us and did not want to take our Chow.

Is there a closer one in the Valencia area?

thanks.