Solving Your Dog's Bad Breath Problem

You want to pet and stroke your dog but when your best friend has bad breath, it's hard to get close. If your dog has bad breath, here are some suggestions for correcting it so you can give and receive hugs and kisses, again from your dog.

Simple Tips for Bad Breath

Lemon juice---Take a lemon and squeeze a drop of lemon juice into his water. If you use bottled lemon juice, just make sure it doesn't contain sugar as this could rot his teeth. This has been known to help a dog's breath, but doesn't work for cats.

Milk bones-Crunching on a milk bone helps a dog work off the plaque. Dentabones also work well removing plaque buildup.

Check Your Dog's Diet

As some canned foods cause bad breath, check his food. If he's not elderly or on a special soft food diet, be sure he (or she) also eats dry food as well as soft canned dog food.
Have Your Dog's Teeth Cleaned

If your dog hasn't had his teeth cleaned within the past six months, then have it done by your vet. Follow up by brushing his teeth at home regularly. Brushing your dog's teeth is the best way to prevent bad breath or future dental problems. While brushing, check for any abscessed teeth or other obvious problems. If you're not sure what to look for, ask your vet.

If your dog fights you when you try to brush, it's hard to clean his teeth properly. Although most dogs don't enjoy their teeth brushed, they do love the meat flavored dog toothpastes, such as a chicken based one.

Bad Dog Breath Due to Stomach or Intestinal Problems

When your dog has bad breath, it's natural to want to pop a doggie breath mint into his mouth. However, that's not a good idea as you could be making him more miserable if his bad breath is due to a stomach problem. Sometimes a dog's bad breath is the result of a more serious problem. Before doling out breath mints, check with your vet to make sure he's not suffering from other problems.

If the problem of bad breath persists, then it's possible he could have a digestive or intestinal problem. For example, does he have a lot of gas? What about frequent diarrhea or constipation? Another clue that something's wrong is if he munches on grass but ignores his dog food. Scratching and itching are other red lights he may have a problem other than bad breath.
Gum Disease

About 80% of dogs over the age of three suffer from gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, says North Carolina veterinarian, Dr. John Prange. Known as the silent killer of pets, gum disease is not to be taken lightly. Have your dog checked for any gum problems even if he doesn't have bad breath.

Overgrowing Gums---Some dogs suffer with their gums actually growing over their teeth. This condition, known as Gingival Hyperplasia, is more common with older dogs. If not corrected by surgery it becomes a serious problem because the condition allows for bacteria to grow, eventually resulting in gum disease. Although any dog can have suffer with this problem, Gingival Hyperplasia is especially prone for boxers and bulldogs, probably because of the shape of their jaws. If your vet diagnoses this in your dog then he'll probably recommend a surgical reduction of the gums.

If you first don't solve your dog's breath problem, don't give up. Once your dog's breath is fresher, you'll both be happier.

Originally published on Suite 101.