Recommendations for least smelly dog bed

[TreacherousPissFlap]

DPup is 5 months old and a Labrador. He's currently caged and sleeps on vet bed with a selection of mouldy old blankets that he loves.

I've just bought out the posh oak dog bed that has been in storage (he hates it!) It has a large bed pad that pongs terribly after a bit and I'd like to not be constantly washing it.

Can anyone recommend anything that might lie nicely in the bed but is easy to keep clean and hygienic? DPup is groomed daily and will go to the groomers to be bathed every 3-4 months but there's still a whiff of Labrador about the place 🤨

sorry, no recommendations but I’m shamelessly following to get some.

You just have to suck up washing dog beds a lot. Especially with labs.

Just stick with vet beds?

Yep, was about to say Vetbed is your best option.

Get rid of the blankets- if they get damp (being winter/wet every time they go out to pee, as well as on walks they get wet) the damp stays in the folds of the material.

I’ve found vet beds washed every few days helps. They dry quicker, and therefore less likely harbour smells.

Or a bed that’s foam with a plastic cover, and then fabric cover on top- that dries quickly in the airing cupboard but you can’t use the bed at all whilst the cover is drying, at least with vet bed you can have several and one in the wash and one in their crate so they aren’t ever without.

Good luck, I bloody hate winter.

The problem is…labs are a bit stinky.

washing things will help. Vet bed will help. But your house is always going to smell like dog if you have a lab, it’s just one of those things.

Also, just to warn you - you’re grooming your puppy too much. You risk damaging his fur (and probably making the smell worse) by stripping the natural oils off the fur. Even for young high maintenance breeds (poodle, sheltie) more than 2-3 times a week isn’t necessary this young.

I know you probably want to get him used to being groomed, but too much will be bad for him and he’s very young so his fur is very sensitive 😊 if you want to get him used to being handled, there are lots of thing to do (which I am more than happy to list if helpful - I take ‘handling’ young puppies very seriously as it’s so important to have a dog who can be handled).

In between his grooms dilute baby shampoo in warm water, use a flannel, wring it out well, rub over his coat then do the same with clean water. Do his feet too. Change the vet bed 2/3 times a week.

I’m interested in handling suggestions @TheHungryHungryLandsharks , if you don’t mind?

We’ve done quite a bit of handling of feet and he’s now happy to have his nails clipped/toes fiddled with. He is happy to have his ears peered in and reluctantly will let you look into his mouth but is a bit evasive.

But any additional advice or suggestions to practice would be gratefully received.

Labs are definitely stinky dogs you could bath them 3 times a day and they will have there distinct stink and hour later lol..Had plenty and gave up trying to control the smell lol

My dog has a vinyl covered foam mattress to sleep on. Wipe able. When its really cold (and we live in a warm, well insulated house) he has one of those noodle bath mats to lie on, for extra comfort. Easily washable. He has a thick fur coat, so doubt he feels the cold at all.

So ears and paws are definitely a good one (and one I recommend). With paws, getting them used to you feeling their toes and between them (grass seed removal can be a buggar if you have a squirmer). I’d also recommend mouth (so keep persisting with high value rewards and being gentle) but you can do that with tooth cleaning as the ‘routine’ if that makes sense.

The other two main areas; groin and balls (really important if you don’t plan to castrate but also that area for a lot of male dogs can be quite…sensitive in that they don’t like it being touched, so even just getting them used to it) and chest/throat (lymph nodes).

The best thing anyone can do for their dog is touch it as much as possible in as many places as possible. Getting them comfortable with you is key because then when a vet does it (and probably presses more firmly) they don’t worry as much and even better you don’t need to worry about possible sedation for what should be a quick check 😊 it doesn’t even have to be lots, but just getting them used to the occasional check is good.

Thank you @TheHungryHungryLandsharks It's more a quick whizz over with the rubber thing most days to get the loose hair but I can do that by hand.

My paw handling is coming on great guns as I'm trying to wipe his paws when he comes indoors and it's wet. I'm not fanatical about it but I figure that if I can only do it 50% of the time, that's 50% less mud and muck in the house.

I'm off to google the cheapest place to buy VetBed!

Thank you @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . We are thinking maybe of showing… but his feet aren’t as tight as they were initially. His breeder said not to worry - they can grow in fits and starts so his growth should even out and they’ll return to how they were. We’ll see, it’s by no means important to us, but a nice to have.

But because of that we have made a point of handling his balls, for want of a better phrase! Because obviously if we do have a go at showing then he needs to be happy with a judge going over him. I hadn’t really thought about it from a vet perspective but obviously it makes sense.

@TreacherousPissFlap I found oakswarren pretty good recently- they constantly have 10% off offers on.