Reason #1 – They Have Pee On Them
This is, obviously, the most common reason why your dog may smell like pee. Pee has a strong ammonia smell that will linger long after it’s dried up, so even if your dog isn’t soaking wet, they may still have pee on them.
Let’s face it: we live in a dirty world and there are probably more scenarios in a day when your dog could encounter urine than you’d care to think about.
Below are some common scenarios in which your dog may have wound up with pee on them.
If your dog has pee on them, hopefully, it’s their pee.
A small amount of splashing is likely to occur when all dogs pee, especially around their back legs.
Healthy female dogs are typically less likely to end up peeing on themselves than healthy male dogs
Male dogs, with external urethras that run nearly parallel to their abdomens, are far more likely to end up urinating on their front legs and chests when they pee.
Dogs with longer fur or hair are also more likely to end up with their own urine on them since it sticks out more into the splash zone.
Excitement peeing, submission peeing, and marking are all common canine behaviors that may result in them getting more pee on themselves than usual.
As I said, a small amount of pee is likely to end up on your dog when they relieve themselves. However, if they have suddenly begun to have urine on themselves, it may be that they are incontinent.
Incontinence can be a side effect of many different illnesses in dogs but occurs most commonly in senior dogs (dogs who are around 8-10+ years old, depending on the breed).
Incontinence can take many forms but it’s most simply defined as a loss of bladder control.
A dog experiencing incontinence may not realize that they are about to pee and may not posture, move, or even wake up before they go. It’s very different from a situation where a dog urinates inside because they couldn’t hold their pee any longer.
If your dog is damp or if you’re noticing irregularly shaped puddles around the house, your dog may be peeing on themselves due to incontinence.
Gross though it may be, if your dog smells like urine, you’re going to need to take stock of your dog’s environment, searching for possible pee sources.
If your dog hasn’t accidentally peed on themselves, then they have likely somehow encountered urine, theirs, or someone else’s.
It may be that your dog stepped in their own puddle when they were done with their business. This often happens if a dog goes on a sidewalk or another nonabsorbent surface where the fluid can puddle.
Or it could be that one of your other animals has peed in that dog’s bed and, after a night’s sleep in it, they now smell like pee. Both cats and dogs may be guilty of this behavior.
But that may be giving your pee-soaked buddy too much credit. It’s entirely possible that they deliberately rolled in their or another animal’s pee.
Dogs communicate a lot through scent. What we may just smell as “dog pee” contains all sorts of olfactory clues that a dog can pick up on.
So, your dog may be rolling in their own pee in order to coat themselves in their own scent, probably so that every other dog or person will be able to smell them coming (kind of like your date wearing a really strong signature perfume or cologne).
If you don’t think they rolled in their own pee, it may be that they encountered another dog’s puddle out in the wild and, yep, rolled in it.
A dog may do this in order to mark their territory. By rubbing their backs and necks over the scent of the other dog’s urine, they cover up the smell of that dog’s urine with their own scent.
Remember, dogs have tremendous olfactory capabilities which can lead to all kinds of behaviors that may seem weird to us. Other dogs will be able to smell that your dog put their scent on top of that other dog’s puddle, thereby letting everyone know that your dog was there most frequently.
Keep in mind also that not all urine out in the wild comes from dogs. Cats, wild animals, and people may be leaving pee behind for your dog to encounter. Depending on where you are (a deep forest vs. an urban area), your dog may be encountering deer pee or hobo urine.
Finally, if you’re thinking “my dog hasn’t encountered any animal pee, they’ve hardly been outside!” – consider your own household situation.
Is your bathroom clean? Have boys in the house with maybe not the best aim around the commode?
Why exactly your dog finds all of these smells so enticing is difficult to say with any scientific backing. But it’s entirely possible and downright likely that they smell like pee because they have encountered pee in their environment, either accidentally or deliberately, and that’s what you’re smelling.
What an exciting world dogs live in! Yes, your dog may smell like pee because they caught themselves in the crosshairs of someone else’s yellow stream.
A dog, usually males, may pee on other dogs in order to establish their dominance. It covers up that dog’s scent with the scent of the other dog’s urine so that everyone will know who is in charge.
It’s a pretty serious powerplay. If you’ve encountered other dogs at the dog park or if there seems to be some tumult in your home pack, it may be that your dog is getting peed on by another dog.
Another common scenario is that your dog may be getting sprayed on by cats.
If you have a cat or neighborhood cats that your dog could encounter, the cat may get stressed out or otherwise attempt to display their dominance in the situation by spraying them directly with their urine.
This smell typically has a stronger, mustier urine smell than your dog’s normal pee.
Your dog has urine splashes in the fur from peeing
Next time your dog goes outdoors for a pee, keep a close eye on how they do it. Many dogs will smell like pee all the time because they have splash-back and pee landing on them when they go to the bathroom.
It might be that they are peeing on their own foot, or the hair under their body is too long and is getting urine on it.
This might be easily solved with more attention to grooming, by cutting back the longer hairs that are soaking up pee, giving a shorter hair cut underneath. You could trim the hair yourself or book your dog into regular grooming sessions.
#3: Urine splashes
So your dog pees properly. But they might not be free from urine splashes.
Think about small dog breeds, even the short-legged ones. Or dogs that have long hair under the body.
They will have pee splashes every time they pee.
If they are not wiped clean, the pee will dry out and stick to their coat. And this could be responsible for why they smell like pee all the time.
Know The 6 Reasons Why Your Dog Smells Badly
Have you ever heard someone say that something “smells like a wet dog”? Poor dogs… they get blamed for any bad odor, don’t they? Truth is, your dog shouldn’t smell bad! Sure, some of his “parts” aren’t going to smell like roses, but overall, a bad smell is generally a problem.
Okay, this may be kind of gross for some people, but a true dog lover will understand… I actually like the way my dog smells. To me, his fur smells sweet and fresh. I remember a friend of mine who, while snuggling and rubbing her face in her dog’s fur, said, “Smells like “life”!” I totally get that!
Years ago, when I worked in the Grooming salon at Holiday Barn Pet Resorts, I got to where I could pretty much detect health problems of our guests by the way they smelled. A pungent, yeasty smell was often bad skin issues, or sometimes overly yeasty ear wax; a potent, sharp, spoiled milk kind-of smell was usually an ear infection. And, of course, abnormally bad breath is most certainly an indicator of health problems. I have also noticed by working with dogs that some breeds, like hounds, for example, have a distinctive scent, as do cocker spaniels and others, but some, like poodles, have no discernible scent whatsoever.
Just like us, all dogs have a unique smell, caused by the oils in our skin or what we have ingested. Sniff a dog’s feet and they’re probably going to smell like frito chips or popcorn… Not a bad smell, but some people find it offensive. A dog sweats through his feet, and we can pretty much surmise that a sweaty area is not going to smell good, even on us. But put your nose in your dog’s fur or kiss the top of his head, and you should not detect any bad odor. Bad odors can be the sign of a serious disease.
While we at Holiday Barn Pet Resorts do not claim to be experts on dog health, our experience with handling so many dogs gives us a certain insight. We may not be able to diagnose your dog’s particular malodorous issue, but we can most certainly tell you what is a normal smell and what isn’t.