smelly beard after every meal

[sharon]

I know this topic will hit you guys as plain common sense but its a daily thing for me and i would wish someone might have a tip for me. Whenever my shih tzu eats or drinks from his bowl, his beard gets all wet and smells like his food. I try to wash his mouth and beard after every meal but whenever it dries up, it has a stiff and sticky feel, unless I shampoo that area after every meal. Grrr! Is anyone experiencing the same dilemma and how are you dealing with it? Thanks!

[weimlover0816]

Ruth,

I have not had the same experience as my weim has very short hair. It seems very time consuming to have to shampoo after every meal. One option, obviously, is to cut his beard short... probably not what you want ot do as shih tzu's are supposed to have long hair. Have you tried the pre-moistened wipes? I know they make some especially for dogs, and that may help. Perhaps check out your local petstore. I actually have some for my cats, because you can't really get a cat to take a bath [img]smile.gif[/img] lol

The wipes have a "cleaner" in them and do not require rinsing the fur after use, so it may be easier!

Good luck!

[Dax]

If you can't find the puppy wipes, you can use baby wipes. OR even antibactierial hand wipes.

You will still have to shampoo more often to keep it up.

It also sounds like your dog is eating moist food, switching to a dry dog food would help as well. Is this the dog with sticky breath anyway?

[erdog3]

You can either tie the beard up, or place his bowls higher so his beard doesn't trail in them.

[Aliqu]

I've got the same problem with my Yorkie. His beard is at the length where it falls into anything and everything! Doesn't help to change the food's height either, he is so low on the ground, it won't matter!Even the smell of the dry food he eats clings to his beard. I found that regular combing of the beard with a Slicker brush helps a bit though.

Oh and WeimLover, I have a cat that quite enjoys her bath, especially the drying of the hair afterwards with a blowdryer! She needs to take occasional baths, she has got long white hair and plays outside all day...

[erdog3]

One in a million Aliqu, I have a birman x hymalayan and if I was to go anywhere near water with him I would need surgery!!
Lucky he is cream with blue points, so the dirt doesn't show up so much.

[sharon]

Aliqu, your cat is so cute!!!!! I have to admit, I'm not such a lover of cats but you're cat is just so adorable! I can see he's well taken cared of

[Aliqu]

Thank you! She does catch everyone's eye! Even my next door neighbour (who doesn't have any animals) does not mind her catching a shut eye in his garden! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ May 24, 2004, 03:11 AM: Message edited by: Aliqu ]

[MarioLuigi]

Aliqu, your cat reminds me a lot of Zelda.

As for the smelly beard, the wipes shoud be at petsmart or petco.

[ May 24, 2004, 07:31 PM: Message edited by: MarioLuigi ]

[Aliqu]

MarioLuigi, what a CUTE cat you have! She looks very content!