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Bad Breath: Follow These Tips To Help Keep Your Dog's Mouth Fresh & Clean
Dental problems are one cause of doggy breath, but they're not the only one. Dogs have table
manners that, with all charity, can only be called gross. They stuff themselves silly, then release windy burps. They tip over trash cans and devour the contents. They eat discarded junk that they find on the sidewalk. It's not the healthiest diet, and their stomachs pay the price!
You can tell how dogs are doing on the inside by how they smell on the outside. Bad breath that comes and goes is probably the result of temporary stomach upset or dietary indiscretions. Other internal problems can also cause bad breath. Dogs with kidney disease, for example, often have breath with a sour, metallic smell.
To help control your dog's bad breath, scour their teeth with rawhide. Thick, knotted rawhide bones are terrific for dogs' teeth. As the rawhide gets softer from being chewed, it works like a sponge to clean the teeth. However, keep in mind that what's good for the teeth isn't necessarily good for the stomach. Big dogs tend to swallow big chunks of rawhide, which can give them diarrhea when they eat too much of it.
Switch To A Teeth-Cleaning Diet
You can purchase what is called “tartar control” dog food that doesn't shatter like conventional kibble when dogs bite down. It stays partly intact. This means that each piece of food momentarily wraps around a tooth and scours the surface. It won't remove plaque that has already formed, but it will prevent new deposits from accumulating.
Buy Clean-Breath Toys
Dogs who are chewers enjoy tearing into rope toys, which act like dental floss and clean between their teeth. In addition, pet supply stores sell chew toys with grooves and ridges. If you put a little dog toothpaste in the grooves, your dog will brush his own teeth while he's chewing.
Brush Your Dog's Teeth
The best way to improve dogs' breath is to brush their teeth a few times a week. You can use a doggy toothbrush, but many people find that it's easier to rub the outer surfaces of the teeth with a small piece of gauze wrapped around a finger. The inner surfaces are pretty much self-cleaning because they're constantly bathed with saliva.
Friction alone will remove much of the plaque, but you'll get better results using a toothpaste made for dogs. These come in appetizing (for dogs if not for people) flavors like malt and meat.
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