06/11/2025
Dog people are perpetual students with an inherent curiosity, that, and for those of us who show dogs, many of us have breeds we wash a lot.
That said, here’s an infograph of the science of why wet dogs have that “wet dog” smell. In a nutshell, bacteria and yeast in dog hair are mostly responsible for wet dog smell. humidity of the air around a wet dog also increases and accommodates a higher concentration of pungent molecules. A study conducted several years ago identified the compounds which increased dramatically in concentration when the dog hair was wet. They include almond-like benzaldehyde, honey-like phenylacetaldehyde, fruity acetaldehyde, ‘medicinal’ phenol and 2-methylbutanal, which is described as ‘musty and nutty’. Compounds smelling of f***s, sulphur, mushrooms, fruit and earth were also found to increase when dog hair got wet, although not as significantly.
As it's "hump day," let's have a little fun Show us your wet dog (and tell us the breed)
