I noticed the following recent comment on a post from two years ago about bad smelling dogs.

I have a 10 year old dog and my goodness I have no idea what to do about her smell. It is so bad that I cant stand to be around her cause I get sick and feel like vomiting. Yes its that bad. She also now has a puss like secretion coming from her vagina which also adds to the unbearable smell. I have changed food, shampoos and soap. My only recourse is to put her to sleep but my mom is crying that she doesnt want that. Someone out there please help me. I am at my wits end.

I hate to come down hard on anybody, but the idea that euthanasia is the only recourse in this situation is complete hogwash. There are plenty of other options that should be considered first.

Healthy, clean dogs don’t smell bad. If you bathe your dog and an odor persists, then your dog very likely has a medical condition. Medical conditions that cause bad odors include infections (which often can be cured, permanently, with antibiotics), diabetes, kidney disease, and dental disease. You can check out the page on my website dedicated to malodorous pets to learn more about the causes of and solutions to bad smelling pets.

I am very strongly suspicious of an infection in your dog’s case. Pus typically is a sign of infection. It also smells terrible. Pus from the vagina may indicate a bladder infection, a foxtail in the vagina, or, if your dog is not spayed, a uterus infection. All of these problems have the potential to be serious, but all of them also have the potential to be cured.

Here’s what I recommend: stop talking about euthanasia. Instead, do the right thing and take your dog to the vet to see what can be done.