We don’t want to scare you, but the answer is kind of disgusting: the ′′ wet dog smell ′′ is the result of a chemical reaction of water with some smelly secretions produced by dogs. “When they get wet, these secretions are diluted throughout the body. When they evaporate, our nostrils come into contact with the unpleasant odor”, says veterinarian Gelson Genaro, a specialist in animal physiology and behavior. In addition to this, there are also other reasons for stink. “Dogs have a lot of fungus and bacteria on their skin. If after bathing they have wet fur, there may be a predisposition to infections that cause a bad smell”, says São Paulo veterinarian Ângela Velloso Braga Yazbek. Therefore, the advice is worth it: to prevent the animal from getting a strong odor, it is necessary to dry the fur well with a towel and then with the dryer – being careful not to burn the little animal…
1. Dogs have glands in certain parts of the body – such as the ad-anal gland, near the anus, which release a greasy and smelly secretion to mark the animal’s territory
2. When dogs are wet, the water mixes with these secretions, diluting them and spreading them to other parts of the body
3. If the dog is not very dry, the water, when evaporating, takes molecules from the secretions with it. It’s what our nostrils recognize as a wet dog smell.