Dogs and Bad Breath

Like people, some dogs can have very bad breath and suffer from halitosis.  While in people, bad breath can simply be annoying and not a sign of illness, this is not the case with dogs.  A canine with bad breath is more likely than not going to have some other more serious issues that may be causing the bad breath.  A small portion of dogs that have really bad breath is going to be caused by poor dental hygiene or a build up of tartar.  There may be problems with the gastric tract or the repertory system.  It is important to pay attention to your dog’s breath as puppy breath is only cute when the dog is actually a puppy.  After that, it can be an indication of a more serious problem.

Signs to watch for in the smell of your dog’s breath:

•    If your dog’s breath is beginning to smell sweeter than it did before, you may want to have it checked for diabetes.  This is one of the first signs of it in the canine family and early detection can mean the difference in how the diabetes is treated.  You are also going to watch to see if there is a more frequent need to urinate along with drinking more water as if it is dehydrated.  These three coupled together are serious warning signs for diabetes so it is vital to get them to the vet as soon as possible.

•    Do not assume your dog is licking himself too much if you smell urine on the breath.  This is not the case at all.  It can actually be a sign of kidney disease and again, you should seek the consultation of your vet to make sure your dog does not have any kidney issues.

•    If you notice your dog has begun vomiting and does not want to eat, you may want to check for the other signs of liver issues.  Yellowed eyes along with yellow gums can also mean there is a liver problem in your dog.  If the breath smells really bad along with the above symptoms, then your dog probably does have some issue with their liver and they need to be seen by the vet to rule this out.

One of the best things you can do for your dog no matter if it has bad breath or not is to make sure it sees a vet regularly.  The vet can spot an issue before it begins to give the dog bad breath.  In some cases, it may simply be that you need to take better care of your dog’s oral hygiene.  Your vet can help you to learn how to take better care of your dog’s teeth so that halitosis is not going to be an issue.  There are also some things that you can do at home to keep your dog’s teeth healthier.  Offer your dog only quality dog food.  A good dog food is going to force your dog to chew it more to eat it which promotes the natural production of saliva which is going to cleanse the bacteria that causes bad breath.

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