WHY DOES MY DOG HAVE BAD BREATH?

Bad breath (smelly at the front not the back) is potentially serious. It may be a sign of

1. serious disease
2. dental disease.
3. eating foul things on walks

Therefore you must go to a vet about it.

WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT BAD BREATH?

If your dog has a serious underlying disease, then that disease must be treated.

If your dog has tooth problems, then the teeth and gums need a proper and correct overhaul and examination, and any problems need to be dealt with, by extraction, gum surgery and so on, and a complete (including subgingival) work-out done. This is worth having done by an expert dental vet – many vet surgeries have regular visiting experts. These FAQs on bad breath and teeth are written with the help of one of them - Evelyn Barbour-Hill of the British Veterinary Dental Association" (www.bvda.co.uk).

If your dog is eating foul stuff on walks train it to come when called and consult the FAQ on “Dogs that eat their own and others’ poo”

WHY SHOULD CLEAN MY DOGS’ TEETH?

You will save in vet’s bills and your dog will be healthier! There is growing evidence of a direct link between gum problems and heart, liver and kidney disease in dogs. One in three operations among dogs that involve anaesthesia are due to oral health problems.
If you have already had to pay a vet for doing work on your dog’s teeth, you will probably need to pay for a repeat operation - unless you keep your dog’s teeth clean. So although toothbrushes and chews cost money, you will save money.
You can now buy doggy toothpaste and brushes from vets and pet shops. A particularly good brush is the CET double-ended one. Accustom your dog to having its teeth cleaned from puppy stage. It will increase its chances of keeping healthy teeth all its life.
It is important to get a proper dog toothbrush and proper dog toothpaste. Dogs loathe the foaming kind of toothpaste that we humans like. Ask your vet or the veterinary nurse to demonstrate how to brush. Brush at least three times a week, preferably more. Dogs with a problem need daily brushing.

HOW DO I ACTUALLY DO TOOTH CLEANING?

Kneel on the floor with the dog sitting between your knees facing away
from you. With big dogs it may be easier to kneel next to the dog. With smaller dogs some people may prefer to sit the dog on a coffee table or to get cosy on the sofa with him. Give your dog a treat before your start and have properly designed doggy toothbrush ready with doggy toothpaste on it.
Use the hand that is not holding the brush to steady, hold and raise the dog's chin. Do NOT attempt to open the mouth. Slide the brush under the cheek and slide it right past the back teeth. These are further back than you might think... behind the eye. Quietly slide the brush back and forth along the row of teeth two or three times, then angle it downwards a little and slide it two or three more times to brush the lower teeth.
Take it out, possibly reload with toothpaste and repeat the process on
the other side. Unless you are ambidextrous, you will find one side
slightly trickier than the other. You do NOT need to brush up and down
or round and round. You do not attempt to brush the inside surfaces of
the teeth.
Then hold the brush quite near its head in a very artistic fashion, and
do the sides of the four canine teeth, and then do the incisor teeth:
the incisors you brush down, or up, away from the gum, and not side to
side. You may want to raise the lips with your thumb in order to see the canines and incisors.
If a dog objects to tooth brushing, it is always these front teeth that
he is sensitive about. This takes less than a minute. It takes longer to collect the dog, the brush, the paste and yourself all in one place than it does to do the brushing.
Take things quietly and don't expect to do a complete job right from the start. It's better to do a bit every day, even if it is rather
haphazard, than to aim at perfection, get into a struggle and end up
never doing it.

Always, always, give the dog a treat after brushing.


WHAT CAN I DO IF I CAN’T CLEAN MY DOG’S TEETH?

For dogs who will not allow their teeth cleaned, the answer is chewing – large raw bones, large hide chews, pigs ears and hooves, found in pet shops, frequent brand chews like Pedigree Daily DentazStix or Pedigree DentaRask. Try also CET Enzymatic Chews (from the vet) but get the big-dog size. The more the dog has to chew the better so buy chews of a size larger than the breed recommendation. If you play tug games with your dog, cotton rope toys will also help clean teeth a little.
There is a vet’s prescription diet from Hills Science Diet which is specially made to help keep teeth clean. If you have a dog with a tendency to tooth troubles, use this diet. Or try the BARF diet (www.holisticvet.co.uk) that consists of raw meaty bones and fresh fruit and veg. It is essential to read up on this first. Don’t start feeding your animal just raw fleshmeat. It must have a mixture of meat, bones, and raw veg. Proportions are important and the diet does not suit every owner or every dog..