Bad breath is a symptom and NOT something you want to cover up, most importantly is to find the cause.
Most common causes of Bad Breath
- Plaque, tartar, dental infection or gum disease
- Digestive issues
Persistent bad breath can indicate that your dog could do with better dental care. Also persistent bad breath can indicate and imbalance in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, or kidneys and subsequently more serious issues.
Another cause of bad breath CAN be anal glands.
What to do with Bad Breath….
- Have you checked the mouth, teeth, roof etc is that all looking healthy, with out plaque or tartar and without infection? Whilst raw meaty bones keep teeth clean, not all dogs are blessed with perfect dentition – so do consider regular cleaning besides bones. Raw is not a magic wand. The build up of tartar is comment cause for bad breath but if left untackled it can develop into bigger health issues.
- The other most common reason of bad breath is a digestive imbalance somewhere (even if the poo is fine! Poo is not the only way the body can tell us if there is digestive upset). Introduce probiotics like kefir or decent doggie probiotics for a month and see if this clears it up.
- Consider going back to basics with your diet; doing one protein for a few days, keeping a diary, so you can see if some foods make it worse or make it better.
Not gone away?
If after this time you are still struggling you must go and see the vet, explaining you have addresses the issue by probiotics and keeping teeth clean and have ruled out food.