Doggy Breath

[major]

What can I give our dog so that her breath does not smell so terribly gross?

[MrsBeasley]

A good dental cleaning at the vet will do wonders. It will remove the tartar and help eliminate the odor which is caused by food and bacteria getting trapped which leads to severe gingivitis and eventually releases toxins into the bloodstream.

[user5624]

Yep, teeth cleaning. Also ask the vet about treats and foods you can get to help keep their teeth clean. The dry hard food that look like little doughtnuts are supposed to help. (The shape of the food apparently scrapes their teeth) and I think Greenies help... or are supposed to. But ask your vet, aspecially if your dog is used to only one food.

[christine chittick]

woops, double posted, sorry

[christine chittick]

You can also clean your dogs teeth regularly yourself. They have toothpaste and toothbrushes available at veterinary's, and at pet stores. I do my dogs teeth once a week, or once every two weeks. Sometimes, for real dirty teeth, scraping the plaque off helps as well. I use a nickel actually, if you do this, careful not to get the gum - it can cause it to become inflamed....

I give my dogs bones (except my male who is sensitive for some reason). It is recommended not to give cooked bones as it can cause them to become brittle due to heat exposure from the cooking process. I have given both raw and cooked and never had an issue - except my male who gets the diarrhea - REAL BAD!! He doesnt get them any more because waking up to having to clean that can be a real damper on your day hehehe.... I will give dentabones, I give rawhides, although some recommend not to do that as if the dog chews off a big piece and is a gluten and swallows the whole thing it can swell inside and end up being an expensive vet bill or worse. I have never heard of it happening myself - and I personally have never had an issue after raising rottweilers for the last 12yrs. I also give milkbones or any hard treats (soft treats are only used for the dog shows :) ) Plus I don't feed table scraps - although my brother and my darling boyfriend seem to sneak some in - steak and grissle :@

And not feeding soft or semi-soft food helps as well. softer foods tend to stick in between teeth and gums a lot easier than the hard food and hard food aides in the cleaning of the teeth and gums. :)

Don't want to scare you, but...FYI...

Bad breath can also be a sign of serious health problems as well. If its real bad its best to take your dog to the vet to rule out any health problem - liver failure, heart disease, gum disease, or an abscessed tooth that needs to be extracted etc. can cause really bad doggy breath.

[hiph0p]

breath buster dog treats you can get them anywheres 3.99 a bag or 4.99