What would cause horrible breath in a one year old dog?

Question

My girl turned one last month and I have noticed her breath is terrible. Not like normal bad doggie breath, I mean it is really bad. I can smell her breath even if she is not right in front of me. I noticed her getting some brown on her teeth so I ran out to get a doggie tooth brush set and have been brushing her teeth probably about every other day. She also has crooked teeth. Her bottom canine grew into the roof of her mouth and she has a hole in the roof of her mouth now where to tooth goes in. The vet said this is ok as long as it doesn't bother her, which it doesn't. She is also missing a back tooth.

So, that's the scoop oh and she is a Shepherd/Collie mix and eats Canidae food mixed in with another high quality food. Any ideas why her breath would be so bad and what I can do to help?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The bad breath can be just from tarter build up.  It's great that you're brushing her teeth - try to do it every day - but every other day is far better than nothing.  If it's really bad, you'll need to have a dental cleaning at the vet.  It's important that teeth are properly cared for otherwise, it can cause kidney and liver damage.  Also, preventing it is much less expensive than dealing with dental disease in the long run.  When your dog needs extractions the bill for a dental can easily be $500-1000.

If it is just tooth relateld then you can talk to your veterinarian and can be given Clindamycin (aka Antirobe) which can help with the bad breath.  It is a prescription - but if you have a regular relationship with your vet they may be willing to prescribe it without another visit.

Otherwise, sometimes dogs can develop bad breath (sometimes smells like urine) because they are having problems with their kidneys.  It would require a blood test to test her kidney function.

Best wishes!

Answer 2

It is probably tatar and a mixture of just plain old doggie breath. I would use tatar control treats and only give her them when she deserves them.

Answer 3

A couple possibilities -

First, I would get another opinion about the teeth.  Stinky breath can mean a bad tooth situation, and it sounds she already has some iffy stuff going on in there.  It may be smart to have her examined at a veterinary school or large animal hospital for dental issues.

Thing Two is that it sounds like her food is too rich for her - bad breath can also signal digestive problems, and Canidae is quite rich for either a shepherd or a Collie's innards - GSD's have some real gastric issues, and in fact Royal Canin makes a breed specific food for them, and my collie-types cannot digest that stuff at all - my real high drive dog is on Nutro Natural Choice lamb and rice.  

  Bad breath isn't just a household problem - it is the sign of too much bacteria, somewhere.  Now you need to find out where...I'm not sure brushing is going to be enough.

Answer 4

I have heard from many different vets that given pets tinned and packed meats causes tooth decay. As it is so soft and sugary it just rots them. The best thing to do is to feed your dog only on raw meat and dry dog biscuits, preferably ones with dental benefits.

Answer 5

Could be p**p . . . some dog's like to eat sh*t

Answer 6

I think it would be caused by the fact that she's A DOG.  If the vet said it's fine, it's fine.  It's not bothering her, and that's pretty much all that matters.  I think the whole concept of brushing your dog's teeth is ridiculous, anyway; animals have lived how many millions of years without brushing their teeth and they somehow don't even rot out like ours would.

If you must, though, they make plenty of bones that clean your dog's teeth, and I'd imagine there are ones for their breath, too.  

Maybe it's her food.  Why do you need to mix two different kinds together?  Maybe they don't go well together.  

If there's brown on her teeth, maybe she's eating poo.  If she is, though, make sure she licks somebody afterwards because that's always hilarious.