How to Cure Dog Bad Breath
Bad breath or halitosis is usually caused by what your dog eats. If you feed your dog a large amount of fish meal in a dry food it will give a very fishy smell to your dog. Dogs, being well known scroungers of food, are likely to eat droppings from other animals and this will also cause bad breath.
Inside the mouth there are many naturally occurring bacteria which form plaque on your dogs teeth. It is through this bacteria that bad breath is really caused. The life that our dogs lead, having a well balanced diet made up of food that requires very little chewing. This means the bacteria can continue to exist and cause their problems. In the wild dogs would be eating raw food that they need to rip up and chew at large pieces of tough meat and it is this action that keeps their teeth clean and free from plaque.
To limit bad breath in our dogs we could just add, occasionally, a large piece of tough meat that the dog could take his time chewing and therefore cleaning his teeth and breath. Many owners have the belief that giving bones with help keep the dog keep his teeth clean. This is simply not true. Bones, themselves, can be harmful with pieces breaking off and becoming stuck in the gums or throat of the dog or simply by breaking the teeth.
Rawhide chews can help prevent gingivitis. Toothpaste and toothbrushes specifically made for dogs should be used 2 or 3 times a week. Please do not use human toothpaste as this can become very frothy and as the dog has no way of rinsing his teeth he must swallow the foam. This could upset the digestive systems which can cause problems itself. There are some tales saying salt or baking soda can be used – do not use them they can be very dangerous for your dog.
If having tried these things the bad breath persists take your dog to the vet as there are other more serious cause of bad breath that would need checking out.
Tooth decay can occur in your dog, if your dog has difficulty eating or chewing could be a sign of this. An abscess could be formed in the same way it does with humans if there is an infection in the root of the tooth, so also look out for swelling of the gum. This will certainly need the attention of the vet.
