I don't get it. My dogs crate smells.

I've washed it down and its good for a little while, but then the smell comes back. At first I thought maybe Apollo my 5 1/2 month old male GSD was peeing in it. But I know for a fact he isnt peeing in it, cuz I've gotten in the habbit of feeling his blankies for wetness when I take him out.

He doesn't stink, he just has the normal doggie smell. Thou his breath would kill ya after he eats his Eukanuba. His blankets dont smell, I wash them at least once, sometimes twice a week.

The smell has to be coming from his crate. (right?) I know this crate was used as a rabbit cage about 6+ years ago, for a long time. Its been washed many times since then but what Im wondering is, after all this time do you think the rabbit smell is still coming thru the plastic? Cuz the plastic is stained in 2 spots in the back.

What else could it be? How often do you all clean your crates? He dont pee in it, or poop in it. So why does it smell? You can smell it when you walk by- is this normal?

So yeah, Im clueless. What do you all think?

thanks,
Maizie

Did you wash under the crate too?

Simple Solution is a cleaner made specifically for biological stinkies; urine, blood, vomit. you can get it at petco or petsmart.

Also a black light will show any areas that you may have neglected to neutralize.

Well I'm not sure this is the answer, but I use Clorox in my crates and pans. I dilute it, let is sit for a few minutes and rinse very well with fresh water. This always gets rid of the dog odor. I do the same in my outdoor pen.

You know, I'm glad this question was posed because when we crated our male after we got him, I also noticed an odor. I washed all of his blankets, the crate inside and out but couldn't completely rid it of the smell. I just came to the conclusion that it was my dogs unique eau de musk as he went through his puberty stage. He still has an odor, nothing strong or offensive in any way, just his own unique smell. I think we have a tendency to notice it more when it is inside the house rather than outside; assuming you crate your dog inside.

just curious is it always males? My dog Buko for a while there reeked. I would clean with bleach and then it was bleach and stench combined. Brand new crate.

I clean my crates once a week with a 10:1 water to bleach solution...it's a habit I developed as a Military Working Dog Handler.

I believe that dogs that are generally clean but still smell are getting the smell from what they eat. I think it's like in humans...one person can eat some garlic and only have it on his breath but another person can eat it and seem to have it coming out of his pores. Among raw feeders, it's widely believed that the perservatives and other chemicals in kibble ooze out of the dog's skin causing the smell.

Based on personal experience, my dogs have always had a doggy smell that would gradually get worse over the course of about a month. When I switched to raw the smell went away.

Jeff, I have NEVER had a problem with odor that bleach didn't take care of. Perhaps you need to use a little more and let it sit longer. Generally I let it sit for about 10 minutes before rinsing out the crate.

I am assuming that it is a wire crate, since it was used to house rabbits. If the tray is plastic, you can go to any pet store or manufacture to buy a replacement tray. Just like plastic bowls, the fine scratches caused by toe nails or teeth marks allow odor causing bacteria to breed.
Diluted bleach may be a good solution for upkeep, but with the scratches the oders may reoccour more fequently.
Can it also possibly be drool coming from the pups rotten smelling mouth as he is loosing teeth, or could he be vomiting and reingesting it. Or even the possibly of lifting his leg to urinate outside the crate. And the smell is just near the crate.

just some ideas. Good luck

nope not wire, plastic. (and chill, it wasn't I that used it for rabbits lol)

and im wondering if it is puking, he bile pukes every once in a while. or the euk, after he eats that, his breath could gag a maggot lol. Once he is 8 months old, Im switching his food.