Bad Breath

[raiyo]

My dog Kozmo has been getting some serious bad breath lately. Anyone got any tips or tricks to get rid of the bad breath? Some solution to add to his food/water or just do it manually and clean it with a toothbrush?

I brush the outside of his teeth about once a week. I can't go the inside, he won't let me. I feed him a new Bully Sticks once every 1-2 days, depends if he finish the previous one. As for his diet, I feed him Wellness Dry Puppy Food. I will be switching him over to BARF once he finish the remaining dog food.

EDIT: I've done some reading and it says being my dog to the Vet is the best way to go so they can pinpoint what's causing it. True? It's just freaking me out. I never smelled any dogs breath that bad before. I forgot to mention, Kozmo swallows his food instead of chewing it. Maybe that's the reason he has bad breath, since he isn't cleaning the inside/back of the teeth?

[kendall]

They have things called "Greenies" now that are supposed to take care of bad breath. They work, but only for a day or two. www.greenies.com. Petsmart and Petco carry them... as do most pet stores now (at least around here).

[TB]

I would worry with the sudden onset of rank breath, that there might be an abscessed tooth or some such thing going on. In most adult dogs, bad breath is caused by periodontal disease. Your pup is pretty young for awful breath, though, so maybe he cracked a tooth or got something wedged in his molars, etc. Definitely worth a trip to the vet.

My dog Little broke a tooth recently and the thing was rotten up into her jaw within a week! Amazing how fast it can progress sometimes.

[kendall]

That hadn't even occured to me. My collie, Laddie, had an abcessed tooth and it made his breath reek. Might want to get that checked. Watch for sensitivity and any swelling around his teeth.

[barbponys]

Definitely get him to the vet. Better to be safe than sorry. If it looks like he will have on going problems better to know at the out set.
The best way to keep teeth clean is raw bones. I've never brushed my dogs teeth or had to have dentals done. They are inexpensive and they love them.

Pat

[raiyo]

I just cleaned his kennel today and found a tooth. Maybe that's what the bad breath is coming from? I tried using greenies, but he doesn't like them all that much. He just gives it a few chews and just leaves it alone. I'll try to open up his mouth and see how things are inside. I hope nothing bad is going on in there.

[TB]

If you found a tooth, and it's not one of his deciduous baby teeth, than you definitely need to take him to your vet. They will have to extract whatever is left of the tooth/root. He could have a nasty rotten spot where the tooth broke off.

Raw bones ARE the way to go for teeth cleaning. I don't brush my dog's teeth either. You do have to deal with the odd broken tooth, of course.

[concreterose]

Your puppy is pretty young isn't he? They are probably baby teeth. And their breath smells HORRIBLE when they are shedding their baby teeth. That is not unusual. If he's not chewing things like he normally does, his gums may be sore.

[kendall]

I tried using greenies, but he doesn't like them all that much. He just gives it a few chews and just leaves it alone.

Since he doesn't like those, try going with what Pat said and get him some raw bones (get one for your other dog too [Vivi?? Did I remember that name right?), they tend to get possesive if there is only one bone around and two dogs). Yeah, just go to the meat dept. of the grocery store and get some marrow bones. Dogs love them, the chewing cleans their teeth and makes their breath better, and the marrow is really good for them. Good luck!

[raiyo]

Kozmo is about 20 weeks old, so I'm guessing it's just baby teeth? I hope it is. It is one of those tooth from the back. I'm feeding Kozmo and Vivi Bully Sticks right now. Aren't they good enough? Or some marrow bone on the side be better? Kozmo is chewing and eatting like normal. He still chews his food and toy like he does before. Only problem now is that he'll bleed when he chews.

[concreterose]

He's shedding baby teeth at 20 weeks. Bad breath is pretty normal. It's the blood making his breath smell bad.

[wndrtwns04]

Most certainly looks like a puppy tooth. Sams breath killed me when he lost his. whew..............

[raiyo]

Thx for all the input. Now I'm not all that freaked, heheh

[barbponys]

A general rule of thumb for good chews. If it stays hard while they chew on it? good for the teeth. If it gets soft when saliva hits it?? good treat. Greenies, budda velvets, edible nyla treats, pig-sow ears(not a good idea), bully sticks, all make good treats. I quite giving those as treats since they last a nano-second and get very expensive very fast. Another one that people use a lot and I try to discourage is raw hide, bad idea especially with pits.

Pat