Dogs are the warmest pets in many people’s homes. Dogs that love to be close to people often pounce on them and lick their faces with their tongues. However, many people find that dogs have bad breath and even think that dogs are born with bad breath. In fact, there are many reasons for bad breath in dogs, and we are going to tell you how to identify bad breath in dogs, the possible causes, solutions, and recommended types of food that can help keep your dog’s breath fresh. By knowing your dog’s physical condition, you will not have to put up with bad odors when you get close to your dog, and you will be able to get along with your dog more easily and happily.
Is Bad Breath a Bad Smell When Your Dog is Close? 3 Ways to Determine Your Dog’s Bad Breath
After owning a dog for a long time, you may have become accustomed to the smell coming from your dog’s body or mouth. Apart from the natural body odor, it may also be a sign of improper cleaning or illness, so owners should not mistake it as the dog’s original odor. But how can you tell if the odor is caused by your dog’s bad breath? Here are 3 ways to quickly identify if your dog has bad breath.
1. Smell your dog’s saliva
Usually dog’s saliva does not have an odor, so when the dog is close to you, there are floating food fermentation flavor or odor, you can try to get close to the dog’s mouth to smell, or hand dipped in the dog’s saliva to smell to see. If you confirm that your dog’s saliva has the above flavor, in addition to insufficient cleaning, the dog may also have oral problems, and it is recommended that you take your dog to a veterinary hospital for an examination.
2. Touch and check your dog’s gums
When your dog’s gums are in bad shape, it is easy to get a bad odor. You can reach out and touch your dog’s gums, if your dog is dodging, whimpering or biting or scratching, it is very likely that oral gum problems are causing the odor. In addition, the direct view of the dog’s oral cavity, such as teeth on the tartar condition is serious, or red gums, broken teeth, etc., may produce bad breath, it is recommended to take the dog to a professional veterinarian to do a checkup, in order to avoid causing subsequent problems.
3. Abnormal eating conditions
If your dog has trouble chewing, swallowing, or drooling while eating, with bad breath, it may be caused by dental or gum problems.
Why does your dog’s mouth smell so bad? Explaining the 4 major causes of bad breath in dogs
Does your dog’s bad breath come from not brushing his teeth after eating food? Actually, this is only one of the reasons. Below is a list of 4 possible causes of bad breath in dogs. If you can find out the cause of the odor, it will not be difficult to solve the problem.
Dog Bad Breath Cause 1: Inadequate Oral Care
The most common cause of bad breath in dogs is incomplete cleaning of the dog’s teeth. Dog’s teeth and human beings, after eating food without cleaning the residue will become a breeding ground for bacteria, after time piled up into plaque, long-term unprocessed will likely evolve into calculus, gingivitis, periodontal disease and other oral symptoms, the dog’s oral flavor will be like the smell of fishy smelling.
Dog bad breath reason 2: milk teeth not completely fall out
Generally speaking, dogs will start to grow permanent teeth after 4 months of age, and the tooth replacement will be completed at about 7 months of age. During the tooth replacement period, if the milk teeth can not fall out smoothly, it is easy to cause the dog teeth arrangement disorder and difficult to clean, it is easy to get stuck in the food residue and tartar accumulation, in the long run, it is easy to form plaque, calculus and lead to bad breath problems.
Dog bad breath cause 3: Gastrointestinal tract diseases
Poor digestive system or declining gastrointestinal function in older dogs is one of the possible causes of bad breath in dogs. When the gastrointestinal bacteria are out of balance, the food that is eaten into the stomach is not digested completely, and the fermentation with the intestinal bacteria will produce gas, which will easily cause bad breath and smelly farts. At this time, in addition to adjusting the diet, see a veterinarian, supplementation can adjust the intestinal flora ecology of health food is also a good way.
Dog bad breath cause 4: other physical conditions influence
Dogs do not have the above problems but still have bad breath odor, owners may have to be vigilant or perhaps the dog’s physical condition. When the body organ function degradation, metabolic abnormalities, easy to let the body, the mouth produces odor. For example, diabetes will make the dog’s mouth produce a rotten taste like fruit; kidney disease will have urine taste of bad breath; liver disease will produce food spoilage taste, usually the dog will also have a loss of appetite, poor spirit or vomiting and other abnormalities, you need to let the dog to accept the examination as soon as possible to find out the cause of the physical abnormality, and accept the treatment.
What to do if your dog has bad breath? Dog bad breath can be solved by these 2 tricks
If your dog’s bad breath is not caused by a disease, it means that the odor in your dog’s mouth can be reduced by making improvements in your dog’s daily routine. As long as the following 2 ways to do a good job, you can gradually eliminate the odor in the dog’s mouth, to ensure the state of health, and do not have to put up with the dog’s intolerable odor when they are close.
1. Complete oral cleaning
The development of oral problems is quite fast, 24 hours will form plaque, 3 days to produce tartar and 2 weeks after the appearance of gingivitis. Therefore, brushing your teeth after meals is the best way to keep your mouth healthy. It is recommended to prepare a suitable toothbrush and brush your teeth after meals. In addition to cleaning the teeth, the gingival sulcus also needs to be cleaned in order to prevent the formation of plaque and tartar.
2.Regular Oral Examination
In addition to helping your dog adjust its diet and maintain the habit of brushing its teeth after meals, regular checkups by a professional veterinarian can help you keep track of your dog’s health. Regular oral checkups for dogs are recommended once every six months, and can also be added to the oral checkup program when administering vaccines and regular checkups, so that early prevention of disease is better than treatment.
5 Recommended Food Types to Clear Bad Breath in Dogs
Your dog already has bad breath, so what should you eat to reduce it? These 5 food types are helpful and easy to prepare for dogs with bad breath. Dogs can eat happily, and owners can also feel at ease.
Suggested Foods to Reduce Bad Breath in Dogs 1: Sugar Free Yogurt
Sugar-free, plain yogurt is rich in protein and calcium, which is a very nutritious snack for dogs, but you need to choose products without added xylitol and other products that are harmful to your dog’s health.
Suggested Foods to Reduce Bad Breath in Dogs 2: Vegetables to Nibble on
Vegetables are low-calorie foods with high nutritional value. Choose carrots, celery, and cucumbers to not only replenish dietary fiber, but also increase the taste of your diet. It is recommended to start with a small amount of intake, so that the dog can gradually get used to it.
Suggested Foods to Reduce Bad Breath in Dogs 3: Edible Herbs
Dog toothpaste often used parsley, rosemary and sage and other edible herbs, can also be added to the food or soaked in water to inhibit bad breath in advance. However, some dogs will reject the flavor of vanilla, you can try a small amount to observe the dog’s acceptance.
Suggested Foods for Bad Breath 4: Bone-in or Cartilage Meat
Beef bones, pork bones or chicken neck and other meat with bones, or pig ears with cartilage, in the dog chewing have scraped the role of calculus, can replace the cleaning bone as an after-dinner snack, as a cleaning teeth. However, special attention should be paid to the meat with bones should be selected without sharp rupture surface of the bone as the main, to avoid the dog in the gnawing easy to accidentally injure the oral cavity or esophagus, the size of the bone should be selected is not easy to choke or rupture of the size, and in order to avoid nutritional imbalance, the portion should not be too much.
Suggested Foods for Dogs with Bad Breath 5: Pet Health Foods
In addition to the types of food mentioned above, picking a pet health food that can help with bone development, tartar control, and maintaining healthy gums such as probiotic powder can also help your dog maintain good breath.
