swimming in the creek probably made it worse. have you checked to make sure he doesn't have any sort of skin condition that could lead to a bad odor?

The creek is clear and clean -- our lab has never had a bath and swims in the creek daily. Just a thought though - the only other dog that I remember having that noxious odor was also an intact male. Do all intact males have an odor?

No, they don't.

I find most dogs with really nasty odors (not related to skin conditions and that's a good point to make) are those who sleep on foul bedding. If he has a doghouse and they keep old rags or other cloth in there and never change it the poor dog doesn't have much choice but to sleep on it when it needs shelter. If he is chained or confined to a small run he also doesn't have much choice but to walk on and in his own feces and urine. All dogs in this situation reek.

So sad. I expect that is the answer. I would be happy to give him a home but since he is 4 yrs. old and not castrated or house broken I hesitate to take on something that might not have acceptable solutions. I understand that older dogs (even after they are 'fixed') still mark out of habit and I sure don't want to try to house break a dog that is going to do that. He has sure enjoyed the freedom of running through the farm here off leash and is very well-behaved as far as coming when called. My lab and I showed him what the boundaries are and he drank a ton of water since it was a huge area to have to mark!!! Very cute.

I have had dogs all my life but never a male.

this is a horribly sad story. This boy needs a new home, and someone to take care of him properly :(
How can it be too much trouble to give a pet a proper place/bedding to sleep on, and an occassional bath? Why do people like that own pets?

I would suggest giving him a bath anyway while in your care.What can it hurt?You won't know if it works until you try it.Possibly he has never had one.Good luck!

I have a 13 yo male that wasn't neutered until we got him when he was 4 years old. He still marks his bed and his sisters bed constantly, thus, the dog tends to smell. I think because of his living environment prior to us getting him (he was a stud dog living in very crowded/crampt environment) and his age at time of neutering, he's developed bad habits. We've tried for the past 9 years to retrain him, but with no success. Luckly he's only 10 lbs and easy to wash him and all the bedding weekly.

Some breeds tend to need more baths to avoid smelliness. Is he a hound dog?

If I were you, I would shampoo!

Carmen, since you live in a rural situation is there a possibility you can keep him as an outside dog? I sure understand why you'd hesitate trying to fix him up and bring him inside. But, there are certainly worse accommodations than having a proper outside facility for a dog who is used to being outside. It certainly seems preferable to what he has been used to. A decent dog house or barn access, good food, fresh bedding and perhaps "wireless" fence training might give you a great farm dog. Neuter him anyway to keep him from breeding or straying, vaccine him and keep his heartworm meds on schedule. (A MUST for outside dogs. It's not so much if they get heartworm as when.)

I had a boxer that I started feeding a food that a friend said was really good. Well in no time that dog just reeked. Every one said what a beautiful dog but boy does he smell. Even a bath would not help; So I changed his diet and he improved right away. Apparently the recipe for that food had been changed. Another friend with a boxer as well had the same problem. Looked it up and one of the reasons was too much bad quality fat in the food.

I had to give my pup 2 baths when I got him...try Buddy wash and buddy rinse, and if you are really serious, use the recipe for skunk spray removal before the bath...YOu need something extra to lift off the oils that might be causing the problem good luck and kudos to you for taking such good care of an obviously neglected dog

This is an old thread, but in case anybody else reads it...

If your dog stinks, check his ears. Dogs can get ear infections that smell really bad. If their ears are especially smelly, reddened, full of gunk, take them to the vet pronto.

bruglover, not an old thread, posters name has 2007 in it. Anyway, don't really have much to add, the ear thing is a good idea to check, but it's not your dog. My sisters dog used to get stinky and had to have his anal glands expressed. Vet always commented, I went to school for this!!!

The smell is on his skin, not the anal glands and not the ears. We gave him a bath yesterday with just baby shampoo and it didn't help at all. He goes back home in another couple of days and then it isn't my problem any more.