The things we don’t know about breeds with whom we don’t live….

Early in our life as Puli owners, we realized the good fortune we had by living in a high altitude dry climate. A freshly washed Puli would air dry within a day and a half, and off we went, fresh-as-a-daisy.

“Fresh-as-a-daisy,” however, was not the fragrance we encountered coming from a few dogs at out of state dog shows. We were puzzled by this as we could tell the dogs were actually squeaky clean. We eventually pieced together that those dogs were from humid climates and had “soured” before their coats were completely dry, usually because a cage-dryer wasn’t used. It’s an unfortunate association (that odor implies unclean) naturally made by people who aren’t the wiser.

We were understandably receptive, then, when we came across an entry in Edward M. Gilbert and Patricia H. Gilbert’s marvelous Encyclopedia of K-9 Terminology. The entry was “Neapolitan Mastiff Woodsy Smell.” The definition was short and sweet: “The odor given off by the Neapolitan Mastiff.”

The internet is short on additional explanations, but we did come across one source that writes that many Neo owners report that their dogs have a distinctive odor that could be called “woodsy” (others might call it musky). Weekly coat brushing eye, ear, and teeth care, of course, are important, but grooming won’t eliminate the scent. We’ve seen some sources suggest that the breed’s prodigious number of wrinkles and folds account for this aroma, but other sources discount this and point to the breed’s natural skin oils as the source. Mind you, it’s important to routinely inspect a Nea’s skin (as it is in any dog) because a truly horrific smell might indicate a skin infection, but one shouldn’t assume that a Nea’s “perfume” is indicative of a dirty dog because it not always the case.

Image: This is actually a garden flag that is available at the Dogge Shoppe here.