Major Causes of Bad Breath in Your Dog

Your dog has a unique way of showering love on you. Every day when you get back home, your dog greets you with a huge jump and starts licking you. What if one fine day, your dog mouth smells bad? You would definitely be taken aback when your dog smells too bad and this is the thing which you never want to happen.

What will you do if your dog has bad breath? Don’t imagine or try to pop a mint in your dog’s mouth. Here we bring you a guide on why your dog faces this problem, and how you can control this bad breath problem.

What Causes Bad Breath in Your Dog?

The major cause of bad breath in dogs is poor oral hygiene or a periodontal disease. Few other causes are a bad dietary habit, kidney problem and diabetes. Let’s understand these causes one by one.

Poor Oral Hygiene
Poor oral hygiene can be the first cause of bad breath. Build-up of tartar and plague invites the bacteria which lead to bad breath in your dog. If you are not giving enough things to your dog to chew or not brushing their teeth then plague is the main cause of bad breath.

Periodontal Disease
If oral hygiene is not taken care of in a long run, it leads to periodontal disease. Build-up of tartar and plague for a long time push the gums away from teeth. Pushing the gums away creates more space for the development of bacteria. Overgrowth of bacteria causes inflammation in gums and leads to many other problems like cavities, infection, tissue destruction and tooth loss. In some cases, pus is also seen which results into severe bad breath.

Unhealthy Environment
If your dog is exposed to garbage and has easy access to the remains of other animals then it can lead to bad breath in dogs. Dog’s love to eat poop, and especially cat’s poop. Eating this poop gives bad breath to your dog. If you have a cat and dog in your house, your dog will get more chance to eat your cat’s poop. Often dogs eat their poop too or poop of other dogs. This condition is called Coprophagia which causes bad breath in dogs.

Kidney Issue
If your dog breath smells like urine then you must consult your vet as soon as possible. Smelling of urine in dog’s breath is a sign of kidney problem which needs to be solved at an early stage.

Diabetes
Dogs with diabetes can have breath that smells distinctly. It can smell sweet and fruity. If you find this, visit your vet as it can be one of the symptoms of diabetes. Ask your vet to make a thorough check-up of your dog health and see if there are any other symptoms of diabetes or not.

Some Easy Ways to Treat the Bad Breath in Dogs

•    Brush their teeth on regular basis
•    Provide healthy food and restrict them from eating feces
•    Provide something to chew as chewing keeps the plague away
•    As a natural remedy, add few drops of lemon in their water bowl in morning to keep their breath fresh
•    Use the product which contains Chlorehexidine. It is an antibacterial agent, which helps to keep your dog’s mouth clean
•    Pet dent oral rinse, Pet dent tooth paste are the best oral hygiene products to help keep dog breath fresh and odor free
It is always suggested that before going for any treatment or taking any preventive steps for any problem in your dog, visit your vet once.