My dog's breath smells horrible! I brush his teeth once a week. Should I do it more?

I'm looking for an answer that's not ';take him to the vet';





Any good advice for keeping your dog's breath fresh?My dog's breath smells horrible! I brush his teeth once a week. Should I do it more?
Get your dog one of those plague fighting bones, they get soft as the dog chews on it.


They help wonders!!





XO!!!


AMy dog's breath smells horrible! I brush his teeth once a week. Should I do it more?
dentist for dogs say that you can brush the dogs teeth at any time in a week, but they say brushing once a day will give your dog perfect teeth. i say brush a little more often like once every three days.
It may not be his teeth causing the problem. If they don't look too bad It may be digestive acids etc. causing the odor. Give him charcoal pills. They should help.
There are other things besides bad teeth that can cause terrible breath....things that are minor and things that are deadly. There are also some things that could start out minor and turn deadly. Begin feeding your dog those chew things that are supposed to help remove tarter, and start brushing his teeth every day for a while. If his breath gets better, you're lucky....it was probably only a tarter build-up. If his breath is still horrible.....well, I would say take him to a vet but you made it clear you dont want to hear that, so I guess all I can say is ignore it until he dies. Is that answer better?
There are a few things you can try first, but it is always a good idea to see the vet if bad breath continues. Bad breath can be a sign of a serious illness.





First of all, are you sure it's his breath? Many people can be confused and think it's the breath when in fact the odor is coming from the ears or eyes. Even low quality kibble can cause mouth odors.





Check his teeth. He may have a rotten tooth. You will be able to identify it by the discoloration. Change to a high quality kibble. Check his ears for infection and parasites. Check his eyes - make sure they are clear and free of sleep.





If his bad breath persists, you will need to see the vet.
Expanding on someone before me:





A better diet with less fillers, that is less processed will mean that your dog does not have to work as hard to digest it, thus less bad odors originating in the stomach. It's amazing what a switch in diet can do. If you can afford it try:


Canine Caviar


Orijen


Acana


Nature's Logic


Now


Go Natural


Rubicon


These are all cooked at lower temperatures so the nutrients are less altered. Canine Caviar is only cooked for 6 seconds so it is essentially a dehydrated raw kibble.





If you can't afford those try at least:


Nutrisource Pure Vita


Fromm


Innova


Blue Buffalo


Wellness


Merrick


Evanger's


Eagle Holistic Select


Natural Balance


or anything else without mystery meat, by-product (unless it states that it is only organs), chemical preservatives like BHT, BHA or ethoxyquin, corn, wheat and soy.





I know these food may seem expensive per bag, but you will be feeding about half as much as the Purina and saving on vet bills.





If you can afford raw, it will be the easiest on your dog's stomach and the enzymes in raw meat will clean your dog's teeth too. I like diets like Primal, Nature's Variety, Nature's Logic, Stella and Chewy's, and Bravo. There are also dehydrated raw foods that are a bit more cost effective like Honest Kitchen or Sojos.





You can also add greens like parsley or spinach (or whatever your dog will eat) to a better diet because the phyto-nutrients will help to neutralize bad odors that originate in the stomach.
What type of food do you have him on, as in brand?





Usually the type of food makes all the difference. Brands like pedigree, purina, beneful, iams, ect, are crap brands, equivalent to feeding your dog junk food every day.





He may need to have his teeth checked and cleaned by the vet also, he could possibly have gum disease, such as periodontal disease





If you dont already have high quality dog food, here are some great suggestions





Artemis


Natural Balance


California Natural


Evo


Innova


blue buffalo


Wellness


Merrick


Nature's Variety


Timberwolf


Pinnacle


Eagle Pack





These are great dog food choices. Most of these dog foods are not found at Petco or Petsmart, so your going to have to go to another pet store to find these. Although Blue Buffalo is sold at i think Petsmart, and that is pretty good dog food.





Kirkland dry dog food, found at costco,is a pretty decent dog food. Its better than alot of brands. Their 40 lbs dry food bag cost about $25. right now my dogs are on this brand, and have been doing great. I used to have my dogs on Artemis dry dog food, but these days, spending $80 a month on dog food is something were trying avoid
Well if your dog has some kind of gum disease or has some bad teeth, you can brush his teeth all day every day and the smell will not go away. you first need to find out why his breath is so bad and then treat the cause.





if you are going to brush your dogs teeth then do so on a regular or semi regular basis. once a day if the dog doesn't mind having them done, or at least once every other day using a dog toothpaste.
Although it may be a mouth or food problem, you should check with the vet. sometimes bad breath can indicate another health issue. for example, my friend's pet had awful breath. i told them to take him to the vet, which they did, only to find out he was in kidney failure. I know you are not looking for ';take him to the vet,'; but honestly, if nothing else is working, it may not be his teeth.
What kind of dog food do you feed him? Supermarket dog food will make worse dog breath and tends to make the teeth more yellow. If you aren't already on a premium brand try switching for a few months and see if you notice any difference with the teeth. His fur will smell less doggy too ;)
You can try giving him some of the harder dog bone treats-milk bones, etc. Some are even mint flavored to help with bad breath. These treats will help get rid of the built up tartar on and around the teeth.
If there's a problem with your dog's teeth, the first sign is often bad breath. Brush his teeth regularly, preferably every day. Be sure to use special toothpaste made for dogs; never use human toothpaste.





It's important to have your vet examine his teeth and gums at least once a year. This is the best way to catch problems before they become too serious.





Here's more info.


http://dogtime.com/dental-care.html
Sorry to tell you this but your dog will need a dental cleaning just like we do and the vet is the only person that can do this. Your pets dental is very important. If left ignored, it can cause major health problems for your pet. My Sheltie is going in one week from Wed, for her dental cleaning.





added: Sorry honey but get rid of the Purina. My sheltie is on Wellness, look at the list that ';Don't litter, spay or neuter'; provided. GREAT quality dog food and they have great treats as well.
you can get treats that are for doggy breathe. but really thats just part of it. :)
Ok, my dogs all ate Purina and never had any problems. I also don't brush their teeth. They eat pigs ears, dentabones, real bones, and all sorts of other things meant to clean teeth.





I've tried the more expensive stuff the dog food police advocates, but you know what? There was no difference, so I went back to Purina. My dogs are very fit and healthy. Well exercised. Many others on here have done the same thing.





So, it's not the dog food. Also, when you say ';horrible';, is it just doggy breath, or is it really bad?