You get home from a long day at work and finally reunited with your delighted doggy who greets with enthusiasm and lots of kisses. This should be a simply wonderful time of day, but you can often find yourself backing away slowly from the offensive odor creeping out of their mouth. Leaving you wondering exactly, “why does my dog’s breath smell so bad?” Really, it’s no surprise that dogs can have bad breath, I mean, have you ever smelled your breath in the morning? It’s not exactly pretty either. Without a doubt as unpleasant as it seems, bad breath is something you need to take in consideration to ensure that your dog is in good health. Here are a few reasons why your dog’s breath is less than pleasant.
Plaque and Periodontal Disease:
A dog’s mouth is similar to ours when it comes to plaque and tar-tar build-up. If you see a noticeable brown ring around the top of your dog’s teeth, then they definitely need a cleaning. Sometimes starting a good cleaning routine is all you need in order to alleviate bad breath. You should definitely be brushing your dog’s teeth and giving them dental chews to help break-up plaque. Also, you can find an additive for their water, kind of like a mouth wash for dogs that will help decrease foul-smelling breath. If you opt to try this H2O mouth cleanser make sure that they still drink the water to avoid dehydration. However, also like our teeth, if it gets too bad you may need to see your vet for a full professional cleaning.
Bacteria
Occasionally bad breath can be caused by bacteria that has made its way to your dog’s intestinal track. There are ways to improve their GI track, such as culture activated yogurt or a diet rich in vegetables. Sometimes too much meat can also cause an upset in their GI track and that can lead to bad breath. Every so often it could be that your pup has too much bacteria or even possibly a disease that causes malabsorption of nutrients that can cause their funky breath.
How To Stop It:
If you already have a brushing and cleaning routine, or start one and still notice bad breath then it is really important to get them to the vet and have them checked out. Whether it is plaque build-up or bacteria in their system, they could be at risk for a varied amount of degenerative conditions. Take it from a person who just had a root canal because I decided to avoid the dentist for too long. It’s best to get these things checked out early and often. We all want our family to be healthy and oral care is definitely a vital factor in our wellbeing.
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