I am almost afraid to ask, I just know there can't be a happy ending to this, but...

Brother in Laws buddy goes for economical Taxidermy, and now (2 years later) mentions in passing:

"Do you have any mounts that still smell like the animal?" I answer, NO. Perhaps it's the paint, or putty..."New mount?" Him, no, my wolf from 2 years ago... Now his son's wolf comes through this process and guess what it smells like as well.

So the question is two fold: First, anyway to rid the smell, and second why the smell?

Appreciate the feedback.

The mount can be washed with a little shampoo and dish detergent (Dawn) in a bucket of H2O and rinced with H2O and then rinced again with a little amount of rubbing alcohol in the H2O. Wash using a face cloth. Dry with a blow dryer and then fan.

Chances are the mount is not tanned or poorly tanned, or was not properly prepped,ie: washed and degreased etc and/or is in a damp area, such as a basement room with no dehumidifier.

Humidity will excite odorous bacteria...on a hide that has not be properly fleshed, decreased amd is not conventionally tanned by someone who know what they are doing.

I bet the wolf mount is in a damp basement.

Also if the basement smells like a dead dog even when the mount is not there, the mount has just taken on the room odor. I have seen this before.

You can also try dampening some sawdust with drycleaner fluid,(we call it white spirits), and rub it through the coat.
Let sit for 15 minutes then blow out with air from compressor.

Hey but he got such good prices and deals! Cheap and fast almost always equals poor esp. in taxidermy. He can try spraying the mounts with one of the bowhunter type scent away products, those will usually work pretty well.