My dog's beard is dirty and smelly from wet food. How to clean?

Keep the area on his chin clean and as dry as possible. You can use a plain, unscented baby wipe or pet wipes to clean him up as needed. Place an e-collar (cone) on him to prevent further licking or chewing. Use a diluted Betadine or chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) solution to gently clean the hotspots. Dry thoroughly afterwards. If the skin is broken, you may need to see your veterinarian for antibiotics. There can be an allergic component to the hotspots. If Bear has a sensitivity to cottage cheese, it may not be helping. You should discuss allergy testing, hydrolyzed diets, food elimination trials and antihistamine use with your veterinarian. The cough should also be addressed to make sure it is nothing more serious than kennel cough. KC is typically self limiting and usually resolves with or without treatment.

Often you can remove the dried feces with a comb or soft brush. Try to get under any fur if there is any and loosen it with the comb or do some circular brushing to loosen it. Also scrubbing the area will a soft brush during a bath and using a lot of warm water usually will take care of it as well. Once Koga is clean if you put a thin film of Vaseline on his fur below and around the anus and on the underneath of the tail it will keep the diarrhea from sticking to his skin or fur. I hope he is recovering after his veterinary treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Koga.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I have had excellent luck with Royal Canin so I can definitely support giving that a try. In general for giant breed dogs, feed according to the bag. Being 7 months, Bear is probably past the biggest of the growth spurts but we probably still don’t want to free feed. However, it the giant breed formulas, it is safer to feed larger quantities while still keeping bone growth at a proper rate. As for the beard, I have a schnauzer so I can relate a little. My best advice is just to wash the beard with a puppy shampoo once a week. Rinse and dry thoroughly. Finally, for the skin. Adding about 2000 mg per day of Fish oil can sometimes help with the skin however, I recommend talking to your vet. If Bear is already this itchy, food or environmental allergies could be to blame. Bet wishes to you and Bear!

If the poop is just stuck to the fur I would recommend either soaking it to get it off or if you have a dog clipper (like a groomer uses, not scissors) and clip it off. To soak it, I would take a wet wash cloth and just soak it until you can take a dog comb and comb it out. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would try brushing his coat with a long bristled comb or brush to get the residue off. If that doesn't work I would try a cool water bath with Dawn dish soap. Good luck and kisses to Marahall!

If you have a dishwasher, I recommend running it through that. It will get the grime and dirt off. Otherwise, you can soak it in hot water and dishwashing soap, then use a brush to scrub off all the grime and dirt.

Hi there and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is true that over bathing may cause dryness and can be irritating to the skin. However, sometimes dogs with skin allergies and bathed very frequently and it actually helps them. So you may need to monitor Bear and see if frequent bathing causes any dryness or redness to his skin. There are several products on the market that are more like dry shampoo or mousse that you could brush through Bear's coat to eliminate some of the dirt and odor. If necessary you can also bathe Bear every one to two weeks, but please do it less frequently if you notice any dryness or redness of the skin related to bathing.